Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Good morning. This is the House Appropriations It is Wednesday, 02/25/2026. It's about eleven a. M, and we are going to have a legislative hearing. We've done this with the public for two public hearings on the FY27 budget, and now it's our colleagues' turn to come and tell us what's important to them. So we're delighted to have you all here. And just to remind you, you'll see a timer up here. Everybody has two minutes. It's not two minutes per item you want to talk about. It's two minutes total. We've had that confusion before. Raf Feltus next to me will call up who's first and who's next in line. Most everybody's going be in person. I know we have at least one person on Zoom, and that should work just fine. Just as a reminder, this is not the typical testimony you hear in your committees. It's not a back and forth. It's you guys presenting to us. Our job is to listen to what you have to say. If you have written testimony in your remarks and writing, it would be great if you send it to Autumn. So we have that include with all of our information. We'll be trying to take notes, but we might miss things. So if you have something in writing to share with us, that would be the best. So I'm not seeing a

[Leonora Dodge]: lot of questions. So why

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: don't we start and Our

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: first person is representative Dan Noyes, and after that will be Doug Bishop.

[Rep. Dan Noyes]: Fantastic. Thank you so much, committee, for having me and allowing me to talk about some concerns that I have around the budget. My other job is work with the Vermont Association of Senior Centers and Meal Providers. And nonprofits around Vermont provide meals, transportation, wellness programs, social connected and aging at home supports. I always think of senior centers as the local trusted place in the community that connects older Vermonters with the program services and wellness opportunities they need to age well. So we have this growing aging population here in Vermont. It's a great thing. These people are really engaged in the community and I'm one of them. So as you all know, about 150,000 Vermonters are 60, it's the fastest growing demographic. One in three will be 60 by 2030, but 8% are food insecure, 25% live alone. And we delivered about a million meals in 2024 to individuals. Meals on Wheels is kind of a core component of our Age Strong Vermont. This is our long term plan for aging well, promotes health and nutrition, reduces isolation, supports well-being and preventative care, strengthens community networks by connecting older Vermonters to the communities that they live in. It's cost effective alternative to higher healthcare costs by making sure that older Vermonters have access to nutrition, because if you're hungry, you're malnutritioned, you're gonna end up needing higher levels of care as you age. Just wanted to touch on the funding reality around home delivered meals in, okay, two minutes fast. We're looking for about a million dollars, a dollar a meal, and thank you so much. I've written

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: testimony. Two minutes goes fast. Please send it to her.

[Rep. Jonathan “Teddy” Waszazak]: Yeah. Okay. Sorry about that.

[Rep. Herb Olson]: I'll try

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: the answer.

[Rep. Chloe Tomlinson]: Going first.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: After Doug is Kathleen James. Hello.

[Doug Bishop]: So today, with the permission of 27 additional representatives, and on behalf of 10 communities and over 100,000 Vermonters we represent, ask we that you reject the Department of Mental Health's request to eliminate a $160,000 that it provides in support of the community outreach program. Town and city leaders across the 10 municipalities served by the community outreach program have shared one simple message. The program is an invaluable tool, and it works. As described by leaders of Essex And Essex Junction, Howard Community Outreach workers support public safety response to community members needing staff trained in navigating the health, mental health, and human services network and services. They are the coresponders that public safety depends on to assist when people are in crisis. Of the outreach team, the city of Winooski says they are a critical low barrier resource for our most vulnerable community members. Despite what Department of Mental Health might say, our communities are clear. The mobile crisis program stood up by the state is not a substitute for the community outreach program. At best, it can serve as a complement to community outreach, but understaffing and delays in responding diminish the effectiveness of mobile crisis. The towns are doing their part. They're providing 46% of the funding needed for the community outreach program. But it is the state of Vermont that is primarily responsible for the health and human services serving the townships. And the Department of Mental Health must remain a financial partner with the towns in funding this program. On So behalf of all 28 house members from the 10 impacted communities, we support the recommendation set forth in the house health care memo, that committee's memo, and ask that you do not cut the $160,000 from the community outreach program as DMH has requested. I yield my eight seconds.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: It's important testimony, so we have it. Thank you.

[Rep. Ian Goodnow]: Good afternoon.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: And Teddy Wazesack.

