Committee hears Joint Fiscal Office: many S.1202 spending items contingent on budget decisions

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on May 2, 2025, heard from Patrick Titterton of the Joint Fiscal Office about how appropriations listed in S.1202 are contingent on later budget decisions and that several items included in the bill are not funded in the Senate or the governor’s recommended budget.

Titterton said, “one thing that might be a little confusing is there isn't actually any money in this bill that you have,” noting the bill makes many proposed appropriations contingent on available funds and on appropriators' decisions. He walked the committee through an appendix showing what the governor recommended, what the House included, what the Senate budget contains and what the bill would have aspirationally funded.

Key requests listed in the bill but not funded in the Senate budget include a $300,000 appropriation for the Vermont Law and Graduate School and a $120,000 request for a film and creative industry initiative. The Vermont Professionals of Color Network sought $350,000 in the bill; the governor recommended $250,000 and the Senate budget included $200,000. The Vermont Small Business Development Center’s requested base increase of $300,000 was not adopted; the Senate maintained the governor’s level funding. Microbusiness support was maintained at the governor’s level (about $493,339) and coaching services remained at $120,000 across bill, House and Senate versions.

Titterton said the Vermont Arts Council language in the bill would raise the program by roughly $70,000 “to maintain the maximum federal matching ability,” but he cautioned the committee that the appropriation language in the bill is frequently tied to contingent lists and conference negotiations. Committee members asked whether language specifying how funds should be used should be kept alongside a straight appropriation; one committee member advised, “I would consider keeping the language if that's what you want the money to be used for.”

Other items discussed: a proposed $250,000 outdoor business program (not funded in the Senate construct), a reduced appropriation for the international trade division (governor recommended $350,000; the Senate set $150,000), and a roughly $15,000 line for per diems tied to the Vermont Irish Trade Commission. The downtown and village tax credit cap increase in the bill was described as contingent and without budgeted capacity in either the House or Senate budget.

Titterton said that appropriators sometimes strip contingent appropriations from bills and put them directly into the budget; in this case the committees kept the bill language but tied it back to the budget for final spending decisions. He advised the committee members to follow the appendix to track which items are funded in GovRec, House and Senate versions.

Next steps: the committee did not take a vote. Members said they would continue the discussion at a later meeting and may ask the Joint Fiscal Office and committee counsel to return with clarifications about contingent language and any triggering language tied to federal matches or per diem authority.