Meetings
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[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: We're live. Alright.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Welcome back, everybody, to House Energy and Digital Infrastructure. It's Wednesday, April 29, and we have been working on a memo to finance commissioner Adam that just sort of follows up on the testimony we took about the agency of digital services budget, the way it's structured going forward. And we, in our letter to approves back in February, were largely okay with it, but we had some concerns. And so we decided at that time we would send a follow-up memo to commissioner Gresham when we had time, and here we are. So I'm rep Kathleen James from Manchester.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Scott Campbell from Saint Johnsbury. Richard Bailey, one one zero two. Chris Morrow, Windham, Windsor of Bennington. Michael Caledonia two. Christopher Howland, Dublin four.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Dara Torre, Washington two. Bram Kleppner, Chittenden 13 for Arlington.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Great. And any word from Rep. Sibilia? No. Okay. She read it and signed off, so I think she she had another meeting. So I think I think we're good. And joining us in the room? Hi. I'm Katie Kieran.
[Katie Kieran (Action Circle)]: I'm with Action Circle. Great. Thank you for being here. Alright. So just to remind folks, our our independent consultant who works for JFO had drafted an initial letter for us.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: I wanted to put it in to language that felt more accessible to me, which I may or may not have succeeded in doing. So we talked about the letter with Lisa. We talked about it as a committee. I took notes. I promised to redraft it, and that is what I've done. So if everybody has it in their inbox and it's also posted on our webpage. If you go to our webpage there's a tab called other documents and in other documents there's a folder called FY twenty seven budget and this draft is in there. So, rep Southworth pointed out a type a typo. I fixed that. Does anybody have comments on the letter? Do you guys wanna walk through it? Or do you wanna just take a minute to read?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Good to meet you. Trying to get a couple of other things. I guess, would say, I still feel concerned that we're not going to have a clear view of expenses, so IT expenses. This lays out the letter lays out the concern also and and and expectations about how that will be resolved, but will it be resolved? So I I I guess concern. That's a
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah. So well, let me get my foot.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: I I don't is there a way that you could envision it wording differently? Well, no. I was about to say, I don't know that we can word it even better. Mean Well,
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: there's one thing we could do.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Sorry. We
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: could refer and I was I was gonna do this, and I I kinda I kinda glossed over it. But we had talked about me specifically referring to the language in the house passed budget that rep Southworth sent along. It requires ADS and finance to provide a written plan to our committees on how to reduce the deficit in the information technology internal service fund, including information on revenues to and expenditures from the fund. So what I did not do was look to see if that language is still in the budget.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: No problem. I don't know
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: why the senate would have taken it out, but I'm
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: still the budget.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Oh, No. That's h nine five one. K.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Oh.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Right?
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: No. It is
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. It looks to me like the senate passed the budget today.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Yep. Oh, okay.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Is that not what you're saying?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: That's is what you're saying. And came in in the middle of the floor.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah. And it's it's lobby back to us. So but they it looks like they haven't even posted yet. Let's see here. Plenty of activity. Good boy. I'm not sure I wanna go looking for it right now. Anyway, to address Scott's concern, I could do what what I remember now that I said I was gonna do more explicitly, which is to specifically refer to this language in the in the budget and say we look forward to seeing that report.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Sure.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. What I need to do is figure out exactly where that was in the budget because a little bit of it when it came over from Mike got cut off. So we do have to find it.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: And
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: I could just add it at the bottom. I know it'll make the letter a little redundant, but I'm not sure.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Right? Section e. Perfect. Something wrong with that. Okay.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Activity. Senate probes. It's gonna be as past
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: as past probes. It's gonna be.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: So there was a floor amendment.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: I don't. I mean, virtual.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Technical amendments?
