Legislative counsel adds language permitting transfers between Vermont Veterans Home line items

Legislative counsel told the Institutions Committee on March 19 that the committee's draft capital bill now contains language authorizing the agency to shift unexpected project balances between two line items for the Vermont Veterans Home.

John Gray of the Legislative Council said he added a subsection that authorizes the "chief executive" of the relevant agency to transfer unexpected balances between the air-handlers project and the expanded-laundry project, rather than combining the two into one pooled appropriation. The committee discussed an alternative approach — creating a single line item with a $1,050,000 pool for both projects — but several members said they preferred keeping two separate line items for easier tracking in future budgets.

Scott Moore of the Joint Fiscal Office confirmed that the draft includes a provision permitting transfers between those two items; members said the intent is to keep tracking clear while allowing staff flexibility to address overruns or underruns in either project. The committee did not adopt any further formal action during the meeting; staff said they would retain the new subsection language in the next draft.