[Rep. Kathleen James]: Okay. So what happened to Rep. Noyes happened

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: to me last year. So

[Rep. Kathleen James]: I'm going to talk fast. I have short testimony. You tell me when the shot clock is starting.

[Rep. Herb Olson]: You go when you go.

[Rep. Kathleen James]: Alright. Representative Kathleen James, we often talk about climate action in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. It's true that we measure progress in this way, how we are succeeding or failing in reducing the air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. It's an important number. But climate action is grassroots work. We reduce harmful carbon pollution by helping people reduce their reliance on fossil fuels one person, one household at a time. We weatherize homes. We install heat pumps. We drive an EV. These investments help the planet, and they help people save money, often a lot of money, over the long run. But there's an upfront cost, and this is where climate policy often hits a wall. Where do we find the penny so we can save the dime? The answer is we need better data. H seven forty directs the agency of natural resources to develop a greenhouse gas inventory that will gather simple sales data from fossil fuel suppliers in Vermont at a more granular and useful level than before. To be clear, this is data that our fossil fuel dealers already have and are already reporting to state agencies like tax. H seven forty directs ANR to develop this program through rulemaking and to find the most effective way to gather these helpful numbers from fossil fuel suppliers. It's one of the top 10 recommendations in the newly updated 2025 state climate plan. It is called foundational by ANR and our own state treasurer. The f y twenty seven budget ask is $500,000 to give ANR the staff and resources it needs to start this important and forward looking work. Thank you.

[Rep. Jonathan “Teddy” Waszazak]: Chubb. Thank you.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: All right. Teddy and then Leonora Dodge.

[Rep. Jonathan “Teddy” Waszazak]: Hello, committee. Marty, good to see you. We missed you upstairs. Hello, everyone. Teddy Wazac, Barrie City, here to speak in support specifically of a portion of the house government operations budget memo. In that memo, there is a around a $1,800,000 line for flood recovery efforts in the Northeast Kingdom. As many of you have likely read, in fact, I know many of you have read, president Trump denied the FEMA disaster declaration for Essex and Orleans Counties flooding events of 2025. So these towns have been left on their own. And as is often this case here in Vermont, you know, these are towns that have the least amount of resources with which to make do. They do not have the size of budget or staff that communities like Barrie City and Montpelier had to recover from these flooding events. And just simply stated, the legislature has been there for Central Vermont, for Barrie City over the past two years in aiding our flood recovery efforts, and the ask is that we simply extend that same grace of support to those impacted towns in the Northeast Kingdom because they are now eligible for exactly 0 federal dollars as they are trying to recover from these flooding events. And it doesn't matter whether you live in Barrie City or Sutton or Burke. When the road that you drive on to get to your house washes away, that's a public safety issue, and that's the number one responsibility of our state government. And I yield my thirty

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: second shot. Just to beat that. Thank you, folks.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: We have Leonora Dodge and Lynn Per Bolson.

[Leonora Dodge]: Immigration enforcement abuses, Lou Blards of Project twenty twenty five. We've all seen the headlines on ICE abuses in Minneapolis, Chicago and Texas. We have seen Vermonters affected. When ice strikes, whole families, neighborhoods, state communities and workplaces are forced to grapple with the enormity of a neighbor's disappearance overnight. Our schools, farms, hospitals and small businesses feel the ripple effect, and ginsed it leaves our communities feeling more afraid and less resilient. The good news is that when Vermonters have access to legal counsel and a fair hearing, they are more than twice as likely to avoid deportation and return home to their families, jobs and communities in our towns. When Vermont lawyers seek judicial review of ICE's violence, they activate the constitutional checks and balances that protect the democratic rule of law for all. To their credit, Vermont leaders activated a fundraising campaign in May '5 to hire more defense lawyers, the Vermont Immigrant Legal Defense Fund. At the time, Vermont had only two licensed detention defense lawyers to respond to the existing 1,000 Vermonters facing deportation. Those with the highest risk of ICE detention, let alone the tenfold increase in new detentions recorded statewide. In 2025, roughly 900 immigrants were detained in Vermont's authorities, and migrant justice received 110 distinct calls for detention held last year, up from just 10 the year before. Emergency state funding deployed new detention defense teams by August. As a result, local attorneys have reached about 120 detained people, securing 40 full representations asylum assistance, limited bond and habeas assistance to 80 additional people. Attorneys also activated 100 volunteer attorneys, interpreters and students. This year, new Vermont attorneys made concrete differences. A former child soldier with disabilities secured procedural safeguarding his asylum hearing, a longtime Vermont father of US citizens oh, I'm out of time. I'm asking for $400,000 for Vermont Legal Aid to set up two Feet, immigration attorney positions that are being piloted currently to guarantee

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Be sure you send it. It all counts.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Thank you. You. Herb And then Chris Schmle.

