Rep. Robin Shy outlines House version of FY27 budget; administration flags one‑time spending, tax and fund shifts

Representative Robin Shy (chair, House Appropriations) told a legislative committee on April 1 that the House’s H 951, the House version of the FY27 budget, closely tracks the governor’s proposal but includes targeted changes and roughly $9–9.5 million in one‑time spending. “Unduplicated appropriations across all of the funds … was an increase of about $146 million,” Shy said, adding that the change in the general fund over the adjusted FY26 budget is about 2.1 percent (roughly $52 million). She said the House agreed with “virtually everything that the governor proposed” but made a number of adjustments and additions for priority programs.

Shy identified several one‑time and base investments the House included: about $1.34 million to the community resilience and disaster mitigation fund to help towns hit by 2025 flooding after FEMA denied federal assistance; $2 million for provider stabilization grants; roughly $180,000 general fund for DCF’s Parent Child Center Network supports; and approximately $500,000 general fund (about $1.2 million when combined with global commitment funds) for Meals on Wheels for older Vermonters. She said the House provided funding increases for Vermont Legal Aid—including a helpline that saw calls rise from about 11,000 to roughly 22,000—and placed $235,000 into HomeShare to support homelessness prevention and informal arrangements that help older Vermonters remain housed.

On higher‑priority education and workforce items, Shy said the House included about $2.3 million for VSAC’s Freedom and Unity scholarships and raised family income eligibility; it also funded two AHEC programs to support primary care recruitment and loan repayment. “We funded physician placement and loan repayment,” she said, describing one placement program at about $21,000 general fund (with global matching to roughly $50,000) and a loan repayment package funded largely by global commitment ($550,000 total; roughly $230,000 general fund).

Shy described the House’s approach to a large housing package (H 938, the Vermont Homelessness Response Continuum). The House placed the package’s roughly $82.63 million of spending within the budget construct that the governor had identified; programmatic language differs, she said, but the dollars are accounted for within the House budget. She noted H 938 passed the House and was now with the Senate committee.

Administration reaction and longer‑term concerns came from Adam Gian, Commissioner of Finance and Management. Gian said the House and governor align on most items but raised two central concerns. First, he thanked the House for agreeing to a $105 million transfer to the education fund but criticized the choice to apply roughly half of that ($52.5 million) to FY27 and half to FY28 rather than applying the full transfer in FY27 as the governor had urged. “The governor had transferred that amount and asked for it to be applied to property tax rates in fiscal 27,” Gian said. He warned that splitting the transfer reduces immediate property‑tax relief and may undermine the governor’s intended timing of relief.

Second, Gian and administration staff cautioned about the scale of one‑time appropriations and several fund‑source decisions. He said the House increased the number of one‑time appropriations substantially (the governor had ten; the House’s package had roughly forty, plus more in other bills) and that cumulatively that raises sustainment questions given slowing revenues. Gian also objected to language that diverts interest earnings from the technology modernization special fund for a one‑year CIT (communications and information technology) internal fund deficit. JFO and administration figures indicate roughly $9–9.5 million in interest that the House applied in part to other near‑term needs; Gian argued those funds were intended for long‑tail technology projects and should remain available to finish multi‑year IT projects.

Other items discussed in the briefing included: reductions or redirections associated with a pre‑trial supervision program that was underused (Gian and Shy cited about $850,000 in base funding and an additional ~$650,000 one‑time that were reallocated); a $500,000 initial deposit to a Vermont State Police radio‑equipment replacement special fund; and House changes to fee and licensing assumptions for the Department of Fish and Wildlife (the House asked for a report and placed a modest backfill for an assumed $50,000 in FY27 while leaving further fee changes to a later bill).

Emily B. of the Joint Fiscal Office provided a technical walkthrough of the base budget and revenue picture. JFO showed the governor’s recommended appropriation at roughly $2.613 billion and the House total near $2.621 billion, and explained drivers such as the pay act, pension costs, and transfers to debt‑service and cash funds. JFO also summarized revenue adjustments in H 933 (the miscellaneous tax bill) and how the House reallocated portions of the purchase and use tax and the meals‑and‑rooms tax to avoid a direct $10 million general‑fund transfer while preserving the education fund impacts. JFO noted the House used about $27 million of base funds for one‑time investments versus roughly $31 million in the governor’s draft.

Votes at a glance H 938 (Vermont Homelessness Response Continuum): House passage reported in briefing, vote cited as approximately 133‑4 in the House; dollar total in the bill reported as about $82.63 million and the House said the funding is accounted for within the H 951 budget.

What’s next The administration said it will continue technical work on statutory language and the JFO will issue a technical letter with more granular budget reconciliations. Committee members requested line‑item spreadsheets and JFO materials posted to its website; staff and the administration said they will be available for follow‑up questions as the Senate considers the House budget and companion bills.