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Oh, just called.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. I have Wait. This is It's hard, isn't it? Yes. It's really hard. I I have as intro I found as introduced, but that's not
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: time. Right. I've got it in the calendar.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Yeah. There's lot of A lot of it. So this might get some.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. Let's just find it in house past
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Okay. And refer to that. So Let's see here.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: The section e one zero five point one.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Yes. In section Can you please? 105.1 h
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: 951. I'm just gonna say it's past the house.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: Yeah. I don't see it in the amendment. Okay. Oh. They they start with e three one six. Okay.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: In section e one zero five point one of h nine five one is past the house.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Yeah. Requires
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: EDS
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: consultation with PFM to provide a written plan. From legislative committees.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Reports for the revenues to expenditures from Yeah. And the funds balance at fiscal year closeout for the previous and fiscal years. Great.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: They'll love that. Provide a written plan to our legislative committees on.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: The deficit. In the information
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: I don't I'm sorry.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Acknowledging by SF.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: As well as recommended changes to Right.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Revenge sources. Support the from the fund. Good god. This is a lot of work. Our revenues too and Yes. From the home, comma, and the funds funds balance That Yeah. It's not
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Well, it seems really robust.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Close out
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: for the previous and the fiscal years. Okay. I know this isn't all the words, but, Mike, are you looking at it right now?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Bring it on my graph.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. I'm gonna read back what I've boiled it down to. Let me know if I missed something important. Okay? Because this is really repetitive, I know.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: That's a good one.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. So I said section EDot105.1 of H95D H951 has passed the house on XX. I'll add the date. Requires ADS in consultation with DFM. I'll spell those out. To provide a written plan to relevant legislative committees.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: I'm gonna put the date on or before January 1 There. Oh, sorry. Okay. 01/15/2027. This
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: plan will address how to reduce the deficit in the information technology ISF as well as recommended changes. And this is where it gets really repetitive, but to revenue sources to and expenditures from the fund. The report shall also include information on revenues to and expenditures from the fund and the funds balance at fiscal year closeout for the previous ten fiscal years.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: It seems unusual. Might be a time period, doesn't it?
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah. Well, I we're just quoting what's in the budget. So what I was gonna say was something along the lines of Something along the lines of and I'll say it figure out a better way to say it. But even if this language isn't in the budget, when it reaches the governor's desk, this is testimony we'd like to request. So, Steve, expect to hear from us on this or something. Does that sound okay? Does that
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: So, yes, I just wanna ask a clarifying question on the IT ISS. It seems like that would cover all expenditures on IT, doesn't it? Because it's all done through the service is fine. Is it done? Or no, I guess there's also there may also be separate allocations.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah. You going back to
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: the I'm trying to
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: the broader questions of all the funds they're creating and stuff?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: No, I'm I'm going back to the broader question of are we capturing does this capture? Oh okay. Well and maybe it doesn't because there's the there's also the what is it called? The IT information modernization or IT modernization fund, which is a separately allocated money and one time money. I don't know whether that goes through an internal service fund or not. Is anybody No. No.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: I I will say, privately, I I am relying on Lisa here a little bit to make sure that the wording is correct and a lot of this keeps
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: K. So and, you know, people sitting in this chair, this in this chair, thanks to your face. Find other things to ask. Right. Yeah. One of the issues with the language, I don't know if you've always been there, but it says on it, we started with honor before January 15. That's when they're supposed to give us that. 2027 is when they're supposed to give us a report, but then the last sentence is, and also revenues and expenditures from the fund and the estimated fund balance at fiscal year twenty twenty seven closeout. I mean, that's six months down the road from. Yes. Lord. That's to me, it's very ambiguous. It it where is that? It's in the The last sentence of that of the college age. Household. Just Yeah.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: How about just
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Well, this is on this is in page one nine fifty nine fifty one. Page one twenty four, line seven eight. You're looking at a different graph. I'm looking ahead and passed by the house. So I nope. Nope. Wow. I don't know. Yes. You're right, doc. He's Okay. I Very good. I missed the job. He's a good Oh, he says he estimated fund balance. Yeah. So Never be true, though. Okay. I can estimate it. Yeah.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: So what are you saying?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: That's Yeah. No. That is fine.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. Okay. So and then I'm adding something about we realize, you know, we don't know if this final report is gonna make it across the finish line, but but if not we hope it does, but if not, we'll call you in for testimony. I'll say it politely.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Graduate. That's fine.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Does that sound good?