[Rep. Herb Olson]: Good morning. I'm Herb Olson, Northeast Addison County. And two minutes, two issues. The first issue, ask that you consider primary care as a strategic kind of budget issue, that it's gonna affect budgets, state budgets, Medicaid, teachers, state employees. It's pretty clear that you provide good access to primary care, and you're gonna get a good return on your investment. Unfortunately, the department, I think of the administration's proposal proposed to cut a lot of things that would go the other way and make things worse in terms of, we have huge wait lines waiting. Some folks can't accept new patients, and yet the administration's proposal seeks to take away those workforce issues that would help get more primary care docs into the state. I'm thinking about the PCP loan repayment program, the early pipeline program, MD placements. And then with scholarships, this is a really good program. The budget language seeks to change the sunset on this program. The money's there. It's just a question of whether we're gonna be able to use it. There's also an issue around primary care payments. For some reason, they have not acknowledged that inflation exists. And so there would be a normal medical inflation issue. And I'm gonna move on to my next issue because I'm not short. And this has to do with designated agencies. This is a much more narrow issue. The designated agency in Addison County has an urgent care program. And for some reason, that is being eliminated. I think it's a rural kind of issue in terms of being able to support it, but I hope there's some flexibility around that with some alternative funding recommendations that I'll send to

[Rep. Mary Howard]: Thank you for sending us your testimony. Thanks, Essex.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Okay. We have representative Mrow and then representative Good morning.

[Rep. Michael Mrowicki]: Over the past few years, Americans have faced sticker shock at the grocery store. Following years of very moderate price growth, the price of groceries is up 30% since January 2020, and the typical family of four is now spending over $1,000 per month at the grocery store. I'm here to ask for full funding for the Vermont Food Banks Bank's $5,000,000 request. This comes in three different buckets, and you'll be hearing about this in letters from three different committees. The first bucket is for the Vermonters Feeding Vermonters program. That's $2,000,000 from the ag committee. This has been funded before, and it's it provides a multiplier effect because we're essentially buying food from Vermont farmers and supporting the farm economy at the same time as we're feeding Vermonters with that food. The second bucket is for you'll be hearing about from human services, which is for $2,000,000 as well, and this is to buy direct food to feed feed Vermonters through our food banks. You know, in in my local food bank, the demand has gone up 10% from '23 to '24 and another 10% from '24 to '25, and you're hearing stories like that or or greater all across the state. So the demand is increasing rapidly. The third bucket is for, ready response. This is a request in the Vermont resilience plan, also in the Vermont food security road map to 2035. This is under gov ops, and this is a $1,000,000 request, to allow for the planning and collaboration to create a system where the food bank and partners, in collaboration with the Vermont Emergency Management, are resourced and prepared to address acute and ongoing food security needs for Vermonters in the case of emergency. Thank

[Rep. Ian Goodnow]: you.

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

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Next is Ian and then representative Sebelius.

[Doug Bishop]: Hello, everybody.

[Rep. Ian Goodnow]: My name is Ian Goodnow. I'm the junior member from Brattleboro. I have not been before this committee before in this capacity, so I appreciate your patience. I'm here advocating for just one thing today, which is Vermont Access Network van and the Vermont Community Radio Network. They are looking for, just to get the numbers out of the way, 1,890,000.00 is their ask. The budge the governor's budget was 1.35. The delta there, I had to write down because I'm an attorney and terrible at math, is 540,000. And the those two buckets are 90 k for the community radio stations and 450 k for the 24 community network media centers, which address a lowering in their funding because it's coming from revenue from network television. It's lowering down, they need more money. The money aside, the reason I'm actually here is because this is a really important issue to me personally. The reason I'm sitting in this chair is because of my local area access network, BCTV, community television. I was sitting on my couch drinking a beer, and I turned on YouTube, like, eight years ago and learned what the Brattleboro Select Board was because of BCTV. And I watched it, I got engaged, and then I ran for the Select Board. I was on the select board for four years. I chaired the board. I then learned about the legislature in a more serious way, ran for the legislature. Now I'm sitting here because, in some small part, because of BCTV. The media landscape in Vermont is changing, and the reality is we need to fund and support these very local level ways that people stay informed about what's happening in their communities. And so I just ask you guys to consider this. I know you have a really hard job, and you got a lot of asks today. But these these people are passionate. They work on shoestring budgets. And, you you know, give them a give them a good look. That's it. Thank you. Thanks, Steven.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Representative Cecilia and then Monique Priestley. Good morning. I want to speak to

