Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Good afternoon. This is the House Appropriations Committee. It is Wednesday, 01/14/2026. We've had a little bit of technical difficulties getting things to work, but we are ready to begin. So I'd like to welcome everybody to our public hearing for the FY '26 Budget Adjustment Act. Each year, we hold one public hearing for this bill. The purpose of the BAA is to review the current year budget and make adjustments as needed to tweak costs and rebalance state spending. This ensures that we keep our budget in balance and spend taxpayers' dollars in ways that support Vermonters across the state. The Budget Adjustment Act is generally not used for new programs or big policy changes. Not never, but generally not. For the public hearing, each person will have two minutes to speak. Megan will use the timer, which is now working, and Rev. Feltus, to my left, will raise her hand to let you know when you have ten seconds left. Rep. Luly, to my right, will call the names of who is up immediately and who is on deck. If you are testifying on Zoom today, you will automatically be muted. When it's your turn, Autumn will promote you. And so please accept the promotion, unmute yourself, and be sure your video is on so we don't have technical delays. If this is your first public hearing, please note that our job as legislators is simply to listen to your testimony. We will not be asking questions during the hearing. Finally, if your time is up and you have more you'd like us to know, or you didn't get a chance to testify and you want to let us know about things, please feel free to submit written testimony. The email link was in the confirmation email you were sent, or you can submit it directly to Autumn Crabtree, our committee assistant. The committee will be reading all written testimony. So that's another option that you have. And so thank you very much for participating. And now I'll turn to Rev Bluemle for who's up and who's on deck.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: First up is Lila Bennett. And I apologize in advance if I make a mistake of pronouncing your name, correct it when you introduce yourself. And up next is John Sales.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: So welcome, Lila. You're ready to go.

[Lila Bennett]: Thank you. Hello, committee. Thank you for having me here with you today. My name is Lila Bennett, I am the Executive Director of Journey to Recovery Community Center in Newport, Vermont. We are part of Recovery Partners of Vermont. Last year, Recovery Centers had a budget request of $1,600,000 to maintain programming at our centers across Vermont. This request was built from the unique needs of each member organization with local demand for services and the geographic gaps in mind. We are super grateful to the legislature and the committee for supporting $800,000 in the one time dollars that supported recovery centers in the FY '26 budget. These funds are imperative to our centers and really to assist the health of the state of Vermont as a whole for a number of reasons. Most importantly, we are saving lives in increasing numbers year after year after year. Recovery Partners of Vermont submitted recommendations for distributing the $800,000 which had consensus from all RPV members. Unfortunately, the funds were awarded at a flat rate of $50,000 across all recovery centers, with the rest set aside to be allocated per Medicaid population maps. This disconnect between how we built our request and how the funds were allocated has left six recovery organizations in need of additional funding to preserve the current services and avoid deficits, and that includes my center Journey to Recovery. Today, we are asking you to please increase the one time funding for recovery centers in fiscal year twenty twenty six by $420,000 to help support the six recovery centers with budget constraints. JTR was a staff of one in 2020 and is now a staff of 11. And we have two groups per day. We average eight people per group. We have increased the numbers of people engaging in recovery coaching rapidly every year with a 50% increase last year in adults and 100% in students. We send people to treatment every week, an average of two new people per week, and we have created a recovery community here. Thank you.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Okay, thanks. Perfect time.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you very much. Yes, up next is John Sales and on death is Grace Abel.

[John Sayles]: Good afternoon, committee. Thank you for the hearing. My name is John Sales, and I am the CEO of the Vermont Food Bank. Vermont Food Bank is seeking $1,500,000 in budget adjustment, f y twenty six funding to fully fund the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters local purchase program, which is a grant program through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Farming, and Markets. Vermonters continue to experience food security at a rate that increase is increasing, and the state can support neighbors with the food they need today and support Vermont farm viability by fully funding the Vermonters feeding Vermonters program with an additional 1,500,000.0. Utilizing this grant program through the agency of Ag, the food bank purchases Vermont grown food directly from farms and distributes it through our network of food shelves and meal sites, as well as program partners such as housing sites, hospitals, schools, and senior centers around the state. The purchasing happens in three ways. The half 1,000,000 that was appropriated in FY twenty six funded large scale direct purchases from 17 Vermont farms, and that $500,000 was all spent between July 1 and October 6. It will help fill the shelves at at Food Shelves and other partners around the state. Additional funding will allow us to purchase more food. We have a plan that we can spend that additional 1,500,000.0 in the rest of the state fiscal year. The program also has grants to partners if they want to purchase from a very small farm, They'll get a grant and purchase directly. Then also culturally responsive food. So purchasing from certain farms that can provide the foods that are desired by some of our people who who celebrate different cultures here in Vermont. So the legislature can sustain this program and create economic impact for two to 300 Vermont farms with this additional $1,500,000. Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thanks very much. Thank you very much. Next up, Grace O'Bell and on deck is Mike Fisher.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Welcome.

