Appropriations committee allocates one-time $300,000 for government accountability pilot (H67)
March 20, 2026 | Appropriations, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont
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The House Appropriations Committee on March 20 approved a one-time $300,000 appropriation to support H67, the pilot government accountability project that will be conducted by the Joint Fiscal Committee.
Emily Burn of the Joint Fiscal Office told the committee revised FY27 pay-act numbers freed roughly $2.78 million in available funds. She recommended converting an originally listed $150,000 one-year appropriation into a one-time $300,000 appropriation to cover personnel or consulting costs over two years to avoid an expectation of renewal funding.
Legislative counsel Tim Develin described H67 as a narrowly scoped pilot project that would examine selected government practices, identify effective evaluation tools and recommend improvements. The pilot would be chosen in consultation with the chief fiscal officer of the Joint Fiscal Office and party leadership and is intended to be narrow in scope rather than a comprehensive review of a whole agency.
Committee members discussed implementation options — a two-year consultant contract versus creating a limited-service position — and agreed the limited-service position language was changed so the post could receive benefits if created. The committee moved and approved its amendment and then approved H67 as amended; the transcript records members' roll-call responses but does not provide a numeric tally in the spoken record for the final passage.
Emily also noted other budget items discussed that day, including targeted support for several Northeast Kingdom towns affected by flooding and a one-time $125,000 request tied to supervised visitation services; the transcript records that CHINS (Children in Need of Supervision) fund restrictions prevented using some juvenile-docket–linked funds for the supervised visitation request.
The committee directed staff to include the updated appropriation and spreadsheets in the budget materials and to finalize language with JFO before the next procedural step.
Emily Burn of the Joint Fiscal Office told the committee revised FY27 pay-act numbers freed roughly $2.78 million in available funds. She recommended converting an originally listed $150,000 one-year appropriation into a one-time $300,000 appropriation to cover personnel or consulting costs over two years to avoid an expectation of renewal funding.
Legislative counsel Tim Develin described H67 as a narrowly scoped pilot project that would examine selected government practices, identify effective evaluation tools and recommend improvements. The pilot would be chosen in consultation with the chief fiscal officer of the Joint Fiscal Office and party leadership and is intended to be narrow in scope rather than a comprehensive review of a whole agency.
Committee members discussed implementation options — a two-year consultant contract versus creating a limited-service position — and agreed the limited-service position language was changed so the post could receive benefits if created. The committee moved and approved its amendment and then approved H67 as amended; the transcript records members' roll-call responses but does not provide a numeric tally in the spoken record for the final passage.
Emily also noted other budget items discussed that day, including targeted support for several Northeast Kingdom towns affected by flooding and a one-time $125,000 request tied to supervised visitation services; the transcript records that CHINS (Children in Need of Supervision) fund restrictions prevented using some juvenile-docket–linked funds for the supervised visitation request.
The committee directed staff to include the updated appropriation and spreadsheets in the budget materials and to finalize language with JFO before the next procedural step.
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