[Rep. Laura Sibilia]: you about two things. The first is a proposal that former representative Ann Mann Waring has been drilling at me for the last year and a half. And this is around distributing funds from the state education fund, which now happens and includes all costs based on the equalized per pupil count for each school. Her suggestion that she has made to me, which makes some sense, is a two bucket solution, which would continue one bucket would continue to travel with the student and include all the costs directly associated with student outcomes, such as teacher salaries, curriculum development, classroom supports, food service, library sports, etcetera. The second bucket would include facility costs, such as building and grounds maintenance, utilities, heat, staff, caring for infrastructure, and bond payments. This could be a part of our concepts around school construction. The second that I wanna talk to you about in support of I know you have incredibly difficult decisions to make here and not a lot of money. I'm here to advocate for the working lands. I know they have made a request for 5,000,000 total this year, a half $1,000,000 increase in their base, and 3.5 in one time funding. I know you have difficult choices. I just want to say that these funds are always overprescribed. There is way more demand than there are funds. And these are for our smallest manufacturers throughout our state, and in particular, throughout rural Vermont. So these are big impact dollars helping our smallest businesses and our most far following states. So I hope you will keep them in mind when you are making your final decisions. And please don't cut them for God's sake. So thank you.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Representative Braceley and then representative Molly Burke.

[Rep. Monique Priestley]: Two minutes is intense. Appreciate this. All right, chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'm here to express my strong support for providing state funding to the Vermont State Youth Council. I've had the privilege of working directly with several council members, and I've been consistently impressed by their engagement, preparation, and seriousness about public service. These students show up ready to learn, ready to listen, and ready to contribute meaningfully to our democratic process. The Youth Council was created to ensure that young Vermonters have a real voice in policymaking. It has already produced recommendations, testimony, public engagement. Today, it is requesting $140,000 in state funding to replace federal dollars, in part because of our growing concerns about censorship and restrictions tied to federal funding. This matters. When funding limits how young people can describe their experiences, express their identities, or discuss difficult issues, we undermine the very purpose of civic engagement. Democracy only works when people feel safe to speak honestly. State funding allows Vermont to protect youth privacy, support free expression, and promote the full diversity of our communities. It reflects our values at a time when federal policies do not always do so. This is a modest investment with lasting impact. It helps develop thoughtful, informed and engaged future leaders. I urge you to support this request and affirm Vermont's commitment to open dialogue, inclusion and youth leadership. Thank you.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Representative Burke, and then Chloe Tomlent.

[Rep. Molly Burke]: Thank you, Madam Chair. And before today, Representative Molly Burke of Brattleboro, I am here to support the request to appropriate 15,600,000.0 for the Farm and Forest Operations Security Special Fund in S60. I am the host sponsor of a companion bill to S60, H229, and one of the main sponsors, the Working Lands Bill in 2012, which has been extremely successful. I feel very strongly about supporting our agricultural sector, and therefore I support this request. This bill addresses problems of small diversified farms that are not well supported by federal programs. In fact, 9% of small farms can receive any of this kind of funding. We need to have a resilient local and regional food system in an era of unstable and increasingly erratic weather patterns. Some farms might have to go out of business without financial help that this could provide. And we've seen the impacts of flooding and drought over the last few years. This addresses collective our collective livelihoods, the livelihoods of farmers, and rural economies, among many other things. So, again, we're looking for 15,600,000.0, and thank you very much.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: And then Representative Emily Cresta.

