House Appropriations committee approves amendment to add Vermont State College System designee to Office of New Americans study panel

The House Appropriations Committee on May 6 voted in a straw poll to support an amendment to S.56 that would increase membership on the Office of New Americans Study Committee from five to six, adding one member nominated by the Vermont State College System.

The amendment, moved by Representative Lynn Dickinson, would strike the existing Division 4 and insert a new subdivision that changes the composition of the study committee and adds “one member nominated by the Vermont State College System.” Dickinson said her experience on the Vermont State College System board informed her recommendation and suggested the Community College of Vermont (CCV) as a likely candidate to fill the seat because of its long record of outreach to and support for new Americans.

Committee members described the fiscal impact as minimal. Dickinson said the appointee would likely be a college employee “who would not need to be subsidized with a per diem by the college,” and the committee chair characterized the cost impact as “de minimis.”

The committee conducted a straw poll on the amendment. Representative Lynn Dickinson moved the amendment on the committee floor and reported she would present it if it advanced. Members who registered a vote on the straw poll and were recorded as “yes” included Representative Luling, Representative Dickinson, Representative Harrison, Representative Consents, Representative Maroche, Representative Murwick, Representative Nigro, Representative Spiro, Representative Stevens and Representative Acaboni; the recorded tally was announced as 7-0-0. The transcript does not provide a recorded second for the motion.

The amendment affects S.56’s section titled “Office of New American Study Committee” by authorizing one additional member and specifying a nomination by the Vermont State College System; it does not change other provisions of the bill as reflected in the committee discussion. Committee members noted the change would allow higher-education representation beyond previously proposed single-institution wording and preserves the option for the Legislature or subsequent sponsors to expand representation to other institutions later.

Background: S.56 is a bill creating a study committee for the Office of New Americans; the committee considered this amendment after passing the bill out of committee the previous week. The transcript of this meeting does not specify further implementation steps, dates for the study committee’s work, or whether the Senate has acted on the proposed amendment.

The committee did not identify any additional budgetary line items tied to the seat, and no formal motion record beyond the straw poll appears in the transcript.