[Sarah Launderville]: Thanks. Can you hear me okay? Yes.

[Grace Oedel]: Great. Hello and thank you all so much for having me on today. My name is Grace Odell and I am the executive director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont or NOFA. I'm here today to ask that you support an important partner to us and support the funding request for a $167,000 for the critical Bridges to Health program. Bridges to Health is a health outreach and care coordination program for migrant and immigrant workers and families across Vermont who are not otherwise served by existing programs. There are eight regionally based community health workers who meet needs identified by the communities they serve and they work one on one with families and households to navigate an increasingly complex and very complicated healthcare system. Recent and ongoing federal policy changes and actions have made it considerably harder for immigrants and migrant workers to access needed care and services. They are bridges is often the primary and often sole point of healthcare for many people in our state including hundreds of children. Nova Vermont and our members are particularly concerned about ensuring the continuation of this program Bridges to Health because it provides direct healthcare support to over a thousand farm workers on farms across all 14 counties of Vermont as well as supporting families in accessing food and other basic needs. It's an essential resource to ensure those essential workers on our farms and in dozens of other professions on which our state's economy relies can access the care they need and deserve. The program is facing serious funding challenges and uncertainty largely as a result of federal policy and may be forced to end if funding support and a long term home for the program aren't secured. Our farms cannot function if workers are sick and can't get care. We all need to show up for these essential workers and we cannot let this most basic safety net break. So again, we're asking that the committee support the state appropriation of $167,700 in the FYBAA to ensure the critical work can continue. And I thank you in advance for supporting this important request and standing up for these most vulnerable.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Yes, and we welcome Michael Fisher. And up next is Chad Smith.

[Mike Fisher]: Good afternoon. I'm Mike Fisher. I'm the Chief Healthcare Advocate. Good to see you all. I am also here speaking on behalf of Bridges to Health. I have been a part of a long and tortured story about trying to make sure we have ongoing funding for this really important program. And I want to remind you that the state did pass an appropriation last year. That was a part of a bill that did not make it over the line at the end of the day. 91, I think it was.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: 91, yeah.

[Mike Fisher]: And so we find ourselves today asking for 1 and $67,100 to support a transition, a one time transition, for Bridges to Health as they move from the University of Vermont to a fiscal part fiscal, partnership sponsorship with the free and referral clinics. You asked me to show up on behalf of all Vermonters and help them with challenges getting access to care, the health care advocates office. And we do our best to do that. We have a partnership with Bridges to Help to reach this particularly hard to reach population. And, I am confident without Bridges to Health, we would not be reaching this population and making sure they get the supports they need for both coverage and for care. I'm gonna beat it by thirty eight seconds. You

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: win so far, thanks Mike.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Up next is Chad Simmons, and on deck is Brett Siegel.

[Chad Simmons]: Good afternoon, thank you all for the record. My name is Chad Simmons. I'm with the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont. We exist to build a Vermont where the fundamental right to housing is enjoyed by everyone. I am here today in support of 04/1926 budget adjustment asks for this coming year. I'll name them and explain them just a little bit. The first is $5,000,000 for the Vermont State Housing Authorities Voucher Contingency Fund, 1,322,000.000 for the Housing Opportunities Program, OP Financial Assistance, 1,000,000 for the Land Access and Opportunity Board of Homes for All Predevelopment, seed grant and community resilience grants, and 100,000 for end homelessness Vermont's disability focused case management. Vermont State Housing Authority's Contingency Fund is a proposal to ensure that the voucher program stays solvent and that folks can remain in their homes and we prevent the further erosion and loss of housing vouchers for the state of Vermont. This $5,000,000 fund is a vital component to the housing continuum, and rental assistance vouchers allows older Vermonters, people with disabilities, veterans, and working families to afford a home, especially during these times. The $1,322,000 for the HOP Financial Assistance Program is a critical flexible assistance for people at risk of homelessness or to get people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing. Dollars 1,000,000 for the Land Access and Opportunity Board is Homes for All Predevelopment Community Resilience grants. LAOB is a critical partner in housing continuum, and Homes for All and the Community Resilience Grants is needing to be restored. And finally, 100,000 to End Homelessness Vermont's disability focused case management. Thank you for your consideration.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Next up is Brenda Siegel, and on deck is Megan Le Sage.

