Senate advances H.790 budget-adjustment bill with targeted funding and negotiated DA payment reform

The Vermont Senate on Feb. 14 approved committee amendments to H.790, the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Adjustment Act, moving the measure closer to final action while leaving several technical and policy questions for a conference committee.

Senator Perchlick, the committee reporter, told the chamber the bill adjusts previously enacted spending based on new facts and revenue changes. "So the whole budget is that $9,100,000,000," she said, and the committee is proposing roughly $2,850,000,000 in general-fund adjustments embedded in that total. The proposal includes a mix of operational and one-time appropriations, technical transfers and policy-directed language.

Why it matters: the bill moves money for pressing needs—public safety overtime, nursing-home relief and mental-health payments—while preserving emergency reserves and leaving some contested issues for further negotiation. Perchlick said examples include $870,000 to cover state police overtime, $14,000,000 in global-commitment…