[Rep. Chloe Tomlinson]: Good morning, everyone. I'm Chloe Tomlinson, representing Winooski. This is my first time before the committee. I'm really grateful for the opportunity to speak with you all today. And I'm here to urge you to support NOFA Vermont's request for $50,000 in funding to sustain Crop Cash, Crop Cash Plus, and the Farm Share programs. These are proven efficient programs that strengthen farm viability while also addressing food security. Food security in Vermont should mean that everyone can access fresh local foods and that our farmers can earn a fair living growing it. Crop Cash Plus and Farm Share both accomplish these goals at the same time. They help low income Vermonters to afford healthy local food while ensuring that Vermont farmers are paid for their products. FarmShare, has been serving Vermonters for over thirty years. And just as an example of their impact, last year, they served 1,600 Vermonters, and there was even still unmet need with a typical wait list of 75 to 100 families. Crop cash, which is available to anyone using SNAP, has also seen demand exceeding the available funding, so much so that the program has had to pause mid season in the past. And I can personally attest from my local farmers market seeing a lot of excitement and enthusiasm and uptake of the program. So this request would sustain existing programming and help to meet current demand. And this state funding really helps with leveraging federal dollars and philanthropic dollars, multiplying the impact of the investment. So by supporting this appropriation, you'll help ensure that Vermonters can access the food they need while strengthening the farmers who make our local food systems possible. So thank you all for your time and consideration.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Next we have Emily and then Jubilee Magyuf.

[Rep. Emily Kascenska]: Hello. For the record, representative Emily Kascenska, Chittenden, South Burlington. I'm here to ask for support for the free and referral clinics' requests to increase the maximum allowable value of their state grant by $925,000 The state grant for free and referral clinics is a $50.50 match with federal Medicaid dollars. So this request is for an additional 462,500 in general funds, which will be matched fifty fifty with federal Medicaid administrative funding. Legislative action is required to increase the maximum allowable value of the grant. Vermont's free and referral clinics, VFRC, serve as a statewide network of community based safety net providers. They provide medical, dental, and mental health services to Vermonters who lack health insurance or have inadequate coverage completely free of charge. Free referral clinics are prohibited under federal law from billing any public or private insurance plan, including Medicaid, making the state grant their only source of ongoing operational funding. These funds will stabilize operations and protect essential medical and healthcare services as federal actions make it harder for Vermonters to access affordable healthcare. This is our safety net as people lose coverage. Collectively, free and referral clinics serve more than 9,000 Vermonters annually, including our 3,000 uninsured individuals. In FY 'twenty five, they experienced a 40% increase in the number of people served, including more than 6,000 individuals over the age of 65. The majority of medical and dental providers are volunteers, including volunteer physicians, nurses, dentists, hygienists, behavioral health care professionals. These funds will ease staffing limitations and allow clinics to continue to provide timely care for more vulnerable Vermonters. As such, I'm asking you to please support the free and referral clinics request to increase the maximum allowable value of their state grant. Thank you.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Good job.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Jubilee McGill and then Mary Howard.

[Rep. Jubilee McGill]: Good morning, chair and members of the committee. I am Jubilee McGill. I represent Addison Five. And I'm speaking today in support of the $500,000 request for rural technical assistance for the Vermont Council on Rural Development. I represent four towns, three of which are rural, including my hometown, Bridgeport. And last year, our town participated in the VCRD community visit process, which we called Bridgeport Comes Together. What I witnessed was not just a series of meetings or a report. It was nearly 200 neighbors gathering together, sharing a meal, talking honestly about hard challenges, and deciding together what kind of future we want. We talked about what is hard in our town and what is hopeful. In a time when so much pulls communities apart, this process brought ours together. Through that process, residents identified two clear priorities, advancing housing solutions and improving community communication and events. More than 70 residents came back again to roll up their sleeves and form working groups, and they took ownership of the priorities. That kind of sustained civic engagement does not happen on its own. It takes skilled facilitation, structure, and follow through. VCRD provides that backbone support so towns can rediscover their own capacity. On housing, the work did not stop at conversation. VCRD has helped Bridgeport connect to technical experts, funding pathways, and peer communities. They help translate big statewide systems into something a small town can actually navigate. In rural Vermont, we do not lack ideas. We have a strong volunteer spirit, but limited bandwidth. VCRD helps build that capacity in a way that respects local voice, aligns with state goals, and results in a shared vision that communities can carry forward long after the facilitators leave. For Bridgeport, this process strengthens civic trust and government, and I urge you to support this $500,000 appropriation.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Thank you. Mary Howard? And then Esme Colt?

