House floor debates conference report on FY24 budget adjustment, spotlighting flood relief and shelter funding

The Vermont House considered the conference report on House Bill 839, the fiscal year 2024 Budget Adjustment Act, with conferees reporting compromises on several post‑flood relief and shelter provisions and asking the full chamber to adopt the report.

A member of the committee of conference said the conferees "met and resolved the differences between the versions of the bill" and described the negotiations as "a respectful approach to hearing and resolving the real differences" (conference report floor statement). She pointed members to materials and links on the Joint Fiscal Office website for detailed language and breakout tables.

Key fiscal changes in the report include $6,250,000 in general funds for local economic damage grants for towns eligible for FEMA public assistance; that sum is split into $3,250,000 for significant impact payments and $3,000,000 for local economic impact payments. The conferees clarified those funds are "not to be used for FEMA‑related projects" and may be used by towns "in a way that they determine best for their needs." The report also authorizes the Secretary of Administration to advance emergency relief and assistance fund (ERAF) money to towns for FEMA match—up to 70%—to assist with cash flow while awaiting reimbursements.

On shelters and housing, the governor's one‑time $4,000,000 recommendation for temporary three‑month shelters was restructured. The report allocates $671,000 for transitional refugee housing (two northern sites, one southern), $1,329,000 for Department for Children and Families (DCF) shelter investments, and a $2,000,000 addition to the Vermont Housing Conservation Board (VHCB) to expand permanent emergency shelter capacity. The conference member said that the $2,000,000 addition is expected to support roughly 75 permanent emergency shelter beds, with potential sites under discussion in southern and central Vermont.

Other program and technical provisions include setting the day room rate at $80 per room effective March 1, 2024; a 4% rate increase for foster care and subsidized adoption (section 101); language allowing the cannabis control board director to be an attorney or not (section 100); and a carry‑forward reporting requirement to the House Appropriations Committee (referred to in floor remarks as the "shy report"). The committee reported a 6–0 vote in conference and asked for the House’s support.

Members across the chamber acknowledged the relief in the package. The Member from Montpelier described the BAA as providing "flexible and immediate relief" after disaster losses exceeding $1,000,000 in the city. The Member from Berry City praised the appropriations committee’s work and recounted constituent rescue and relief efforts, saying the funding "reaffirms this body's response that we are here for our people."

Several members pressed for clarity and raised objections. The Member from Clarendon asked about post‑April 1 eligibility for temporary housing; the presenter answered that vulnerable categories include families with children (a child up to age 19 in school), people receiving SSDI or SSI or with a doctor‑signed health condition, people age 60 or older, pregnant people, and those defined as disabled; she noted that the "catastrophic" category—currently defined for things like fire or domestic violence—does not include flooding. The Member from Saint Alban's Town asked how many beds $2,000,000 would create; the presenter replied with the committee's working estimate of about 75 beds.

The Member from Dover warned that the bill creates mechanisms "susceptible to discrimination," linking the language in the BAA to ongoing litigation and the 2022 Carson decision and urged that policy committees further review the approach rather than embedding it in the BAA. That member asked that the forthcoming vote be taken "by role" so members could be on the record and offer vote explanations; the Speaker sustained that request.

The House paused its floor work for a scheduled joint assembly before taking the adoption vote; no final recorded outcome on the adoption of the committee of conference report appears in the transcript.