[L]anguage that would give a pay raise to construction workers on state projects was stripped from the latest version of the capital bill, which passed out of the Senate Institutions Committee on Wednesday.
The bill, H.492, which passed on a unanimous vote, sets a two-year budget for state infrastructure projects and is funded by issuing bonds.
The committee struck a provision that would have bumped up pay for construction workers on Vermont state projects, putting them in line with the federal standard.
House lawmakers reaffirmed their support for the measure when the bill was on the floor, defeating an amendment to strike the so-called “prevailing wage” section.
However, Sen. Peg Flory, R-Rutland, chair of the Institutions Committee, said that the committee felt the provision wasn’t appropriate at a time when there are so many other pressures on state spending.
“This isn’t the time to add other capital expenses,” Flory said.
The Senate version of H.492 totals $157.2 million over the next two years — $1.4 million less than the version approved by the House last month. Since the House version passed, the Senate learned that $1.2 million that the House had counted as “recaptured” money from the Agency of Human Services had been spent.
Sarah Clark, chief financial officer for AHS, said the money had been appropriated for expenses related to an IT project that would manage eligibility for Medicaid, heating assistance and other state benefits.
However, the committee removed $2 million in funding for AHS IT projects from FY 2016, leaving just the $6 million that the House had appropriated in the second year of the bill.
That represents a steep cut from Gov. Peter Shumlin’s proposal to invest $16 million in the state’s integrated eligibility technology project over the next two years.
Lawmakers in both chambers, however, have been skeptical of investments in big IT projects. The Senate committee also kept a section from the House bill that establishes an oversight system through the Joint Fiscal Office for all major technology projects.
The bill also adds new funding to support a case management IT project for the judiciary branch. In the first year, judiciary receives $750,000 with the stipulation that it meet certain requirements and report back to the Legislature. If the conditions are met, the court system will receive $5 million in FY 2017 to build the project.
Other significant changes in the bill include:
• Cutting $1.8 million from statewide maintenance in the Department of Buildings and General Services;
• Removing a $5.2 million investment in the Lamoille County Courthouse (the House had previously pushed the investment back one year from FY 2016);
• Restoring a House cut of $1 million from the Agency of Natural Resources Forest, Parks and Recreation;
• Cutting $250,000 from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, and using that money to fund water quality projects in the Agency of Agriculture.
Many committee members expressed concerns that the bill is carrying technology investments that should not be funded through bonds.
“Myself and the entire committee are troubled by the huge IT costs,” Sen. John Rodgers, D-Glover, said.
Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle, noted to his fellow committee members after the vote that the bill had picked up many expenses that would ordinarily go in the appropriations bill.
“With all the years I’ve been on this committee, I’ve never seen a capital bill so diluted with so many other things,” Mazza said.
