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House Corrections Committee reviews Senate tweaks that reallocate funds for corrections projects
Summary
The committee heard a Joint Fiscal Office walkthrough of Senate amendments to the capital bill, including swaps between bonded and cash dollars for Northern State and Chittenden projects and an $868,850 reallocation from an old women’s facility account to cover FY27 bonded shortfalls.
The House Corrections Committee on April 4 reviewed Senate amendments to the capital bill that change how projects for corrections and related state facilities are funded.
Scott Moore of the Joint Fiscal Office led a line‑by‑line review of Senate changes, saying the Senate removed $475,000 from statewide major maintenance in FY27 bonded and added a $25,000 design allocation for a second‑floor fire escape at the statehouse. Moore said those moves produced a running balance he tracked for committee members as he described later adjustments.
Moore told lawmakers the Senate switched funding types on several correctional projects: for the Northern State Correctional Facility the Senate removed $500,000 from bonded and added $500,000 in cash, while it added $700,000 bonded to fund a boiler in FY27. Line language for Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility was changed to permit both renovations of the existing facility and funds for a replacement facility; the change increased bonded authority by $598,850 while reducing available cash.
To address a resulting FY27 bonded shortfall Moore identified a reallocation (line 175A) that draws $868,850 from an account tied to the old women’s correctional facility. "We took it a year early," Moore said, describing the repo committee’s decision to restart the funding clock so the commissioner can use some of the funds for renovations this year rather than waiting until a new facility is built.
On the cash side, Moore said the Senate added $1 million to FY27 cash for statewide stormwater compliance, $500,000 for a Northern State sprinter system and $2 million for DOC door controls, and trimmed other cash items (including a $2.75 million cut to a Wi‑Fi line). After the swaps and removals he walked the committee through, Moore said cash and bonded columns balance when the reallocation is included.
Committee members asked why the reallocation appeared late in the process and whether departments had flagged these requests earlier; staff said the departments had submitted requests in the fall but committees no longer receive the same consolidated 'hopper' of un‑funded requests, which reduces early visibility. Moore and members said the bill will proceed next to the finance and appropriations committees and then to the floor, and the committee must decide whether to concur with Senate language, propose further amendments or go to conference.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the funding adjustments at the session’s close; members were advised the committee would receive formal bill language next week for a concurrence decision.
