House Appropriations schedules Monday review of education finance; committee to track federal grants, tariff-linked revenue risks

The House Appropriations Committee on Friday set a 4 p.m. Monday hearing to review the education finance proposal and said it will step up tracking of federal grants and potential revenue impacts following recent tariff-related disruptions.

The committee chair announced the Monday meeting time and said the committee expects to receive the final education finance bill on Tuesday, when members will run through the bill and vote. "So put it in your calendars and pencil, and, for 04:00 on Monday to hear the from Julia Richter on the ed finance piece," the chair said. The chair added the committee will "have a run through of the bill" once it has the finalized language and noted staff will flag any changes that occurred over the weekend.

The committee also confirmed it circulated a spreadsheet to all state agencies seeking information about federal grants, and staff will begin booking agency briefings as early as Tuesday. "We sent out the email, Erin sent it out to Sarah Clark, who's we're confirming that it's now gone out to all state agencies on the question of federal grants and the spreadsheet," the chair said.

Members discussed recent disruptions that could affect state revenues and grant-funded services. Committee members cited a notice that a five-year grant to the Vermont Humanities Council (referred to in the meeting as a recent grant pull) had been withdrawn. The chair said smaller grant recipients will be contacted first because they are "not as complicated for them to respond." A committee member asked whether the administration is tracking downstream effects of tariffs and other federal actions on subgrantees and nonprofit service providers; the chair said those are questions to raise when agencies appear before the committee.

Committee members also raised near-term revenue risks to the state general fund. One member noted the possible effect of falling stock-market gains on estimated personal income tax payments and said personal income tax is the state—s largest general fund revenue source. The member said, "What a lot of people don't think about, is the fact that stock market gains ... do impact their income taxes, and their estimated tax payments," and warned that changes in those payments could chill general fund receipts.

Tourism-related revenue also drew attention. Members reported cancellations by Canadian visitors and cited a 20% cancellation rate at Jay ski area, saying reduced rooms-and-meals and sales-and-use tax receipts would affect the education fund. The committee discussed scheduling briefings from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, the Department of Tourism and other economic development and housing agencies to assess the scope of impacts.

The committee did not take any formal votes during the session. Members reiterated that Monday—s hearing will be an opportunity to ask detailed questions about the education finance proposal and that the finalized bill will be reviewed again when it arrives on Tuesday.

The chair closed the meeting by reminding members of the Monday 4 p.m. session and noting a page ceremony on the floor later in the week.