Senate explains modest BAA changes: flood-relief apportionment, housing flex, small increases for ABE and syringe services

Senator Pichel summarized the Senate27s package of amendments to a budget adjustment (BAA), saying most funding changes were modest and focused on targeting assistance for flood-damaged communities and preserving emergency housing and social services through the end of the fiscal year.

The Senate preserved most of its original allocations but adjusted three main areas: public health syringe exchange funding, supplemental support for adult basic education (ABE) providers, and a refined approach to flood relief. "The other body agreed with what the Senate did," Pichel said, adding that where changes were made the Senate aimed to avoid using general fund dollars for these services: "It was not general fund to, support, this, public health, service...and that change was...$218,000." The $218,000 came from the Tobacco Fund to cover additional need for the syringe-exchange program for the remainder of the fiscal year.

On education, Pichel said the Senate increased ABE funding after new information on provider deficits. "We increased the money for adult basic education, I believe, to 380,000 to get them through," she said, identifying three providers that were running deficits.

Flood relief formed the core of the discussion. Pichel described splitting aid into two components: funds for public damages (municipal infrastructure such as wastewater treatment plants) and funds for individuals and households. Because of inconsistent data, the committee used a quintile/quartile apportionment approach rather than precise per-town dollar calculations so the pool of available funding could be distributed fairly across communities. Pichel named Johnson and Ludlow among the communities with the most extreme public damages and said Montpelier and Barre City experienced heavier damage in different categories (business/municipal versus personal/home losses). She told colleagues a spreadsheet in the addendum shows town-by-town estimated payments.

Senator Hardy raised a concern that the addendum repeatedly cites the July 2023 FEMA declaration as the eligibility window and asked whether towns in Addison County, whose most significant flooding occurred in August, might be excluded. Pichel said the language had come from the other body and that she would check with the Joint Fiscal Office to confirm whether towns damaged in August are included. "I will have to check," she said, promising to confirm whether the list in the addendum includes those August events.

Housing provisions were also clarified. The package includes $4,000,000 for emergency housing, some of which can be used to buy housing or stand up shelters; Pichel said $2,000,000 of that allocation is directed to "BHCB" for permanent emergency shelters, noting two available properties that would provide about 75 units each. For interim housing, the Senate used an $80 daily cap for negotiated hotel/motel stays but retained flexibility for add-on payments when additional services or a dedicated room for support agencies were needed. "I will tell you it's fungible," Pichel said, describing how municipalities could apply different pieces of the funding based on their immediate needs and longer-term match obligations.

Pichel also noted technical and administrative changes in the package: the executive director position at the cannabis board would no longer be required to be held by an attorney, a change she said would broaden the candidate pool; and anti-discrimination language for after-school and summer program grantees was rewritten to specify protected classes rather than rely on the broader public-accommodation framework.

The Senate did not record any formal votes on the floor during this explanation; the session focused on clarifying language, confirming allocations in the addendum, and agreeing to follow up with the Joint Fiscal Office on the July/August FEMA-declaration question. Pichel closed by reiterating deadlines related to negotiated hotel rates (March 1) and adverse-weather eligibility windows (adverse-weather provisions continuing through March 15 and potentially reactivating through April 15), and by emphasizing that households meeting the Senate27s "vulnerable" definition (families with children, people with disabilities, or those 60 and older) would remain eligible for assistance through the fiscal year.

Next steps: staff will confirm the town list and date coverage for the flood payments with Joint Fiscal Office staff; the body did not take a floor vote on changes during this explanation.