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House Appropriations adopts 12 technical amendments to FY26 budget bill
Summary
The Vermont House Appropriations Committee on March 26 approved a package of 12 technical corrections to the draft fiscal-year budget bill to fix program names, grammar, cross-references and implementation dates; the committee took a roll-call “strong poll” and recorded assent from attending members.
Madam Chair of the House Appropriations Committee on March 26 introduced and the committee approved a package of 12 technical amendments to the draft fiscal-year budget bill to correct program names, grammar, cross-references and dates.
The Joint Fiscal Office analyst Grady Nixon told the committee, “These are technical in nature,” and ran through each amendment: corrections to program and board names in the JFO Bud Plus report, hyphenation and apostrophe fixes, an updated program name, an authorization clarification for limited-service positions, a date change for a general assistance emergency housing provision, and several wording changes to align appropriation language across sections.
The amendments matter because they ensure the bill’s text aligns with implementing language elsewhere in the code and with program names used by state agencies. Several changes affect how appropriation language reads in web reports and how programs are referenced across the bill; one change shifts a program implementation date to July 1 to match FY26 parameters, and another clarifies that no new funds are being added for certain position continuations.
Key corrections presented to the committee included:
- JFO Bud Plus name correction: the web reporting system was updated to reflect the name change from the Natural Resources Board to the Land Use Review Board in the bill text as presented to the committee.
- Department of Vermont Health Access: struck an incorrect apostrophe-s in the agency name in the global commitment appropriation language.
- Vermont Housing Finance Agency programs: hyphenation of “middle-income” in the Homeownership Development Program title and an update reflecting the Vermont Housing Improvement Program’s relaunch as “Vermont Housing Improvement 2.”
- Residential Universal Design Study Committee: language in the DHCD one-time appropriation was aligned with the housing bill H.479 so the committee name reads “Residential Universal Design Study Committee.”
- VIDA: the abbreviation VIDA was corrected and noted to stand for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance rather than “Vermont Income Tax Assistance.”
- Limited-service positions: language was added to ensure the nine limited-service positions at the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs may be continued through the coming fiscal year by using vacancy savings; as the chair noted, “So there’s no new money.” The transcript refers to $650,000 in relation to vacancy savings.
- General assistance emergency housing: the implementation date in section E.3.1 was changed by striking “September 15” and inserting “July 1” so the FY26 program parameters (including the room cap) take effect on July 1.
- Cross-reference and wording fixes: corrected a stray comma following “aging in Dale”; fixed language referencing where funds are appropriated (B section rather than the E section) for physician claims under global commitment; standardized references to the Vermont State Teachers Retirement System; and adjusted capitalization and wording for the Vermont State College Allied Health entry to align with other appropriations language.
Committee procedure and next steps: the chair said a clean copy of the amended bill will be sent to the clerk and posted on the committee website; the revised bill will be part of the budget presentation the following day. The committee noted that Ways and Means will add related items and that the body intends to take a floor vote on H.91 the following day, giving members an opportunity to consult with Human Services staff if needed.
The committee took a roll-call “strong poll” on proceeding with these technical amendments; the roll call recorded the following attending members as voting “yes”: Representative Willey; Representative Dickinson; Representative Harrison; Representative Kosenska; Representative Novoiki; Representative Nigro; Representative Floral; Representative Stevens; Representative Iaccalone; and Representative Shai. The committee recorded the motion as approved and directed staff to prepare the clean copy for the clerk.
The changes are framed as drafting and clerical corrections rather than policy changes. The committee and JFO emphasized the edits are intended to align nomenclature and cross-references so that the bill text and the web report read consistently and reflect program names and appropriation locations accurately.