[Rep. Herb Olson]: Good

[Rep. Mary Howard]: morning, everyone. I am Mary Howard, and I represent City District 6. I am here today to ask for your support of the Vermont Parent Child Center Network, their request for an increase of 1,880,000.00 in their integrated grant. The 15 parent child centers located across the state are service hubs for families with young children, an actual place in the local community where families are always welcome and can get the support they need regardless of income or family circumstances. The centers are a place that families with young children can go to get the support and services they need to care for their children and to build stability and resiliency in their family. The centers work hard to build trust with the families they serve, so they feel safe coming to the centers no matter what is happening in their household. This strong bond of trust is even more important as a federal impact share of the safety net and make it more difficult to get all children off to a great start. The people in my parent's child center in Rutland are fantastic. The center is well located so families can access it. I like to go there myself. And I know that the work that they do is important for all our youngest Vermonters. The funding will also support this directly, part of the request for flexible funding for concrete supports, which is one of the core services that the centers are mandated to provide in their Vermont statute. Concrete supports are acute needs that, if addressed, can keep a family in stability or can move a family to stability. Final piece of the request is the proposal that you have seen to benefit of sisters. Thank you very much for listening, and I hope that you will support the Parent Child Centers. Thank you.

[Rep. Ian Goodnow]: Thank you.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Essex McCoyle is next, and then Michelle Boston.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Okay. Hello.

[Rep. Esme Cole]: Thank you. I'm representative Esmekola Hartford, and I'm on the Committee on Human Services. I'm here to ask that we reinstate and protect the $1,500,000 in Reach Up funding for designated agencies, which was removed in the governor's proposed FY twenty seven budget within the Department of Mental Health. Each up provides a financial benefit for families working towards stability, but the benefit alone is not enough for many participants. The reality is that mental health and substance use challenges are often the primary barriers, preventing people from maintaining work, caring for their families, and moving them toward long term independence. Through a partnership between economic services, Reach Up staff and designated agencies, specialized clinicians and wellness staff provide low barrier support to Reach Up participants across the state. Simply put, Reach Up provides the benefit, and DAs provide the services that makes assess success possible. Over 400 Vermonters each year are supported with mental health services through this model and will be affected by the proposed cut. I'm deeply concerned about ending the formal partnership that has benefited our state for well over a decade. Listening to members who have been, in this building much longer than myself, the establishment of this partnership was very intentional and cost effectively designed to fill in a gap in access to mental health services for Vermont's most vulnerable. It removes many of the administrative barriers associated with getting access to mental health care. It's proven successful. This program works because it meets people where they are. Services are flexible and relationship based, allowing individuals to engage without navigating a traditional intake process or waiting until they are already in crisis. The warm handoff between reach out case managers and community health providers builds trust first, then connects people to the right level of care, whether that is counseling, substance use treatment, or additional community support. These are vulnerable Vermonters who are often hesitant to seek treatment on their own. Without this partnership, many would disengage from services entirely, making it far more difficult to manage employment, achieve stability, or remain safely housed. I'll skip a part and say that I respectfully ask that the legislature restore the $1,500,000 in reach up funding to designated agencies so this proven partnership can continue helping Vermonters move towards stability, employment, and healthier lives. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thanks. Thank you.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Representative Boslin, and then Saudi Lamoille.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Who's not receiving?

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Who's signing?

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Okay.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Hello, I'm Michelle Boslin representing the Windham 3 District. I'm asking that you support an appropriation of $182,000 to the Agency of Education to be distributed among Vermont Child and Adult Care Food Program sponsor organizations as an incentive to participate as a sponsor in the program CACFP. This is the federal child nutrition program for early childhood programs. This program is the most equitable way for children in childcare settings across Vermont to be able to access nutrition while learning alongside their peers. Under federal program guidelines, a family child care home can only participate in the CACFP under an agreement with a sponsoring organization. In the state of Vermont, we have only three sponsoring organizations who cover very large geographic areas, and it makes it very difficult to complete paperwork and site visits for the two zero three family childcare homes participating in the program. Federal administrative funding does not cover the cost to these three organizations. It threatens their ability to continue in the program. This state investment of $182,000 would ensure that the state can continue to offer the CACFP to family childcare homes, getting more nutritious meals to our most young Vermonters. And I would also like to request that you fund the request for $611,625 to End Homelessness Vermont. This is in the budget for disability focused case management and concrete supports. I'm a person who has volunteered with and worked in our state's shelters, and I know the critical work that they do. EHBT provides trauma informed, peer led services to people experiencing homelessness with significant disabilities. They are the only organization in Vermont that is providing this specialized service. I hope you can fund both these requests. Thank you.

