VTDigger broke down Vermont’s 2020 budget by government function — or where the money is going. Explore state spending in the interactive chart below.
Championing the $6.1 billion budget passed by lawmakers this year, Sen. President Pro Tem Tim Ashe D/P-Chittenden, told senators on Wednesday the proposed spending package reflects the needs of vulnerable Vermonters, instead of special interest groups.
“Most of what you’ll see in terms of major investments in our budget are things that did not have lobbyists walking the halls pushing us to support,” he said. “They were the right things to rebuild human services, help address issues like poverty.”
The lawmakers who wrote next year’s budget put an emphasis on bolstering spending on social services that haven’t seen increased funding in years.
The budget, which passed last week, also reflected many of the shared priorities of Republican Gov. Phil Scott and Democrats in the Statehouse. The legislation includes a $7.4 million package to boost spending on the state’s childcare system, $4.6 million in additional spending on electric vehicles, including incentives for low income Vermonters, and $1.5 million to improve rural broadband access.
Unlike the last two years, there will not be a fight over the budget in the coming weeks. Scott, who in his first term vetoed budgets over proposed property tax increases, has strongly indicated he will sign the spending package into law.
Scott loosened his hard line against proposed spending increases this year, and pitched a budget in January that included $10 million in new taxes and fees.
Although the Legislature’s budget spends about $20 million more than his, and about $150 million more than last year’s budget bill, Scott said that he has no “big issues” with the proposal.
“We started out a lot further apart,” he said of the budget on Thursday. “But toward the end, I believe we’re well within range.”
Earlier this month, House and Senate lawmakers finally solved what had been one of the largest outstanding budget conundrums of the year: how to set aside revenue to fund federally-mandated water cleanup projects.
After months of prolonged debate, and disagreement over proposed funding sources, the Senate opted not to raise new revenue, but instead to permanently redirect 6 percent of rooms and meals tax revenue—about $7.1 million next year—from the general fund to a dedicated clean water fund.
Lawmakers intend to fill the hole in the general fund with higher-than-expected revenues projected to come into state coffers by the end of the year. The plan earned the support of Scott, who had opposed raising a new tax to pay for water clean-up.
This year’s budgeting process, like last year’s, was buoyed by a what analysts project will be surplus of more than $50 million tax revenue. Fiscal analysts say about $15 million of the surplus is expected to ongoing money in future years.
Senators incorporated $9.4 million of the projected surplus into base spending to avoid raising additional taxes and fees. Most of the surplus, however, will be split between state reserve funds and paying off state employee pension debt.
The House and the Senate agreed on increasing the monthly benefits received by parents in the Reach Up, a financial assistance program for low income families, from an average of $640 to $700 — which will cost the state about $2 million. While the program’s caseload has decreased over time, the financial benefits for families have remained the same since 2004.
Lawmakers also provided about $1 million in additional funding to a Medicaid benefit for seniors living in residential care facilities. The state has more than 100 residential facilities for the elderly, which offer some beds to seniors on Medicaid. The facilities serve seniors who require some level of supervised care, but don’t need to live in a nursing home setting.
But the reimbursement rate the facilities receive from the state, through the Assistive Community Care Service program, has remained the same since 2012, putting a strain on providers. With the additional spending, the facilities will see a $5 per day increase in reimbursement rates.
