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Vermont Senate rejects rule suspension to fast-track budget adjustment aimed at averting April 1 exits from motel shelter program
Summary
A motion to suspend Senate rules and take up H.489 — an FY2025 budget adjustment tied to the general assistance (GA) motel program — failed 16–13 after a daylong debate about whether the state should extend motel housing through June to avoid forcing vulnerable people outdoors.
The Vermont Senate on March 31 rejected a motion to suspend the rules and take up H.489, an actuating fiscal-year 2025 budget adjustment connected to the state’s general assistance (GA) emergency housing program, after a heated debate over whether ending the GA motel policy on April 1 would force families and vulnerable people onto the streets.
Senator from Chittenden moved the rule suspension and framed the vote as urgent. “The clock today is life and death,” the senator said, arguing the Senate should allow H.489 to reach the governor’s desk so motel occupants could remain housed for an additional three months while a replacement program is developed. The motion failed on a roll-call vote, 16 yes and 13 no.
The debate centered on competing assessments of the GA program and on what the administration and legislature should do before the seasonal transition on…
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