Committee thumbs up to send Budget Adjustment Act memo to Appropriations after edits

The Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee held a brief review and straw poll on its Budget Adjustment Act (BAA) memo, signaling broad committee support to forward the document to the Appropriations Committee.

Committee members and staff said the memo compiles midyear budget adjustment requests already discussed in prior meetings and written testimony. The requests come from multiple agencies, including the Vermont State Recovery Office (written submission), the Department of Public Safety (in-person testimony), and the Department of Liquor and Lottery (DLL). Committee staff asked members to refresh the posted document, then conducted a quick thumbs-up/ thumbs-down straw poll to decide whether to send the memo on to Appropriations for presentation.

Members flagged minor editorial errors in the draft and asked staff to add clarifying dollar signs and correct shorthand. Representative Pistonol and others pointed out typos. Representative Boyden asked specifically about whether an increase in a transfer from the cannabis regulation fund to the general fund — a transfer discussed separately with staff — needed to be included in the memo; staff said the cannabis transfer did not require a memo. Members also noted that some testimony had been submitted in writing or in a different room and urged staff to ensure all requests and their sources are clearly posted.

Committee discussion summarized two substantive budget items that influenced the recommendation. First, staff and members discussed a newly identified rolling deficit at the Department of Liquor and Lottery; the DLL transfer from its enterprise fund to the general fund will be adjusted so the agency can pay down that deficit. Committee members described staff calculations showing the transfer would move a portion of the funds that otherwise would have gone to the general fund into deficit reduction, with staff estimating roughly 55–60% of the expected transfer would go as intended to the general fund and the remaining roughly 40–45% would be used to erase the deficit; that estimate was described in committee remarks as “about 55, maybe 60%.”

Second, committee members noted written requests from the Vermont State Recovery Office that had not been presented in person; staff confirmed those documents would be posted. Members also discussed the Department of Public Safety request, which had been presented in person earlier in the week.

After editing and clarifying the memo language and attachments, the committee concluded the straw poll. The chair reported an “across the board favorable 11” on the budget memo; staff said Representative Waters Evans and the chair would take the memo to Appropriations and expected presentation within the next day.

The committee did not make a formal, recorded vote on the BAA memo during this session; the proceeding was a committee concurrence/straw poll to forward the memorandum to Appropriations with the corrections noted.