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Conference committee agrees to keep $2 million cash in capital bill, restore White River Junction courthouse cash to $8 million
Summary
Members of the conference committee on institutions discussed a package to keep $2,000,000 in the capital bill as cash for public infrastructure, restore cash to bring the White River Junction courthouse to $8,000,000, and move several smaller cash items back to appropriations for further review.
A conference committee between the Senate and the House institutions on May 7 discussed a funding package that would keep $2,000,000 in the capital bill as cash for public infrastructure and restore cash to the White River Junction courthouse to reach $8,000,000.
The proposal matters because it changes funding form from bonded dollars to cash for several projects, which committee members said limits opening the capital bill to many outside projects and gives clearer direction on how dollars may be used.
Anja, a conference committee member, said the package’s central element is keeping the three items (the “3 b’s”) in the capital bill but funded with cash rather than bonds. “When this came to us, it was bonded dollars. It was not cash,” Anja said, adding that committee members were concerned about adding outside projects to the capital bill and wanted to avoid using volume-bonding capacity for many similar projects.
The committee discussed the following specific funding adjustments: keeping $2,000,000 in the capital bill in cash with accompanying language that would direct the dollars toward public infrastructure (Anja said the language would aim to ensure the funds are not used for private developer profit); making the White River Junction courthouse “whole” with cash to a total of $8,000,000; and moving $625,000 that had been shifted from the Senate appropriations side (for Forbes and Parks fire apparatus, a recovery house, and a Montpelier study) back to appropriations so those items can be reviewed there.
Anja said staff were working on draft language to spell out that the $2,000,000 would be used for housing-related public infrastructure and that they hoped to present proposed language later in the day. “We were gonna members want to 0 this out… We decided to have it done through the general fund and information because we did not hold up the capital bill to these projects,” Anja said when explaining the committee’s reasoning for shifting funding forms.
Committee members asked several clarifying questions about how the totals reconcile with earlier proposals. One member asked where the roughly $1.1 million referenced in earlier materials would land; Anja replied that the bonded portions remained unresolved and that the committee wanted to prioritize resolving the cash allocations first.
No formal vote or final motion was recorded in the transcript. Committee members said they intended to continue meeting as needed to finalize language and totals; one member estimated another meeting could be 45 minutes to an hour. Anja said she wanted to resolve the cash allocations quickly so colleagues could know the direction the committee was heading.
The committee also discussed coordination with the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) and with members focused on education language; Anja said she expected to work with committee staff to finalize the language and parameters that would restrict funds to public infrastructure and limit direct benefit to private developers.
Committee members did not record a final agreement on all line-item amounts in the provided transcript excerpt and planned further meetings to reconcile outstanding differences.
