House-passed budget is little changed from governor’s plan

As with the governor’s proposed budget, the fiscal 2015 appropriations bill approved by the Vermont House concentrates nearly all spending increases in the Agency of Human Services, education, and the state’s transportation system. The House voted for appropriations totaling $5.59 billion for next year. That is a 4.1 percent increase—$221 million—over fiscal 2014 spending. ¹ The governor’s proposed budget would have increased spending by 4.7 percent—$252 million—over this year’s spending.

The House bill includes a $64 million increase in education spending for next year. That was about $9 million less than the amount the governor proposed because local school budgets approved in March turned out to be lower than anticipated when the governor presented his budget in January.

More than half of the additional spending approved by the House for next year—$123 million—will go to human services programs, including alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment, mental health treatment, and expanded health care services.

The House bill increases transportation spending by $40 million—about the same amount as the governor’s increase.

1. Adjusted fiscal 2014 appropriations, which were approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor in late February 2014. [↩]