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Yes. Okay.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: So I'm gonna wrap this up. I'm gonna see if I can cut a few words. I know it's very wordy, but I'd rather make sure everything is in there than miss something. Yeah. And then I do want Lisa to see it to make sure everything's accurate. We didn't miss anything before we send it off so you guys will all see it again. Alright.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Sounds good.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: So then we are done for the day. Let me look at the updated agenda. Oh, yeah. So tomorrow, we've got testimony on net metering from about nine to 10:30. And just to to provide an overview of why we're even taking this topic up. So, think everybody on the committee's probably seen the testimony that's come in from the Department of Public Service and also I think from Renewable Energy Vermont. So, there's an open proceeding right now before the PUC on net metering rates. And the Department of Public Service has weighed in with its recommendation. And solar developers and renewable energy Vermont are opposed to the department's recommendations. So my original idea was that we would get everybody in to testify, but, DPS, and the PUC understandably don't want to come testify because it's an open proceeding. So DPS instead provided that written testimony that we'll post and or may already have posted, And we all have in our inbox. And then, Renewable Energy Vermont and sort of the advocates of solar developers here in our state are gonna come in to testify tomorrow. So, basically, we're just trying to hear both sides of the of the issue. If anybody is interested in filing a public comment, anybody can do that. And, you go to e p u c. You search by case number, and the case number is in the, DPS's thing. Then when you pull up the case, you click on the public comment tab, and then the public comment tab has a drop down box, and you select add comment. I think that's what it's called. Any of us can file a public comment on this topic if we want to as as Vermonters.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: So this is nothing that we're we're just hearing what they're saying about the TUC.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yeah, there's nothing we
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: we're You have bill.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: You bet. We had a bill.
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: It is kinda interesting though because the department is recommending that the PUC do this wholesale revisiting, and I don't know whether that's a question for the legislature. Do we wanna direct that with some goals and things? Yeah. That I mean, that's the one piece Well that would obviously be a next term.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: I I was gonna say, yeah, it's obviously too late for this year. Mean, we took a run at that metering with each something or other. That would be And, you know, so, yeah, it's too late to it's really just informational. It's good information. Yeah. So so that whoever's here next year, if anybody wants to take another crack at net metering and, you know, direct the PUC to do x y or z or, you know, change the way we do net metering or take up community solar or look at solar siding or whatever. But I just thought we should be I thought I just thought we should kinda formally tune in. Yeah. And I actually I found because
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: I was like, well, what are other states doing? And I found that Connecticut's equivalent of the PSC just did a report in January, kind of along these lines. And I thought if anybody wants to see it, I'll share it. This is kinda helpful to see the way another state has approached.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Why don't you send it to somebody when post it? Yeah. I'd like to
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: see it. I've got it.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: You got it.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Yeah.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Anyway, that's what we're up to. That's why.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: Think we're doing ERP tomorrow as well?
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yes. K.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: What? The enterprise resource planning?
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Yes.
[Rep. R. Scott Campbell (Vice Chair)]: That's.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Oh, and sorry. At 10:30, we're voting on s two zero two. Everybody has the final draft in their inbox. And then, yes, ERP. So ERP update there. So we do have written testimony from the agency of transportation, and director Morris is coming in. Right now? She confirmed.
[Alex (Committee Assistant)]: Yes. Yeah.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: Okay. And then we have written testimony from VDAL, but they're not able to come in because they have
[Rep. Dara Torre (Clerk)]: They have a conference.
[Rep. Kathleen James (Chair)]: A conference or something they're attending this week. So I invited them for next week, and I'm not sure if Alex has heard back yet. So tomorrow's probably just gonna be I think we should wait to talk about the VDOL testimony until they come. So tomorrow will probably just be AOT, And then I think that's all we have. Do we have anything after the floor tomorrow? I don't think so. No. Okay.