[Brenda Siegel]: For the record, I'm Brenda Siegel, the Executive Director of End Homelessness Vermont. We are requesting $100,000 in the budget adjustment for disability focused case management and concrete supports. We will be making a request in FY twenty seven, but we need this funding now. End Homelessness Vermont provides trauma informed services to people experiencing homelessness with significant disabilities or medical complexities. We are the only organization in Vermont providing this specialized service. Between federal cuts, defunding hotel case management, and large numbers of medically complex Vermonters being exited from emergency housing, our resources have been rapidly depleted, and our caseload has rapidly increased without notice. Let me share what success looks like in our program. Our client, Ernest, in Rutland has muscular dystrophy. Other providers said he was refusing services. The reality is he couldn't get to the door without help. We worked with him. We've worked with him since 2023. In December, he made it into permanent housing. We continue to offer him support. In the last fourteen months, we have supported 80 people with complex needs into permanent housing, with only two returning to homelessness. That is a 97.5% retention rate. In 2025, we answered over 3,000 hotline calls, appeared before the Human Services Board more than two fifty times in fair hearings, and provided ongoing support to hundreds, in fact, thousands of Vermonters. This $100,000 will provide a disability focused case management and concrete supports that prevent catastrophic outcomes and increased. Without this funding, Vermont's most vulnerable residents lose critical support. We have been successful on a shoestring budget. Imagine what we could do with adequate resources. I ask the committee to support this request. Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Next up is Megan Le Sage, and on deck is Tamara Hoth.

[Megan LeSage]: Sorry it was taking a minute to load.

[Emma Paradis]: No problem. Okay,

[Megan LeSage]: Just for the record, I am Megan Lasage from End Homelessness Vermont reading Shelby LaBaron's testimony as she had an emergency. I am Shelby LaBaron. I provide service coordination and disability focused support at End Homelessness Vermont, but I'm here because I was once a client. End Homelessness Vermont is requesting $100,000 in the budget adjustment for disability focused case management and service navigation. I found End Homelessness Vermont when I was being exited to the street from the hotel program while I was in labor with a high risk pregnancy. I then had a premature baby who needed in home nursing support. I also live with disabilities myself. My family stayed safe because of the disability supports End Homelessness Vermont provided. I became permanently housed and have a healthy baby. Who knows what would have happened had we not stayed sheltered. I certainly would not be housed today and both my partner and I would not be in career jobs. Now I provide the same critical support to others, managing medical complexities, coordinating specialized care, accessing equipment and services that keep people alive and stable. Without adequate funding, families like mine won't get specialized disability support that they need. This $100,000 will provide the disability focused case management and concrete supports that saved my family and saves families every day. I am safe with my healthy child because of these services. I ask the committee to support this request. Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Yes, and next is Tamara Hodge and on deck is Danielle Wallace.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Camera's on you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: It's on. Is she there? Okay.

[Tamara Hodge]: I'm sorry. Things are a little slow. Can you hear me okay?

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Yes. Go right ahead, Tamara. Okay.

[Tamara Hodge]: For the record, I am Tamara Hodge. I am the intake coordinator at End Homelessness Vermont, and I provide casework to support people with disabilities in their emergency housing and permanent housing. But I'm here today because I was once a client. End Homelessness Vermont is requesting $100,000 in the budget adjustment for disability focused case management and concrete supports. We'll make a larger FY27 request, but we do need this funding now. I got to where my children and I are, permanently housed, and to where I was able to do this career job because of the services of End Homelessness Vermont. I know what it's like to need someone who understands disability barriers, not just homelessness, but the specific ways disability makes everything harder. That's what End Homelessness Vermont provided for me, and that's what I help to provide others with now. Our outcomes speak for themselves. Eighty people with complex needs moved into permanent housing. Only two of those returned to homelessness, which is a 97.5% retention rate. We could not have imagined the level of crisis that was going to take place this fiscal year. This $100,000 will provide the disability focused case management and concrete supports that prevent people from falling through the cracks. I am living proof that this approach works. Without this funding, others won't get the same chance that I did. I ask that the committee to support this request. Thank you so much.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Yes, now is Danielle Wallace and on deck is Susan Drew.

