Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: You're all awake. Afternoon. It's still afternoon. This is the House Appropriations Committee. It is Friday, 03/20/2026. It is 05:30PM, and we are on the homestretch of the budget. Grady is back with more language. And I'm going to turn it over to you, Grady. What you have for us?

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Thank you, Madam Chair. Grady Nixon Joint Fiscal. So on the first page here, this is something that the Joint Fiscal Office realized may be necessary. In Act 27, there was language related to the reduction of federal funds.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Do we have this? Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just not finding it. All right. This is the 05:07PM. Thank you.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Yes. Correct. So in Act 27, there is language relating to the reduction of federal funds and, what the secretary of administration should put forward as a proposal to the joint fiscal committee in the event of such reductions, and also suggest utilizing the $50,000,000 appropriation in act 27 section b 11 o one b two. That language as it was in act 27 only applied to fiscal year 2026. So essentially, what this language does is, put continue that authority and that structure for addressing federal fund reductions in fiscal years 2027, 2028, and 2029.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Thank you. We did want to continue to get that information beyond one year. Everybody okay with that? On

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: page four. So this is the updated language from legislative council on the high end system facilities for youth. So, I would just flag for the committee where it says on line eight, fourteen bed, that should be changed to 41 bed.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Oh, that's a big difference.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Because it's correct, Bluemle referring to the entire system of care, not just the beds at the youth campus.

[Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson]: Oh, okay.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: So this is the negotiating language on that consultation from AHS, or from DCF and BGS to, the House Standing Committees of jurisdiction on the resumption of expenditures pending the written report.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Everybody okay with that? Alright.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: On page five, this is the language that, representative Yacovone and, the madam chair flagged that was in the house human services letter. And this was revised by legislative council. So this, language just, makes it permissive rather than directive when it comes to this waiver amendment.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Oh, this is about the reinsurance? Yes.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: It was in the health care letter.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: It was, they were okay. Okay. Great. Dave, you're okay with this? Yes. Okay, thank you.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: On page six, this is the House Human Services language relating to HIVAIDS funding and harm reduction services.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: This reflects the committee's language. So we fixed it up and we had the right numbers, the right amounts to the right organizations?

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Yes. So the the committee letter, had a 110,000 going to the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, and that's just to align with the fiscal year 2026 numbers for act 74, it should be one fifteen. So just increasing that to 115,000. Otherwise, it's the same as, what was recommended by housing and services. Alright.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: We're gonna take that.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: On page eight, we sent the act 167 Wyman report adapted for, Dale, and DAs and SSAs to, legislative counsel for their review. You'll see that the committee's request to include the Department of Health and the Department of Mental Health has been added to this. And then the office of legislative council, made some tweaks just to reflect that this is a request that Dale look into the engagement process and what that would take rather than, actually launch into that engagement process now. So this is just removing some of that language that was in act one sixty seven when the that engagement process was actually kicking off with the language, whereas this is just saying, look into it and let us know what you would need in the future for that.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Right. So it doesn't just send them along to go do it. Correct.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: I don't

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: want them to do that yet. Yeah. Mhmm. Alright.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: On page 10, this is the requested edition of the choices for care FY '28 budget language. So this directs Dale in FY '28 to present as separate line items, the choices for care program and skilled nursing facility services.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: That's good.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: And then on page 11, I would just flag for the committee. This is a rough draft that perhaps Lumley may be better disposed to speak on than I am. But this relates to the allocation of funding for the supervised visitation program that the committee would have in its budget. So this language, will be worked on over the weekend by the Josh fiscal office and the office of legislative council, but this is a substantive representation of the legislative intent for those funds.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: So we talked about a 125,000, so help me out here. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was maybe it was rounded up on a spreadsheet. Yes, 1,000. Didn't realize. One five thousand. It's 125,000. Yeah. Okay. Well, we'll just make that change. Number would be changed? It's in the middle of the first paragraph. It says 130. Okay. So it's just 125. But I We have 130? We have 130 on the spreadsheet. Well, that's because it's 1.25 rounded up. They do 1.3. I see. But if we have that, let's do 130. It'll be 130. Just leave it up to you. Okay. Is the problem with the spreadsheets, because you don't really know what the number is, right? This is loosely based on what the language that human services had in this letter. But the numbers are different, and I just wanted Katie and Teresa to figure out what you've done there. So they're working on Thank you. Lynn? Okay, you have a whole bunch

[Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson]: of dollar signs in here. What are those numbers? Are they already in the budget? Are they existing? The $3.67 and the other?

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: There are three different sets of funds that flow into this program. One is from the Center for Victim Crime Services, which is at $137.05 that will go to DCF. There's $100,000 in federal funds that's already in the child support office that it goes to this fund, and then our $130,000 That all totals 367,005 and allocated in these ways subject to the approval of the chair of human services. Okay, yeah. All right. That's what

[Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson]: I saw, but I just wanted to make sure. And so that's not approved yet. We're still going to

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: be looking at that today. Well over this weekend yeah because we yes yeah I just I haven't been in been able to reach chair wood for that those numbers so she's not available okay no she'll be in touch I will. Okay.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: The final thing I would flag for the committee, which is not in this packet, was the mention of the VSAC aspirational initiative, changing the maximum allowable use of their preparation for that program from 300,000 to 400,000. I believe representative Kascenska touched base and is supportive of that request.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Right. Several of us have talked about it. It's no change to the budget. But every year, their base budget goes up by 3%. But that 300,000 hasn't changed in many, many years. And so they just want to be able to use up to 400,000 So within the confines of their budget, there's no new money. It's just giving them some spending authority and money.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: So you won't see that in the packet, but you'll see it in the bill on Monday. Okay.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Okay. Is there any other language that anybody thinks should be in here that they remember that they needed to do, too? I've already forgotten, is the rental arrears language still in July? Do we need any language related to that budget?

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: It's my understanding that there will be a one time appropriation for that in the budget.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Should we have the language for that

[Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson]: in the budget too? It is in there.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: The language for the budget? No, it's in the budget. Oh, the dollar amounts in the budget. Yeah, we wanna be sure the language is in the Somewhere there needs to be language that describes it, I guess. I think we should put that in the language in the budget. So that would come from 70 Yeah. 2, And then, yeah, so then there's some spreadsheets. So Brady, thank you. You think you have everything you need from us at this point?

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: I believe so, yes. So there will be the addition of the July language. And then on that note, also the language from May and September.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Yes. The May is the Medicaid stuff going to the HCV services.

[Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson]: And what's the other one?

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: The continuum of

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: That's right. We have a big thing for you to work on. Okay.

[Grady Nixon (Joint Fiscal Office)]: Thank you.

[Rep. Robin Scheu (Chair)]: Thank you, Grady. So we have Kelly next. Why don't we each go off live and we'll get back on live in a couple of