House Appropriations panel reviews preliminary FY27 requests; JFO to verify large housing asks

The House Appropriations Committee met Feb. 20 for a debrief on two recent public hearings and to review a preliminary table of budget requests above the governor's recommended FY27 budget. Speaker 1 of the Joint Fiscal Office presented the draft and cautioned it is preliminary; some requests were received as recently as the night before and several line items are highlighted for verification.

"This is preliminary," Speaker 1 said when introducing the table and asked members to consider potential duplication with the governor's recommendation. The draft includes highlighted cells that JFO will check for accuracy and for the correct federal‑fund/general‑fund splits.

Why it matters: members said the new requests increase the total materially and must be reconciled with the GovRec before the committee finalizes priorities. Speaker 1 said the latest draft shows about $80,000,000 in housing requests above the governor's recommended levels, including an entry of $41,000,000 for a Housing Opportunities Program, $35,000,000 for general assistance and $11,000,000 for shelter expansion; JFO will research whether portions overlap with GovRec items.

Committee members also noted a large volume of written testimony that was included in the spreadsheet though not all submitters spoke. "At last night's hearing, there were about 30 pieces of written testimony that were posted... but didn't have people speak in person," Speaker 1 said, and asked members to review those submissions alongside the draft.

Members discussed process issues from the hearings: sign‑up limits (40 per hearing), first‑come first‑served registration, and how to handle redundant testimony so new voices are heard. Speaker 2 said staff have exercised discretion to allow additional speakers in cases where it added value.

The panel flagged specific programs for closer review. Speaker 3 and Speaker 1 discussed a Working Lands / enterprise request that JFO recorded as a $4,000,000 total with separate components; Speaker 1 said JFO will double‑check written testimony to clarify whether the $4,000,000 is a single request or multiple program asks. Speaker 1 also pointed to a Vermont 2‑1‑1 sustainment request of $332,000 that would restore a line item proposed for removal in GovRec and said context on total appropriations will be added to the spreadsheet to help weigh restorations.

Members asked staff to prepare a refined spreadsheet that flags items already in the governor's recommended budget and to include committee letters and other agency submissions. The committee expects to review further before town meeting week, will meet Tuesday (assume 9 a.m. unless members are told otherwise) for more briefings, and plans markup after town meeting week.

Next steps: JFO will verify highlighted entries and potential duplicates, staff will post committee letters and written testimony, and the committee will hear briefings next week (including a federal delegation briefing on congressional earmarks).