[Danielle Willis]: Sorry about that, took a second. Everybody see you? You're good Danielle. Thank you. So my name is Danielle Willis. I'm the director of the Turning Point Center of Addison County. I'm here on behalf of our organization as well as the Recovery Partners of Vermont to request that you support the 04/20001 time FY twenty six budget adjustment request. This request would help six recovery centers across Vermont maintain existing services during a time of rising demand. Last year, the Recovery Partners of Vermont requested 1,600,000.0 and received 800,000, which we're extremely grateful for. However, the distribution challenges left six centers facing serious budget shortfalls that threaten service stability. The Turning Point Center of Addison County is a peer led low barrier recovery organization. We provide safe and welcoming spaces for people affected by substance use disorder. Over the past year, demand for our services have increased significantly. Participation in recovery groups has grown by 20%. Engagement in one on one recovery coaching has increased by 27%. In response to these increasingly complex needs, the number of different groups we offer has expanded by 57%. Because recovery centers are peer led and low barrier, we offer support before challenges escalate into emergencies or inpatient care. This early engagement stabilizes individuals, reduces relapse risk, and helps limit reliance on high cost services. From a fiscal perspective, recovery centers are a low cost effective investment. We operate at a relatively low cost while helping reduce pressures on emergency department, in person treatment, and other parts of the system that are significantly more expensive. Maintaining a stable recovery infrastructure supports both good outcomes and responsible use of state resources. This funding request is not about expansion, it's about sustainability. Without this budget adjustment request, recovery centers like ours face difficult decisions and could limit access to at a time when needs continue to rise. So we request that you consider this FY26 budget adjustment request for $420,000 Thank you for your consideration.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Thank you, Danielle.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Yes, next up is Susan Drew and on deck is Lauren Glenn Davidian.

[Susan Drew]: Hi, I'm Susan Drew. I'm from Elmore, and I'm the program development manager for the Lamoille Community Food Share in Morrisville. I'm here today to ask for your support of an additional 1,500,000.0 allocation to Vermont Food Bank and budget adjustment to support the Vermonters feeding Vermonters local food purchasing program. I believe food is the most basic human need. At our pantry, we're seeing more than 500 neighbor visits per per month. We gave out close to 400 food baskets for Thanksgiving. Hunger is not going away in Lemoyle County. I believe the Vermonters feeding Vermonters campaign is a vital piece of the puzzle that keeps our community fed. For starters, people love the fresh produce that we purchase from local farms through the program. Fresh produce is so important to a person's health and well-being. Yes. We give out camp food and produce rescued from grocery stores, but neither is as yummy as fresh fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. When food tastes better, a person will eat more of it. Fresh produce beats packaged anything. I know this is true in my own kitchen and at our pantry where the fresh produce is snapped up as soon as we put it out. Secondly, this program supports small local farmers. What will we do when the last of the farms are gone? I hate to think of it. Fresh produce will be more expensive because it will have to come from farther away. And what about the farmers? What will they do? Will they be able to stay in Lamoille County? We already know how expensive it is here. The best solution all the way around is to support our local farmers and to support our food pantry system. FVF does both. Please, I ask for your support of Vermont Food Bake's 1,500,000.0 request to fully fund Vermonters Feeding Vermonters. Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Next up is Laura Lynn Davidian, and on deck is Sarah Londervill.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: No, Laura Lynn. Why don't we skip her and we'll

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: come back if she shows up. Yeah.

[Sarah Launderville]: Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Sarah Londerville. I'm the executive director of the Vermont Center for Independent Living. And I'm here to ask for your support in fully funding VCIL's Meals on Wheels program and providing a budget adjustment of $30,000 Since 1995, VCIL has operated the only Meals on Wheels program in Vermont that serves people with disabilities under the age 60 who, because of their disability, cannot prepare their own meals. Our program exists to fill a gap. And for our participants, each meal represents nourishment and additionally, independence, safety, and the dignity of remaining in one's own home and community. We support people with both short and long term needs. This may range from short term need from someone undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer who may only need a meal for a few months till they regain some strength, to serving an individual with advanced functional limitations from a disability who's no longer able to prepare their meal. No matter what the duration, the need is real, and the meals we provide help prevent malnutrition and support recovery, stability, and independence. The funding for VCIL's Meals on Whales programs comes from the Vermont Department of Disabilities Aging and Independent Living. And for years, the funding provided has not covered the full expense of the program. We've worked to fundraise and to have, and we use our unrestricted funds to cover that shortfall, and this has become harder to keep up with the demand, the rising costs overall. It's important to note that the program is not eligible for funding through the Older Americans Act and any of the bills that the Vermont legislature has passed in recent years supporting other meal programs. While we currently, serve many Vermonters every day, we currently have a waiting list. Your support will have a direct impact and immediate impact. By investing $30,000 you can ensure that Vermonters with disabilities 60, whether facing temporary medical challenges or long term functional limitations, are not waiting or hungry and will continue to warm up

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: with dignity. Thank you so much. Next up is Jenna O'Farrell, and on deck, oopsies and air mail. Yes. Hello? Yep. We can hear you. Thank you. You're on.