[Rep. Michael Mrowicki]: Representative

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Lamoille is on Zoom. And then James Masland?

[Rep. Monique Priestley]: And then

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: we have Kate open.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Yes, we see you, Saadia. Go ahead.

[Rep. Saudia LaMont]: Oh, thank you so much. Greetings, chair and members of the committee. Although my request is not significant in specific monetary value, it is in its gravity and moral standing. As you deliberate on this budget, I ask that we ground ourselves in our decision and lived experiences of Vermonters. Healthcare costs are rising, benefits are being reduced, property taxes are increasing, the cost of groceries, housing, utilities continues to climb. So I ask, who are the Vermonters we, the legislature, are trying to serve? We are serving an aging population of fixed incomes, working families, many of whom are stretched thin and some who are doing well. Amen to that. We are serving people of various identities, some with disabilities, caregivers, migrants, LGBTQ plus Vermonters, and communities of color who are already experiencing disparities in access, wealth, and health outcomes. I encourage you all to apply a serious lens of equity and fiscal responsibility as you move forward. We all have the tool of the probing equity questions at our disposal, which should be on the wall of every committee, and I will be providing an abbreviated version if you need it in your committee. To use as part of our decision making process, who benefits, who is burdened, who is left out, and how will anything we move forward impact those historically marginalized and underserved? We invest in our studies, we convene task force, we ask experts and community members for a recommendation. Let's honor their work by implementing the things that they have already told us, the data is there. Our budgets are our moral document, and I will just name a few: Land Access Opportunity Board, Human Rights Commission, our housing authorities, the programs that support our unhoused and unsheltered folks, people with peer experience, let's supplement the things that we are cutting so that Vermonters are not struggling. I will be submitting written testimony. Thank you for your time. Please use an equity lens.

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: Thank you.

[Leonora Dodge]: Thank you. Representative Jim Boswell?

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: I don't see him. How about Cake Nollen?

[Rep. Kate Logan]: Folks. Thanks so much for taking the time to hear from us. I am here to speak about one of the requests in our budget letter from the Committee on Environment that was especially important to me, which we put at the very bottom of the list. So I wanted to come and make sure it got a proper discussion. We put in the letter, and I would request, dollars 2,000,000 in base funding for the Healthy Homes Initiative. The initiative began with ARPA funding, and has continued with $4,000,000 of general funding that will be fully expended in the current fiscal year and was not included in the budget. So $0 for the Healthy Homes Initiative. It serves low and moderate income homeowners who have critical water quality needs on their properties, so wastewater systems, drinking water systems, and storm water management projects. I say low and moderate income households, but the program only serves households with income under $65,000 In Chittenden County, households of every size are considered low income if they're earning $65,000 a year. And in most of the state, they miss it by a couple thousand dollars. A one person household earning $62,500 or less a year is considered low income on average in the state. So it serves low income homeowners. So we've heard stories of just a couple of examples. A household whose wells, whose well did not provide enough water for the children to bathe. We heard a story about an older couple who had to leave the water running in order for the pipes not to freeze. But one of the couple had dementia, and so would shut the water off, and then the pipes would freeze. And then they'd have to have neighbors come over and help them unfreeze the pipes, and so continually had no drinking water in the home. And the average project is about $30,000 And there are four fifty households in queue right now who won't be served if we don't fund the program. You.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Please submit that in writing for us so we

[Martha "Marty" Feltus (Vice Chair)]: have it. Absolutely. Okay, great.

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Thank you very much. Okay, so we will pause for just a moment. Representative Massillon is on his way. While we're waiting for him, just a reminder, we'll be back at lunch with those bills day.

[Leonora Dodge]: The PCB one is after lunch, and

[Robin Scheu (Chair)]: so maybe one other one. And then this will give you some time also to work on your budgets and think about if we can find