Government Operations committee reviews FY27 agency line items, requests follow-up and takes informal positions

The House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee spent the second portion of its Feb. 20 session reviewing FY27 budget line items and making preliminary positions on several agency requests.

Committee members asked for itemized breakdowns of the governor’s office and lieutenant governor line items and invited agency staff (including Secretary Clark or other administration representatives) to testify on specifics. Members said more detail is needed to understand what is included in large consolidated figures before taking firm positions.

Staff and members discussed multiple agency requests and took informal positions where appropriate:

- Human Rights Commission: the commission requested additional positions and asked to remove vacancy/turnover savings. The governor’s recommendation was cited at roughly $1.358 million. Committee members said they prefer to hear the commission’s director explain the need and agreed to take no formal position until testimony is heard.

- Technical-rescue microgrant program: the committee reviewed a new $25,000 general-fund request to provide $5,000 microgrants to local technical-rescue groups (for responses such as ice or river rescues). Members agreed the request deserved consideration and noted overlap with the All-Hazards Emergency Management bill.

- Emergency communications outreach (including ASL): a vendor requested $65,000 for outreach video production and an additional roughly $5,000 to produce an American Sign Language version. The ask was revised to $70,000 to include ASL; the committee registered supportive thumbs for including ASL in the outreach effort.

- Nonprofit capacity grants: a one-time $295,665 request to help nonprofits respond to federal funding changes (with 75% allocated to technical assistance) and $267,777 for capacity-building were described; members expressed support and recorded thumbs in favor.

- UVM appropriation from Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund: a representative described a proposed one-time $15,000,000 appropriation for a multipurpose center to be drawn from the Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund. Members said appropriations should handle that proposal and agreed to take no position pending more detailed materials from the Treasurer and the appropriations committee.

Other line items discussed included the Department of Liquor and Lottery’s operating-budget changes and the Cannabis Control Board’s budget (the committee noted the CCB’s budget includes both general funds and a cannabis-regulation fund). Committee staff compiled follow-up tasks and scheduled additional testimony for their next meeting (Tuesday) to resolve outstanding dollar amounts and hear agency explanations.

No formal recorded roll-call votes were taken during the session; where members registered 'supportive thumbs' or 'no position' these were recorded informally in the committee transcript and will be formalized in later committee action if required.