The Senate approved a $5.76 billion total budget package for the next fiscal year in a lengthy, but largely debate-free, Monday afternoon session that crept into the evening.
The package, including state, federal and special funds, is a 2.3 percent increase over the fiscal year 2016 budget. It is a slightly smaller package than the version that passed the House last month, which totaled $5.77 billion.
The Senate’s proposed budget for fiscal 2017 uses $2.46 billion in state money — a 2.9 percent increase over last year and a slight increase over the House’s $2.45 billion budget.
The Senate budget includes the $9.5 million needed to pay for a 2 percent across-the-board raise for state employees in fiscal 2017, which was recommended in a Vermont Labor Relations Board decision issued last week.
Lawmakers also maintained a 2 percent increase for cost-of-living bumps to Vermont’s designated agencies — private organizations that contract with the state to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment services. That provision was in the House budget, but the Senate expanded the raise to include all community-based service providers.
The Senate budget did make several reductions to the House version, including cutting an appropriation to the Vermont State Colleges system to $600,000, from $800,000.
Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee reviewed the bill on the floor over the course of several hours, but when the time came to discuss the legislation, there was little participation.
Sen. Anthony Pollina, P/D-Washington, questioned a part of the budget that would privatize the risk management division of the Agency of Administration. Pollina said after the floor session adjourned that he plans to introduce an amendment Tuesday that would initiate a study on privatization of state functions and would delay the action for the risk management division.
Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison, raised an amendment on the floor that would put in place some parts of a study on universal primary health care that do not require any appropriation. She withdrew it and plans to bring it to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday morning.
The budget passed on a voice vote.
Both bills that make up the revenue package also passed with little objection.
The bulk of the Senate’s revenue comes from the fee bill, which raises a total of $26.9 million. Of that, $23.7 million goes to the general fund.
The bill includes a provision on the EB-5 foreign investor program, codifying the state’s current oversight practice and establishing a practice for collecting unpaid fees from some projects.
That measure followed testimony from Commerce and Community Development Secretary Pat Moulton last week. She said the agency stopped charging Jay Peak Resort and other projects fees half a year ago, when the projects were under investigation. The state and the Securities and Exchange Commission have accused the Jay Peak developers of fraud involving the EB-5 program.
The Senate tax bill does not include the employer assessment tax or the bank franchise tax, both proposals that were included in the House bill.
The proposal would raise a total of $7 million. Of that, $3.8 million would go to the general fund and $3.2 million to special funds.
All three money bills will come up for final reading on the Senate floor Tuesday.