[Jenna O’Farrell]: Sorry. Something happened. I'm Jenna O'Farrell at St. John's Free, executive director of Northeast Kingdom Community Action, and I also represent the Vermont Community Action Partnership, which consists of SEVCA, Brock, CVOEO, and Capstone. Today, we are requesting the Budget Adjustment Act to allocate funding for the financial assistance program to the amount of 1,322,141. Through the housing opportunity program, financial assistance funds provide short term or one time financial support to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. These funds are designed to quickly stabilize households by safely diverting them from homelessness or supporting rapid exits from housing instability. Financial assistance is a critical homelessness prevention tool. Historically, this funding has allowed us to support households with a full three months rent of rental subsidy. Due to reduced funding, we are now limited to provide a maximum of 1,500 per household. This reduction has significantly limited our ability to help families or retain secure housing. In many cases, this assistance has only covered one month's of rent in market rate units, which is often insufficient to preventing eviction or homelessness. The reduced capacity directly correlates with an increase in individuals and families remaining homeless or becoming homeless, placing additional strain on the general assistance system. Housing providers must be fully restored this year to effectively support Vermonters who are the most vulnerable to eviction. These funds have preserved housing, create pathways to stability, kept families together during periods of extreme stress, offered individuals and families the opportunities for a fresh start. Continued investment in financial assistance is essential to preventing homelessness and reducing system wide strain. Additionally, VCAP supports the BAA requests of HHAV and End Homelessness Vermont. Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you very much. So up next is Susan Aranoff.

[Susan Aranoff]: Good afternoon, everyone. For the record, my name is Susan Aronoff. I am the Senior Planner and Policy Analyst for the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I really enjoy seeing all of you in person. This is, I think, my first time with your committee this year. Before I testify, I always have to give this disclaimer. My apologies. It's in our written materials as well. I am a state employee. Any of you who get emailed from me, see that my address is vermont.gov. I'm housed in the Agency of Human Services. However, whenever I speak, especially about matters related to the budget, I always have to clarify that I work for an independent council. The Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council is one of 56 developmental disabilities councils in the country. Every state and territory has one. Ours in Vermont happens to be entirely federally funded. So I'm not here asking you to support my salary or the good work that we do. However, I'm asking you to support the good work that a lot of partners do. Some of it's in the governor's recommended budget, and some of it isn't. And what I need to always say for the record is that while I'm in the Agency of Human Services and a state employee, we have a signed memorandum of understanding from secretary Jenny Samuelson, AHS secretary, that allows us to advocate as we were created to advocate to support the rights of people with disabilities and their family members everywhere decisions about their lives are made. So that includes in the State House, board of education, other places. So today so that was probably half my time remaining. We support HHAB, Land Access and Opportunity Board that we're a member of, and they are moving things forward. Hooray. And the Vermont State Housing Authority's vouchers. Please, we need those vouchers. And the Vermont Center for Independent Living as well. Thank you. Please, if you have a chance, read our written comments. And thank you for all of your work.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: You. It's a big written testimony.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. And all of this is from her too. One of us. Next is Michelle Edelman McCormick, and up on deck is Michelle Bay. Is Michelle here? Not seeing Michelle. Alright, so we'll a poll on that.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Well, we

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: have two Michelle's. Is

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Michelle Faye here?

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Yes, she's on. Oh, she's on too.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: All right. There's Michelle Faye.

[Chad Simmons]: Okay.

[Michelle Fay]: Hi, I'm Michelle Faye with Voices for Vermont's Children. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the more than 6,000 Vermont children who depend on Reach Up for their basic survival needs. Year after year, the administration puts forth a budget that keeps the Reach Up benefit for the most disadvantaged families below what is considered deep poverty or 50% of the federal poverty level. Vermont law directs DCF to quote, as far as funds are available, provide a reasonable subsistence compatible with decency and health, end quote. The legislature appropriated 36 and a half million dollars to reach up this year. The department could comply with the law and bring the benefit level closer to meeting a reasonable subsistence by adjusting the maximum reach up grants by rule to align with the appropriation. Instead, year after year, they make policy via budget adjustment by doing the opposite and redirecting the funds you've appropriated for reach up to some other purpose. It's no coincidence that 113 reach up families were housed in the GA motel program last month. Unknown numbers of families are in even more precarious settings. 275 families were on a wait list for a car last year to overcome one of the top barriers to securing employment. We cannot expect to bend the curve on the numbers of children in extreme poverty while our policies relegate them there by design. What's more, the caseload reductions are in part driven by the frozen benefit level. When the grant doesn't keep up with the cost of living, even a small amount of earned income can bump families off the program well before they achieve economic security. The budget is our most powerful statement of values and priorities. Permitting this annual exercise of balancing DCF's budget on the backs of the most economically marginalized children is harmful policy, and we need a new precedent. Voices request that you require funds appropriated for reach up to be used within the program until its statutory purpose is achieved. The advocacy community and impacted families stand ready to support DCF in determining the best use and in modeling a more humane and effective benefit structure moving forward. Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Next we'll hear from Mary Kate Mullman and on deck is Reverend Mark Hughes. Okay.

