House proposals add $84.6 million in base spending, reserve $10 million for emergency housing

For the record, Emily Burn, Joint Fiscal Office, told the Vermont House Appropriations Committee on April 1 that the presentation would “walk through the 2026 budget as passed by the House” and the FY2025 changes that feed into it.

The committee heard that the House version of the FY2026 budget adds $84,600,000 in base changes compared with the governor’s proposals and assumes the FY2025 budget adjustment on the Senate floor as a starting point. Emily Burn said the House used that assumed FY2025 carryforward and other shifts to create the starting fiscal picture for FY2026.

Why it matters: the House package reallocates one‑time and base funds across housing, childcare, public safety and health programs and trims several proposals the governor had recommended. Those choices affect how much general fund capacity is available for one‑time projects, and they determine the reserve balances that the state will carry into FY2026.

Key numbers and near‑term effects

- The House briefed the committee under the assumption that the FY2025 budget adjustment would leave about $133,500,000 on the bottom line going into FY2026, and that the House version adds roughly $10,000,000 more in available sources for FY2025 than the governor’s adjustment alone. Burn summarized that the governor’s base changes totaled about $60,000,000 while the House’s base changes total $84,600,000.

- The House set aside $10,000,000 in base funds for H.91, the emergency housing bill; the appropriation is included as base money to support a transition in the bill’s new structure.

- On reserves, the…