Just before the 2018
legislative session ended at 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 12th, the
Vermont House concurred with the Senate, which had adjourned several hours
earlier, to pass H.924, the state budget, on a vote of 117 to 14. Back in January Governor Scott stated that he
would not let state spending rise more than the growth in the state's
economy. He also said that he wants to
improve affordability, protect the most vulnerable Vermonters, and grow the
economy of Vermont. Although the budget that was passed by the House and Senate
meets those criteria, the Governor has stated that he intends to veto it
anyway.
The Legislature has the
responsibility to create a budget that maintains all the services provided by
state government to keep our society and infrastructure strong. These services include the goals voiced by
the Governor as well as providing a high quality and efficient educational
system. The 176 page budget itself contains not only the appropriated amounts
for every agency and department in the executive, legislative and judicial
branches of state government, but also directions on how certain appropriations
are to be spent to support all of the laws and legislation that was passed
during the current session.
Total spending includes
revenues raised by the state (38%) and federal funds, which contribute about
half of the money spent on Vermont governance. While the entire budget
increased 0.8%, less than half the rate of inflation, the increase in state
spending accounted for just a 0.5% increase.
This is well within the parameters set by the Governor. The legislature,
through its standing committees, also addressed the social goals of protecting
vulnerable Vermonters, improving affordability, developing our workforce and
economy and improving Vermont's fiscal health.
Instead of using the $58M of one-time money for ongoing expenses as
proposed by the Governor, the legislature targeted it to one-time expenses that
achieve more than $100M in future savings for Vermont taxpayers. Listed below
are initiatives in the budget that support these goals.
Protecting Vulnerable
Vermonters
·
Reverses the
Administration's proposed cuts to programs that help workers improve their
skills;
·
Reverses the
Administration's cuts to programs for the elderly, persons with severe
disabilities, and home health services like the VNA, Meals on Wheels, etc.;
·
Provides funding
for the PFOA cleanup and monitoring in the Bennington area;
·
Provides funding
for strategic reform in the handling of child welfare cases, especially in
response to the opioid epidemic;
·
Reverses the
Administration's cuts to primary care doctors and community health clinics;
·
Increases the
number of mental health beds at the Brattleboro Retreat;
·
Provides
medication assisted treatment for addicted inmates in corrections facilities
and help for their re-entry to society after incarceration; and
- Provides $1M for tobacco control programs with special focus on pregnant women.
Affordability
Initiatives
·
Reverses the
proposed elimination of the loan repayment program that makes it attractive for
medical professionals to practice in Vermont;
·
Maintains cost
sharing assistance for health insurance deductibles and out of pocket costs for
6,100 working families;
·
Supports child
care assistance for working families by increased provider reimbursements, by
grant programs for providers with a high volume of subsidized children, and by
updated eligibility standards linked to the Federal Poverty Levels; and
- Increases funding for Individual Development Accounts for low-income workers.
Economic and Workforce
Development
·
Increases
compensation for staff at mental health clinics and other direct service
agencies and increase the number of mental health workers;
·
Increases funding
to the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps to serve more out of school youth;
·
Provides funding
for the Micro-Business Development Support program;
·
Provides interest
buy-down assistance for Vermont dairy farms with VEDA loans and premium
assistance under the new Federal Margin Protection Program;
·
Funds full
tuition at the State College rate (or at UVM) for National Guard members
attending public or private colleges;
·
Provides
financial assistance to Vermont students pursuing health-related careers at
UVM;
·
Increases funding
for the Working Lands program which has a historical 4:1 Return On Investment;
·
Authorizes the
Treasurer to use $5M of revolving state funds to expand home weatherization
loans;
·
Funds assistance
and training to Vermont employers to support workplace requirements compliance;
and
·
Provides funding
for an additional year of state marketing efforts and the Vermont Outdoor
Recreation initiative.
Improving Vermont's
Fiscal Health
The budget uses the $58M of
one-time money for the following purposes:
·
Pays down the
retired teachers' pension liability by $34M which will earn Vermont taxpayers
over $100M in interest that is currently lost by underfunding;
·
Pays off the
Vermont Life Magazine Enterprise fund deficit and obligations due to the
termination of the magazine by the Administration;
·
Strengthens
Vermont's fiscal reserves as required by law by
Ø
fully funding the
Caseload, Rainy Day, 27/53 Payroll, and Education reserve funds and
Ø
consolidating
disparate reserve funds to improve visibility to rating agencies and improve usefulness
to the state (high ratings reduce interest rates Vermont has to pay on bonds it
issues);
·
Restructures and
simplifies the Education and General funds by eliminating the General fund
transfer to the Education Fund and reallocating revenues and expenditures.
