House gives Budget Adjustment Act preliminary approval on voice vote

by Anne Galloway vtdigger.org The Vermont House gave preliminary approval of the $12.63 million Budget Adjustment Act on Thursday. Lawmakers are expected to pass the mid-year adjustment to state spending for fiscal year 2014 on Friday.
The additional spending in the current budget year brings the General Fund budget up to $1.37 billion.
The bill is a snapshot of ‘ups’ and ‘downs,’ or unanticipated savings and expenditures, six months into the new year.
The budget adjustment includes $2.85 million to cover an ongoing budget deficit at Vermont Veterans Home; $3.22 million in emergency housing; a $7.17 million increase in the Medicaid caseload; $1.55 million for prison detainees; and a $570,000 increase in spending for the Brattleboro Retreat.
Some of the ups include an additional $1 million in unexpected surplus monies that will be set aside in a rainy day fund, according to Rep. Martha Heath, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, bringing the fund total to $9.5 million.
The Senate is expected to take up budget adjustment next week. The House Appropriations Committee has already begun deliberations on Gov. Peter Shumlin’s recommended $5.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2015.