[Mary Kate Mohlman]: Alright. Good afternoon, madam chair, members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about funding currently included in the FY 2026 Budget Adjustment Act. As State Primary Care Association's director of Vermont Public Policy, I re represent our members, including Vermont's federally qualified health centers, also known as FQHCs, Vermont Free and Referral Clinics, and Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. Bi State Primary Care Association is a nonprofit organization established in 1986, so we're celebrating our forty year anniversary. But we advance access to comprehensive primary care and preventive services for anyone regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. I specifically would like to express my support for the Budget Adjustment Act, including an inflation adjustment factor to the Medicaid FQHC rates. The state has annually applied this Medicare economic index inflation adjustment to FQHC rates since Congress established the current FQHC payment model in 2000. This adjustment is critical to ensure that Medicaid rates remain in line with the cost of providing care to Medicaid enrollees. Last session, legislators demonstrated their support for FQHCs in comprehensive primary care and preventive care by increasing FQHC rates last July after several years of underfunding. For that, we

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: thank you.

[Mary Kate Mohlman]: Adjusting FQHC rates by MEI and the BAA ensures that we do not lose the ground we gained this past year, especially in the face of federal policies jeopardizing several other funding sources for FQHCs. Vermont FQHCs serve approximately one in three Vermonters, provide physical, mental, and oral health services, and their continued financial stability is essential to maintaining access to this important care. Vice State and our members thank you, and we look we hope you can continue to support us through the Budget Adjustment Act.

[Jenna O’Farrell]: Thank you.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Thank you.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: We'll next hear from Reverend Mark Hughes and on deck is Linda Ramsdell.

[Rev. Mark Hughes]: Good afternoon. Can you see me?

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Yes. All right. Good afternoon.

[Rev. Mark Hughes]: My name is Reverend Mark Hughes. I'm the executive director of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and I'm here to speak in support of protecting Vermont's civil rights infrastructure. This in the face of federal infrastructure being decommissioned, gutted, and politically repurposed. Over the past year, the federal government has sharply reduced civil rights enforcement across housing, employment, education, environmental justice, and public safety. In Vermont this has a real and immeasurable economic consequence. Based upon state budget documents and agency data, Vermont is already losing approximately $170,000 annual in direct federal civil rights enforcement funding. More significantly, the Vermont Human Rights Commission has documented the need for nearly $900,000 per year in additional state funding simply to maintain basic enforcement capacity as federal agencies retreat and case volume shifts to the state. Beyond enforcement, Vermont faces a broader shock. Federal pauses and cancellations affecting education, housing stability, public health, transportation, and environmental justice total approximately $40,000,000 or more in a single year. These losses increase discrimination risk, destabilize housing and employment, and ultimately drive higher downstream costs in health care, homelessness services, litigation, and loss productivity. In short, federal civil rights retrenchment is not cost neutral. It transfers risk and expenses directly onto Vermont communities and the state budget. Strategic state investments now is fiscally prudent, constitutionally necessary, and far less costly than unmanaged harm later. Vermont has an opportunity through the Budget Adjustment Act to stabilize its civil rights enforcement capacity, protect equal protection, and prevent preventable economic damage. Finally, I want to express strong support for the governor's recommended budget readjustment for the Land Access Opportunity Board, expanding equitable access to land directly, addresses structural barriers rooted in discrimination, strengthens food security, and builds long term economic resilience. This is exactly the kind of forward looking justice centered investment Vermont needs at this moment.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: You for

[Rev. Mark Hughes]: the opportunity to testify.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Thank you very much.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Now we'll hear from Linda Ramsell and on deck is Emma Paradies.

[Linda Ramsdell]: Good afternoon. My name is Linda Ramsell. I'm the board president of Headwaters Community Trust, a community land trust formed in 2024 to serve the Northeast Kingdom towns of Albany, Crasberry, Glover, and Greensboro. I'm here today to express support for the Land Access and Opportunity Board's Budget Adjustment Act, with a particular focus on funding two essential programs: the Beginning Developers Predevelopment Grant Fund and Resilience Hubs. My remarks focus on the Beginning Developers Predevelopment Grant Fund. Community land trusts support community led development on community owned land. The Beginning Developers Predevelopment Grant Fund fills a critical gap in the development ecosystem. In our rural service area, mostly without zoning or public infrastructure, predevelopment costs can be prohibitive and are the reason traditional developers go elsewhere. The Beginning Developers Predevelopment Grant Fund could make it possible for Headwaters to bring community driven visions to life. By funding this program, the board empowers local talent, expands the pipeline of community rooted development, and ensures that homeownership is available for the people who want to live and work in our towns and not determined solely by wealth. This is how we care for the next generations and build generational wealth and diversify the fabric of our towns. The Beginning Developers Predevelopment Grant Fund and Resilience Hub programs are strategic investments that will directly impact our work and enable us to care for our neighbours and strengthen our communities by creating permanently affordable homes and access to community owned land. Together, these two programs reflect strategic investments in community transformation. I urge the committee to fully fund these initiatives and affirm the Land Access and Opportunities Board's role in creating a more equitable, resilient, and opportunity rich future. Thank you for your time and your commitment to this work.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you. Now we'll hear from Emma Paradis, and on deck is Marybeth Penard.

