Institutions committee reallocates capital-bill funds to cover White River Junction Courthouse costs

At an April 22 Institutions committee meeting, members agreed to adjust the capital-bill spreadsheet to free cash for the White River Junction Courthouse project in fiscal 2026.

The committee moved several line-item reductions and timing changes so the courthouse — described by a committee speaker as in its third year of construction — will have funds available to pay upcoming costs. "We are looking for $1,100,000 that we can put back into this year's, or I should say, FY '26, cash fund for the White River Junction Courthouse project because that project is going on very well, and we look forward to paying for it and working in it," Speaker 1, Committee member, said during the discussion.

Why it matters: committee members said the courthouse is under active construction and requires funds now to preserve progress. To balance the capital bill and create the FY26 cash fund, members reduced or delayed several other allocations rather than add new bonding or increase the overall package.

Key changes discussed and recorded in the meeting: - Line 4: reduce the allocation from 1,100,000 to 850,000, described in the transcript as the statewide 3-acre stormwater compliance line. Speaker 1: "We're going from 1,100,000 to 850,000." - Line 8: delay or remove a planned FY27 allocation of 200,000 for Pittsfield Academy firing-range upgrades (the committee said a final determination will be made next year). - Line 15: reduce funds for 32 Cherry Street parking garage repairs from 500,000 to 250,000 (described in the transcript as an FY27 adjustment). - Lines 24 / 44–52 (building communities grants): several programs that the House had increased to 300,000 for FY26 (historic preservation grants and subprograms including barn preservation, cultural facilities, recreation facilities, human services, and regional economic development) were reduced to 250,000 for FY26 — a $50,000 reduction per program that the committee said will produce roughly 300,000 in savings to reallocate to the courthouse cash fund. Speaker 1 summarized: "And that will give us 300,000 and that's what we so the total of all of those is what we need to put back into the White River Junction Courthouse project." - A monument project (referred to in the transcript as the "magnificent battle monument" / Bennington Valley Monument) was discussed with a numeric reduction noted in the transcript as from 5.25 to 4.25; the committee characterized the remaining amount as sufficient for FY26 work. The transcript does not specify units (dollars or millions) for that line.

Process and next steps: the committee chair asked staff to circulate the exact draft language of the changes. Speaker 1 said staff member John will pass the language to the relevant office and that a revised spreadsheet (version 3) would be prepared reflecting the committee's changes. The committee discussed whether an appropriation or grant element should be assigned to a different agency (a suggested amendment to move an appropriation to ACCD instead of BGS was raised as something that could be made later). Speaker 2 noted that some funding language might use opioid-settlement money: "that $250,000 is coming out of the OPRE recovery fund... the opioid settlement fund," per the transcript.

Outcome: members agreed to the package as adjusted and the chair asked for a motion; the transcript records members saying they were "compromised" and that the changes were acceptable. No roll-call vote or named vote tally appears in the transcript; the committee approved the adjustments by consensus and directed staff to finalize language and produce the revised spreadsheet.

Context and constraints: committee members repeatedly said they wanted to be careful about federally required programs (one speaker noted monitoring a $1,500,000 item required by the federal government) and wanted to preserve funds for legally required work. Several members said they were "not happy" with some reductions but that the package balanced necessary needs now with plans to restore funding in later years (several items were described as being increased in the following fiscal year under the governor's recommendation). The transcript shows follow-up items: final language review, an expected spreadsheet update, and an optional field trip referenced near the meeting's end.

Ending: staff were directed to circulate draft language and the committee expected a revised spreadsheet (version 3) capturing the changes. The committee said it would continue to monitor federally required items and return to adjustments if needed in future meetings.