Senate Institutions committee marks up H.992, reallocates capital funds and adds stormwater language

The Senate Institutions Committee on April 17 took its first detailed markup of H.992, the capital bill, adopting a package of targeted amendments that reallocate bond and cash dollars and add policy language on stormwater utilities.

Committee staff said the draft uses instances of amendment to show differences from the House proposal and highlights changed language. The staff presentation said FY2027 major maintenance was reduced by $125,000 and that $25,000 of that was redirected to design work for the Montpelier Statehouse entryway (including a second‑floor fire‑escape design) while $100,000 was appropriated to the Institute of Natural Resources for technical support to municipalities developing stormwater utilities. John Gray, a Senate counsel staffer who presented the draft, said the changes tie out the redirected funds across the bill.

The committee added a $1,000,000 cash line for Buildings & General Services (BGS) to support statewide three‑acre parcel stormwater compliance, funded in part by trimming a House cash appropriation for DOC Wi‑Fi from $3,000,000 to $1,000,000. The amendments also increase cash for door control upgrades at correctional facilities to roughly $1,950,000 in the committee package and allocate $250,000 each to two historic‑preservation grant programs.

BGS and DOC staff briefed the committee on project implications. Joe Aja, director of design and construction for BGS, and Emily Kosicki, deputy commissioner of Buildings & General Services, said several projects are under contract or will go out to bid shortly and warned that funding reductions could force scope cuts or delays. Kosicki urged additional technical and security analysis before committing final dollars: “We support DOC in their recommendation to do further analysis,” she said, and added BGS would work closely with ADS and DOC to provide more detail.

Committee members pressed staff for written schedules and cost breakdowns on long‑lead items and preordering needs. The panel agreed it did not need to finalize all allocations at this hearing; staff were asked to provide the requested materials by Monday so the committee could consider funding decisions on Tuesday. The session recessed briefly while awaiting additional staff testimony.

Next steps: BGS and DOC will submit a written summary of project schedules, preorder needs and cost estimates; the committee expects to take further action after reviewing those materials and hearing additional testimony from ANR and ADS.