[Emma Paradis]: Good afternoon, committee, and thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Emma Paradis, and I represent Common Good Vermont, which is a statewide program of United Way of Northwest Vermont dedicated to uniting, strengthening and advocating for Vermont's nonprofit sector. I want to acknowledge the reality that you're facing. Vermont has many competing priorities right now, and that's why this proposal is about managing chaos and not adding to it. Federal policy changes and funding uncertainty are already rippling through Vermont's nonprofit sector. These organizations employ one in five Vermont workers and deliver essential services that keep our communities and our economies functioning. When nonprofits falter, the state feels it immediately. Layoffs, service disruptions, and emergency interventions that cost more and help fewer people. Our proposal, endorsed by 60 plus nonprofits, requests 295,665 in one time funding through the BAA to provide technical assistance to nonprofits navigating federal impacts, including planning for major funding swings, adapting business models, and when necessary, supporting mergers, consolidations, or orderly wind downs to protect clients, workers, and public investments. This proposal speaks specifically to the funds set aside last year for federal impacts in Act 27. We also request $267,000 in base funding to strengthen financial management and compliance for organizations with state grants. This is not about preserving the status quo. It's about ensuring transitions are managed responsibly, services remain stable, and that public dollars are used efficiently rather than in crisis mode. When nonprofits fail, families lose access to childcare, housing and health care, costs that ripple through the economy and land on the state. With Foresight, we can avoid service gaps, protect jobs, and prevent larger costs that will be landing on the state later. In short, this is an investment in preparedness. It aligns with the recommendations of the treasurer's task force on the federal transition and gives Vermont a way to manage change deliberately rather than react to disruptions after the fact. Thank you for considering this, and I've submitted it.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you very much. Watched a webinar where they had Blackbaud on, they were asking Blackbaud.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Somebody's got a

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: computer going.

[Susan Aranoff]: So it's definitely

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: helpful. Guys stop. Well, is Marybeth Penard, I'll bet. And on that is Jim Mrowicki. Welcome. Great.

[Marybeth Penard]: Good afternoon. My name is Marybeth Penard, and I'm the executive director of Vermont Catholic Charities. Among our programs are three residential care homes in Rutland, Burlington, and Derby Line. I'm also a member of the Long Term Care Crisis Coalition. This coalition represents more than 200 providers of long term care. We've been working with policymakers for several years to bring Medicaid reimbursement for home and community based services closer to our actual cost of providing these services. As part of this multiyear effort, the legislature allocated funding in the 2026 state budget to increase the enhanced residential care rates paid to assisted living residents and residential care homes. Providers were taken by surprise when the state chose to distribute funds intended for a rate increase by paying more at some levels of care while reducing payment at others. Our reimbursement for Tier one service dropped by 35%. That is unsustainable. Budget testimony around this issue did not include any indication that rates would go down. Budget instructions from the legislature directed the state to use the funding to address rates that remain below the recommended levels. When the legislature appropriates funding for Medicaid rate increases, that action should not result in surprise decrease. We are asking for the Budget Adjustment Act to restore Tier one enhanced residential care rates to their previous levels. We see this as a technical correction. The adjustment would be made to the Department of Disability Aging and Independent Living budget. Thank you for your consideration to this request.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thank you

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: very much.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Next we have Jim Moulton and on deck is Meg Burhminster.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: All set, Jim.

