Lawmakers hear testimony on dam safety, budgets, school funding and health coverage in multiple committee hearings
Several House and Senate committees met Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, taking testimony and reviewing bills and budget requests on a range of topics including dam safety and removal, appropriations for executive agencies and the judiciary, school funding and special education, homelessness and shelter support, prosthetic device coverage, and information-technology spending.
Environment
The House Environment Committee heard extended testimony on dam removal, dam safety and emergency operations, and related legislation. Witnesses described work on aging and failed dams and discussed the relationship between landowners, communities and state dam-safety responsibilities. Testimony referenced the Flood Safety Act (Act 121) and Act 161 and noted emergency action plans, municipal hazard mitigation efforts and the practical limits on removing dams when landowner and community consent are not in place. Witnesses said removal planning and post-failure remediation can be costly, require engineering design and coordination across property lines, and that emergency operations procedures and responsibilities rest at the municipal and landowner levels.
The Environment hearing also included discussion of H‑seven 78 legislation and linked dam-safety topics to public-health, property-rights and transportation concerns.
Appropriations (House)
The House Appropriations Committee received presentations covering multiple agency budgets and program requests.
Attorney General’s office: The attorney general outlined office divisions and enforcement work that generates recoveries for consumers and other funds. The consumer unit’s recent recoveries were cited as $2,600,000 for FY 2026 year‑to‑date. The office described a home improvement specialist position created by 2022 legislation that has mediated disputes and recovered funds for Vermonters, and noted other units including the Medicaid fraud unit and the Community Justice Unit and associated staffing and funding questions.
Judiciary budget: The judiciary presented its FY 2027 request and differences with the governor’s recommendation. Court officials said personnel and benefits account for roughly 72% of the judiciary budget and described major nonpersonnel costs including courthouse fee‑for‑space charges (about 9% of the budget), IT and court security. The judiciary pointed to contract and staffing pressures for court security and transport services, and noted the governor’s recommendation included adjustments such as increased vacancy savings and a fee‑for‑space shortfall.
Other items: Committee materials and testimony covered health‑related budget technical changes, a proposal delaying Medicaid doula coverage implementation dates, and miscellaneous Department of Vermont Health Access provisions in a House bill (H.611) described as primarily housekeeping and statutory adjustments.
Education (House and Senate)
House Education: Members reviewed H.777, a bill proposing creation of the Vermont Skier Development Scholarship Fund and Scholarship Program. Testimony described a proposed special fund funded by $525,000 in annual revenue from sales and use tax to support up to 20 scholarships of $25,000 each (plus administrative costs). Sponsors and witnesses discussed eligibility, academic and athletic progress criteria, scholarship maintenance rules, program duration and a proposed sunset, and whether funds would come from the Education Fund.
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Senate Education: Witnesses and education administrators focused on implementation and fiscal effects of recent education funding changes and Acts 73 and 173. Speakers raised concerns about capacity for implementing Act 173, maintenance‑of‑effort requirements under federal IDEA law, and the potential for underfunding special education in some districts. One district-level estimate cited during testimony indicated Act 73 weights could underfund a specific district by about $6,000,000, requiring use of foundation formula dollars to meet federal maintenance‑of‑effort obligations.
Ways & Means
The House Ways & Means Committee discussed one‑time budget options and property‑tax relief scenarios. Committee materials and testimony examined proposals to use a one‑time general fund transfer of about $104.9 million (described in materials as $105,000,000) plus a $22,000,000 Education Fund surplus to lower property taxes or to increase property tax credits. A scenario using $105,000,000 one time to uniformly lower property taxes was estimated to produce an average bill change of 5.8%. Other scenarios presented included directing the one‑time funds to homestead reductions (estimated average homestead decrease of 1.8% in one scenario), using funds to lower only non‑homestead liabilities, and redirecting portions into a tax‑rate offset reserve. The committee also reviewed the potential effects of increasing property tax credits, noting a hypothetical increase of property tax credits by 78% if the full one‑time amount were applied to credits.
Health Care
The House Health Care Committee considered H.432 and related bills on prosthetic device coverage presented by advocates and people with limb loss or limb difference. Testimony described daily‑use versus activity‑specific prostheses, the cost of specialized pediatric and sport‑specific devices, and gaps in current coverage. Witnesses offered cost examples, including prosthetic devices billed at about $12,000 for a snowboard‑specific prosthesis or similar sport devices, and noted modular component warranties and replacement cycles. Advocates urged changes to insurance coverage so people could obtain multiple devices appropriate to different activities and reduce downstream health costs associated with inadequate prosthetic care. The hearing included references to related bills S.12, S.14 and S.9.
Human Services
The House Human Services Committee heard numerous witnesses on homelessness, shelter stabilization and H.594. Presenters urged expanded shelter capacity and improved administrative, outreach and case‑management supports to reduce reliance on hotel‑and‑motel placements and to provide specialized care (including senior, nursing‑level, supportive single‑room occupancy and youth services). Witnesses described a coalition approach for uniform youth services and noted limitations of current federal funding streams, the need for rental assistance and the importance of aligning capital projects and operating funds for shelter and housing developments. Appropriations materials elsewhere in the record also referenced a contingent $50,000,000 appropriation and a proposal to redirect $5,000,000 of that pot for Section 8 housing; testimony to the Human Services committee emphasized shelter system operations, program design and the need for coordinated funding.
Energy & Digital Infrastructure
The Agency of Digital Services (ADS) presented a proposed FY 2027 budget totaling $96,500,000 across core enterprise and demand or service funds. Agency officials described a budget restructuring that splits prior single appropriations into core enterprise services and demand‑driven or SLA (service‑level agreement) funds, and explained funding sources including general fund, GIS‑related funds supported by property transfer tax, and enterprise chargebacks. ADS staff said the new structure is intended to provide clearer reporting of enterprise IT costs, support foundational functions and improve oversight of statewide IT demand. The agency noted transitions from prior transaction‑based models and the need for coordination with Finance and Management on the treatment of federal and intragovernmental funds.
Finance (Senate)
The Senate Finance Committee discussed education spending limits and yield bill concepts. Members reviewed a proposal to limit per‑pupil increases that would cap allowable growth at a floor (3%) up to a higher percentage (9%) depending on prior per‑pupil spending, and explored associated legal and fiscal questions. Committee discussion addressed how caps, excess spending thresholds and bond exclusions interact with constitutional and statutory education‑funding obligations.
Conclusion
The report covers the Feb. 3 committee hearings listed in the legislative meeting record. House and Senate committees that met included Environment, Appropriations (House and Senate panels), Education (House and Senate), Health Care, Human Services, Ways & Means, Energy & Digital Infrastructure and Finance. Committee materials and testimony addressed dam safety and removal, agency and judiciary budgets and staffing, proposals for scholarship and school‑funding changes, homelessness and shelter system proposals, prosthetic coverage and insurance treatment, information‑technology funding structures, and options for one‑time uses of general fund and Education Fund balances for property‑tax relief and credits.
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