Conference committee reallocates capital funds, restores $700,000 for three projects and shifts incubator and wildlife items to grants

The Senate Institutions with the House Institutions Conference Committee agreed May 8 to reallocate several capital-line items, moving small cash amounts into community grants and major maintenance accounts and restoring $700,000 to three previously cut projects.

Chair Evans convened the committee to present a revised package that includes accepting a $25,000 appropriation for fish and wildlife propagation tanks, moving a $45,000 incubator line into the building community grants program, and shifting smaller cash items into major maintenance to preserve project funding. Committee members described a plan that uses a mix of cash and bonded dollars to return money to projects identified in Section 2 of the capital bill.

The committee accepted a $25,000 request for fish and wildlife propagation with a stipulation that “fish and wildlife will incorporate in their budget request going forward money for the wildlife propagation,” and noted the tanks are state-owned property installed at Lee Hatchery and another facility. The group also agreed to reclassify a $45,000 incubator appropriation so it is handled through community grant programs rather than as a standalone capital cash item.

Committee discussion outlined the accounting steps: major maintenance cash was described as having roughly $600,000 in available cash; adding the $45,000 incubator cash would raise that to about $645,000. Of the major maintenance bucket, the conference committee proposed taking $300,000 of bonded authority and applying it to fully fund community grants at $300,000 each, leaving $345,000. The committee then proposed using an additional $355,000 from a public-safety bonded appropriation that had $2,000,000 in both FY26 and FY27, which together with the $345,000 remainder would enable restoring $700,000 that had been cut from Section 2.

Those restored Section 2 items were identified in committee discussion as the 3-acre parcel stormwater work, a firing-range planning/construction item, and a 32 Cherry Street project. Committee staff and Buildings and General Services officials said the restored $700,000 would return those projects to the funding level they had before cuts and that some of the restored money is expected to be spent in 2027 because permitting or planning timelines prevent full expenditure this year.

Wanda Manoli, commissioner of Buildings and General Services, told the committee she had worked with agency staff to identify lower-risk projects where funds could be shifted without jeopardizing critical work and said the White River Junction project remained the agency’s highest priority because occupancy is scheduled for January. Manoli also warned that some line items cannot be spent until permits or future fiscal years allow it, and that money shifted out must be replaced in later years to complete multi-year projects.

Committee members asked that the allocations and swaps be documented in writing before the package moves forward. No roll-call motion or public recorded vote appears in the committee transcript; the changes were discussed as a negotiated adjustment to the capital package among the committee members and staff.

Implementation details, including exact timing of bond proceeds and any necessary transfers between cash and bond accounts, were left to staff and the agencies administering the projects. Committee members said they expected to finalize language and document the agreed shifts before proceeding further with the remainder of the capital bill negotiations.

Less critical budget items discussed in the session included a $35,000 dry-hydrant cash request and several municipal infrastructure items; committee leaders signaled intent to continue working through those items in subsequent sessions.