[Jim Moulton]: Thank you. My name is Jim Moulton. I'm the Executive Director of Tri Valley Transit serving Addison, Orange, Northern Windsors and soon to be Washington Counties. I'm also the vice chair of the Vermont Public Transportation Association. We provide non emergency medical transportation through the Medicaid program around the state. The non emergency medical transportation program takes low income Vermonters to treatments for substance abuse, kidney dialysis, cancer treatment, regular preventive maintenance appointments, vaccinations and pharmacies. This program is an entitlement program and in fiscal year twenty five, we were faced statewide with an $800,000 deficit and we're hoping that the committee can provide that some relief against that loss. Again, it's an entitlement program, we have no ability to cut service and we have no ability to cost shift our expenses from the Medicaid program onto other programs. So we have to endure different ways of figuring out how to meet that budget deficit. Without assistance from the legislature, we are in jeopardy of our other public transit services because we need to cut costs somewhere and those services are relied upon by thousands of vulnerable transit dependent riders. The Medicaid program does almost 300,000 trips to the lowest income riders in our state, and we are being driven by administrative burdens of two and a half times more labor intensive than the program for older and disabled Vermonters and insurance costs, which rose by over $1,000,000 statewide in the past fiscal year. Thank you for considering our request.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Thanks Jim. And next is Maggie Furmeister, and on deck is Aidan Carpenter.

[Meg Burmeister]: Hi, can you hear me?

[Emma Paradis]: Yes.

[Meg Burmeister]: Okay, my name is Meg Burmeister. I'm the executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging, and I'm here testifying on behalf of the five area agencies on aging in the state of Vermont. Last session, the legislature appropriated funding for a 2% Medicaid rate increase. Thank you to representative Yacovone for advancing the effort in the FY twenty six budget. During budget discussions with your committee and the joint fiscal office, it was clear to us that the intent, and we believe the committee's understanding, was that the AAA case management would be included in the 2% increase. However, Dale did not include the necessary funding for this 2% increase. We are requesting that funding be added to the BAA to cover the 2% increase to reflect what we believe was the legislature's intent last session. This increase is necessary to maintain the quality of services that the home and community based services system relies on. Throughout the last two years, the role of case management has undergone a significant change in response to a federal rule that impacts conflict free case management. For the five area agencies on aging, this meant a significant effort to scale up to a dramatic shift in volume of work, which doubled and staffing needed to handle that, all while supporting frail elders in the community who choose to remain in their homes for their long term care needs. This shift results in financial stressors for the AAA network. As workforce stability is crucial, we are continually seeking a lack of funding to meet the workforce demands that we are confronted with. And the demands change. It presents us with more complex clients who present with greater frailty, multiple health conditions, and increased need for advocacy and coordination. In a system where healthcare costs are exceptionally high, we need your support. Dale has indicated they cannot ask for a federal match retroactively, so we will only benefit from the match for the last quarter of the fiscal year. As such, we are requesting a general fund appropriation for the full amount for the first three quarters and general fund plus match for the federal for the fourth quarter. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Emma Paradis]: Thank you very

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: Now we can hear from, Aidan Carter, and we'll see if anybody else is online who will pass over.

[Aidan Carpenter]: Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Aidan Carpenter with Zatson Consulting, and I'd like to share some testimony from our client, Melissa Farr, the executive director of Vermont Cares. So I am testifying on behalf of the three AIDS service organizations in Vermont, Vermont Cares, the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, and the HIV HCV Resource Center. The fiscal year twenty six HIVAIDS budget included funding for client based support services, HIV harm reduction services, and syringe services. Given the increasing need in our communities for harm reduction and emergency assistance, without a budget adjustment, we face great challenges in getting through this fiscal year. We will not be able to continue to provide compassionate and consistent support to the Vermonters who rely on us every day. The cost of doing this work has risen across the board. Staffing, rent, insurance, utilities, transportation, and supply expenses have increased significantly, while funding levels have not kept pace. Our work requires skilled people supported by resources that are sustainable and not constantly at risk. Flat funding does not allow organizations to keep up, let alone build the capacity needed to respond to what is happening in our communities right now when both those living with HIV and people who use drugs are targeted, David. For people living with HIV and people who use harm reduction services, our programs are often the first and sometimes only place they feel safe asking for help. Many of the people we serve have faced stigma, judgment, or outright rejection elsewhere. HIV prevention and care and harm reduction services are effective because they are rooted in real relationships and evidence based practices. They prevent new infections, reduce overdoses, and connect people to treatment and stability. Our services keep people alive. We are already seeing the impact of when funding does not keep up. The current closure of the Pride Center of Vermont and the Center for Health and Learning, which focus on statewide suicide prevention and young mental health have put a greater strain on our organizations. We are requesting a 45,000 budget adjustment increase in section E. Three twelve. Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: And it's awesome that we don't have anybody else.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: We don't have anybody else, but the two that didn't show in the show. So that concludes the public hearing. We thank all of you that came and testified. And as I said before, if you can give us written testimony to help us with what you did, if you could just submit it to Autumn. If you haven't already done so, that's always helpful. Not required, but it's good to have that. And with that, we will take a break,

[Rep. Tiffany Bluemle (Ranking Member)]: and we'll come back in

[Rev. Mark Hughes]: about

[Emma Paradis]: 50