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Senate Institutions committee debates where to place $350,000 for EV charging in capital bill
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Summary
Committee staff walked members through draft 2.1 of the capital bill and the netting math versus the House proposal, highlighting a new $350,000 FY27 appropriation for electric vehicle charging stations and debate over whether the line should be held at ACCD or at BGS, which says the original intent covered state-employee sites.
Diane Grama, counsel to the committee, opened the review of draft 2.1 of the capital bill, saying the document uses green highlighting for newly added items and yellow to show earlier committee changes. Grama told members the Senate draft currently frees roughly $475,000 against the House version, and that a $350,000 FY27 appropriation for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations is included as a green addition to ACCD’s section.
"This is draft 2.1," Grama said, noting the green highlighting indicates the newest changes. She said the $350,000 for EV charging would reduce the $475,000 pool of available reallocated funds to about $600,000 remaining in the tally after earlier edits were accounted for.
Wanda Noli, commissioner of the Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS), told the committee the original EV charging money was appropriated to BGS "because it is for electric charging stations on BGS property for state employees," and she asked that, if the committee supports that appropriation, it be made to BGS so the agency retains oversight of construction on its sites.
"This money, if it's to go for that, I would request that if you support it, it gets appropriated to BGS like a separate line item because it's our sites," Noli said. She also said BGS has an MOU with ACCD from a prior appropriation and has not yet spent its share while its energy team completes a utilization survey.
Members pressed for clarity about how the Senate draft nets out versus the House. Grama walked through a sequence of changes in the bonding and cash sections — including a $500,000 shift related to a correctional facility sprinkler project — that, taken together with the EV line and several other increases, affect the net amount that must be offset elsewhere in the bill. She said the Senate draft reduces DOC Wi‑Fi funding from the House's $3,000,000 to $250,000, and that difference is the primary cash offset keeping the Senate draft even with the House overall.
Committee members raised practical concerns about where the EV funds would be used. Noli told the panel she would not authorize work at the Montpelier statehouse site until BGS completes flood‑mitigation and parking planning; she said the agency cannot commit to spending the new $350,000 in the next fiscal year without that site plan.
Members signaled they will continue the conversation at the committee’s next meeting and asked staff to prepare updated language and allocations. No vote was taken.
The committee is scheduled to reconvene and to hear additional testimony, including from a senator with firsthand experience using state EV chargers, before deciding where to house the appropriation and how to reallocate other lines.
