Senate panel advances $8.5 billion state budget that would end pandemic-era motel program
VTDigger
Senate budget writers have advanced their draft of Vermont’s $8.5 billion budget, which would inject tens of millions of new money into child care, health care and the human services — and end, as of July 1, a pandemic-era motel housing program that thousands currently rely on for shelter.
The bill, H.494, as unanimously amended by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday afternoon, would direct significant sums to housing, including $50 million to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, a fifth of which would be dedicated to building out shelter space for unhoused Vermonters. There’s also $10 million in one-time money for the Vermont Housing Improvement Program, which gives landlords grants to get vacant and derelict units back online.