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House Corrections and Institutions reviews draft bill edits, delays final vote pending revised language
Summary
Committee members reviewed version 5 of a draft bill, discussed line-item consolidations and cash-flow math that would leave $7.3 million available for spending (including $2 million targeted to ACCD fees), and agreed to wait for revised bill text from staff before voting or sending it to Appropriations.
The House Corrections and Institutions Committee on March 21 reviewed edits to a draft fiscal bill, discussed reallocations that would reduce the immediate Governor’s-recommendation transfer and leave about $7.3 million in available cash, and agreed to delay a committee vote until members receive revised bill language, committee members said.
Scott Moore, Joint Fiscal Office, walked committee members through “a couple of changes to version 5,” noting formatting updates and a new far-right column of line numbers to help cross-reference local line numbering. “You’ll see an additional column for line numbers,” Moore said.
The discussion focused on several substantive edits to allocations and line wording. Moore said he combined two previously separate building-communities grant lines into one and adjusted language in several sections (including park infrastructure, rehabilitation and improvement, and a “3-acre rule” compliance item). He also pointed out changes to renovation line items (including renovations to the Vermont building) and a judiciary item for Essex County Courthouse connector and security upgrades.
Moore presented the bill’s cash-flow math to show the effect of changes to the Governor’s recommendation (GovRec). He said the GovRec was for $14,881,000 and that prior-year cash balances and reallocations increase total cash available in the account to about $18.6 million. After listing cash expenditures of about $11.3 million, Moore said the draft would leave approximately $7.3 million in cash available. “If we stick with that $14,800,000 from the GovRec, we’re gonna have $18,600,000 to spend on cash...we only spent 11,300,000 in cash. Therefore, we have $7,300,000 left over,” Moore said.
Moore and the chair discussed targeting $2,000,000 of the available cash “to ACCD for the fees.” Moore said appropriations would receive language to reflect that targeted appropriation and that John (staff) had drafted language he needed to supply. Committee members agreed to wait for the edited draft and to distribute it electronically to members (Mary and Will were named as recipients if present).
The committee did not take a formal vote on the draft. Members discussed timing: if the committee had voted the bill out immediately, it would be introduced and read the first time on Wednesday and then go to Appropriations; by delaying a day, the committee expects to present the bill to Appropriations no later than Wednesday. “Pending entry into the notice calendar, the bill can be shipped to appropriations,” the committee chair said. Committee members planned to review the revised draft over the weekend and to meet during caucuses on Tuesday to vote it out as a committee bill so it can proceed through the legislative schedule.
No formal motions or roll-call votes were recorded in the transcript. The meeting concluded with an agreement to wait for John’s edited language, circulate it electronically, and reconvene to divide responsibility for bill sections and schedule committee action.
