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 Joint Fiscal Office reported projected general‑fund reserves at the end of FY2026 of about $328,000,000 in total: a stabilization reserve around $118,000,000, a rainy‑day/balance reserve of roughly $98,100,000 and a human‑services caseload reserve of roughly $91,800,000.

Major program changes described

Housing and housing finance

The House reinstated or shifted several housing items that the governor had proposed differently. Emily Burn noted the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board requests and the House’s additions and one‑time grants for municipal flood relief; she said some VHCB items included in earlier drafts of the FY2025 adjustment were not carried forward into the FY2025 line in the House package. The House also reduced some VHFA proposals (for example, lowering a Bank program from the governor’s request) and moved parts of the VHIP proposal from base to one‑time while trimming some positions.

Child care and early learning

House changes include a 4.5% rate increase for infant and toddler providers in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP). Burn explained that the House preserved roughly $4.5–$5.0 million in general fund support (reducing the amount shifted to the childcare special fund) so the rate increase can be sustained; the effect is about $5 million less shifted to special funds than the governor proposed.

Health care and provider rates

House actions include targeted rate increases for community providers and home‑and‑community‑based services (AHS/global commitment). Burn detailed a package of provider‑rate changes that will draw federal match, including a $6,780,000 global‑commitment investment tied to home and community‑based services and a 2% base rate increase for some community providers that will draw down roughly $12,140,000 in total funds across AHS. The House also left certain grants or programs in place that the governor proposed cutting.

PCB testing and remediation funding

Representative Robin Shy, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, explained why the House cut the governor’s proposed $9,500,000 transfer for Department of Environmental Conservation PCB work roughly in half. “We asked the Department of Environmental Conservation for over two months for … what the projects were, what they would be doing. And we never got an answer,” Shy said, and the committee reduced the FY2026 transfer by $4,000,000 while leaving remediation and later testing as items the Legislature will revisit if the department provides projects and timelines.

Public safety and recovery services

The House did not move forward with the governor’s proposed Recovery Campus pilot in base; a number of recovery‑oriented line items were handled as one‑time appropriations or deferred to separate bills that the House wants to align with opioid settlement or other funding. The House did add one‑time funding for recovery residences and transitional housing, and kept $2,000,000 in one‑time shelter‑capacity funding and $30,500,000 in one‑time emergency housing support tied to H.91.

Transportation and other transfers

The House accepted a transfer approach that preserves money the transportation fund needs, including a longstanding transfer change the committee described as a large item in prior years. The House also included $1,000,000 to initiate a mileage‑based user‑fee pilot through the Agency of Transportation; other EV and charging station appropriations are in the bill and are drawn from transportation funds and interdepartmental transfers rather than general fund spending.

Process and next steps

Representative Robin Shy said the House received hundreds of requests at two public hearings and from legislators and nonprofits; she emphasized the committee had more than seven dollars of asks for every dollar available in the governor’s “wish list.” Shy said the House prioritized housing and health‑care stabilization, and added guardrails on some appropriations — for example, joint fiscal committee approval before certain education transformation funds can be released.

Emily Burn reminded the committee that the House package assumes the FY2025 budget adjustment that was on the Senate floor; changes in the Senate’s action on the FY2025 adjustment will affect several figures in the FY2026 starting point. The committee indicated it will continue reviewing the web report detail line by line and will convene additional briefings if departments provide clarifying project lists (the appropriations committee specifically asked for more detail from DEC on PCB project lists before restoring funds).

Sources: Joint Fiscal Office briefing to the House Appropriations Committee; remarks by Emily Burn, Joint Fiscal Office, and Representative Robin Shy, Chair, House Appropriations Committee.