MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Key lawmakers are asking Republican Gov. Phil Scott for an alternative budget proposal as it becomes increasingly clear that his won’t pass in either the House or the Senate.
Vermont Public Radio reports (https://bit.ly/2kb2uxD ) that Scott proposed to enforce a spending freeze on school budgets and the accompanying impacts on the state budget.
His proposal would put more than $100 million in new liabilities on the education fund, which is funded mostly by property taxes.
Democratic Senate President Tim Ashe said Thursday that he believed many Senate members were wondering if Scott’s proposal is possible, desirable and legal. He said he hopes the administration has an alternative plan if this one fails.
“The administration presented a budget which is based on an almost impossible education funding construct, so my hope is they have a back-up plan to present if the Legislature is unable to pull off the miracle of getting a vote through by next Friday,” Ashe said.
Scott is not ready to abandon his plan.
“I’ve placed my pathway, my roadmap of sorts to how we can get there, and if they don’t agree at this point, I’m all ears in terms of how we can accomplish the goals of this initiative,” he said.
He said legislators don’t have to agree with the spending freeze to move it forward.
“As long as they agree with my vision and we can do this without taxes and fees, I think that’s half the battle, is agreeing to the vision,” Scott said.
Democratic House Speaker Mitzi Johnson said she’s concerned about the effects of placing new liabilities on the education fund, like higher education, child care subsidies and teacher retirement costs, as Scott has proposed, VPR reported.
Adding them to the education fund will only enlarge property tax rates in the future, she said.
Scott’s plan also requires Town Meeting Day school budget votes to be pushed back to May 23.
___
Information from: WVPS-FM, https://www.vpr.net
Please read our comment policy before commenting.