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It is an honor to continue to represent the City of Essex Junction along with Representative Dolan. Please reach out to me ([email protected]) or Representative Dolan ([email protected]) at any time. We are always happy to answer questions and share perspectives. Your engagement helps ensure we are informed about what is important to you.
GOVERNOR’S EDUCATION PROPOSAL The legislature will have a caucus of the whole on Wednesday January 22nd at 3:45pm to hear the administration’s education proposal. All House proceedings are streamed live and the House Chamber link can be found at https://legislature.vermont.gov/house/streaming/ BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING Your House Appropriations Committee will take testimony on the Governor's recommended budget adjustments on Thursday January 23rd at 1pm. More information on how to participate can be found at https://legislature.vermont.gov/home/noteworthy/announcements/ BUDGET PROCESS OVERVIEW Every year, the Vermont Legislature is required to pass a budget for the following fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. And every year, we ensure that the budget is balanced — we do not spend more than we expect to receive in revenues. People may not realize that passing a balanced budget is not a requirement by law in Vermont as it is in many states. We pass a balanced budget because it is the right thing to do, and it is the fiscally responsible way to manage taxpayer money. How do we know how much revenue we will have when we create the budget? Twice a year, in January and July, the Emergency Board meets to establish the official consensus revenue forecast from which the budget is built. The members of the E-Board consist of the four money committee chairs (House and Senate Appropriations, House Ways and Means, and Senate Finance) and the governor. The forecast is developed by the Legislature’s economist in collaboration with the governor’s economist. Everyone needs to agree on what the revenue is likely to be, and that’s the figure that is used to ensure that we don’t spend more than we will take in. In addition, we are careful to match the type of money we are receiving with the appropriate type of expenditure. Funds that we expect to receive every year (income taxes, for example), are considered base funds and they are used for ongoing operating expenses of the state. Other funds are considered one-time, because they are non-recurring. Examples of this include court settlements and certain special funds. This money is only used for one-time expenses (e.g., a pilot project, certain grants, or an IT project) or reserved for future use. Finally, at the six-month point in January every year, we review the current year budget and adjust as needed to tweak costs and rebalance state spending. This further ensures that we keep our budget in balance. The total operating budget for the current year, fiscal year 2025, including the transportation budget and the education fund, is $8.582 billion. This is $108 million less than the FY24 budget. The funding for the entire budget comes from a variety of sources:
The January meeting of the Emergency Board will take place on Jan. 22. The consensus revenue forecast that we all agree on at that time will help us finalize the tweaks to the FY25 Budget through the Budget Adjustment Act and will also form the basis for the FY26 budget. The meeting will be livestreamed via the Governor’s Office. Thank you, Rep. Lori Houghton
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