The House Appropriations Committee voted March 21 to adopt a committee amendment that removes appropriations and several program sections from the emergency management bill H397 and to report a separate bill, H472, that requests one-time general-fund support for a staffing position in the Office referenced in the bill.

Tucker Anderson, legislative counsel, told the committee, “You have in front of you draft 1.2 of the committee's amendment to H397,” and said the amendment removes three instances of appropriations language, including section 6 (positions added to the division of emergency management), section 9 (the Vermont community radio program), and the appropriations section from the committee’s report.

The committee chair moved adoption of draft 1.2 as the committee amendment to H397. The amendment passed in committee by a recorded tally of 7-0-0. Committee members then moved to report H397 as amended to the next stage of consideration; the committee voted to report the bill (vote tally not specified in the transcript).

Committee members and staff said the practice of removing appropriations language from individual bills and consolidating funding decisions into the chamber’s larger budget package is typical. Tucker Anderson and other members explained the sections removed from H397 will remain subject to budget-level decisions: if funding is restored it will be placed in the larger appropriations bill rather than in the standalone bill.

Separately, the committee considered H472, described in the transcript as the “OPR bill.” Committee discussion focused on a request in that bill for a single position funded at $170,000 for one year from the general fund, with the bill proposing later funding from a special fund or by backfilling that special fund if it runs a deficit. Members debated whether to fund the position for only one year from general funds or to allow the special fund to run a temporary deficit so the position could be funded immediately from non‑general resources.

Committee members discussed the broader fiscal context, including revenue impacts tied to professional compacts and changing fee structures that have reduced some special-fund revenues. One member noted the state had not anticipated some of those long-term effects when compacts were originally approved and that the result has been pressure on previously self-sustaining fee funds. Another member characterized the requested position as “important” to manage program growth and coordination across multiple credentialing and behavioral-health certification streams.

A proposal recorded in committee discussion was to fund the OPR position from one-time general funds in the upcoming budget year (the bill text shows $170,000 for one year) and then shift the cost to the program’s special fund in future years. Members indicated the committee had sufficient one-time general-fund capacity to absorb a one-year cost, and the committee moved to report H472 as introduced by the Committee on Government Operations and Military Affairs; the transcript records the committee’s support but does not include a complete numeric roll-call tally for that final motion.

Votes at a glance

- Amendment: Adopt draft 1.2 as the committee amendment to H397 (removes sections 6, 9 and appropriations language). Committee amendment vote: 7 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain. Outcome: adopted; H397 as amended reported to the next stage (tally for report vote not specified in transcript).

- H472: Committee voted to support/report H472 as introduced; the bill requests one one-year position at $170,000 (general fund) with future funding to come from the bill’s special fund or by backfilling that fund if necessary. Vote tally for the final report motion: not specified in the transcript.

Why this matters

Removing appropriations language from bills for consolidation into the budget package centralizes funding decisions and can change the timing and path for programs such as the Vermont community radio program and newly requested emergency-management positions. The OPR staffing request reflects program growth and the committee’s choice to use one-time general-fund resources to bridge a transition to special-fund support.

What’s next

H397, as amended, and H472 will move forward in the legislative process for further committee consideration and floor action. Appropriations decisions removed from H397 will be decided in the chamber’s larger budget process, and members said they will continue to discuss funding mechanics for H472’s position when budget deliberations occur.