Montpelier
The E-board, which is chaired by the governor and composed of officials and lawmakers involved in budget and tax decisions, usually meets twice a year, in January and July.
An extraordinary meeting was called last month amid a standoff between legislators and the governor over the use of unexpected surplus revenue in state coffers. The governor invited members of the E-board to another meeting this week or next, depending on availability, as revenue projections continue to rise.
Bradley Ferland, the governor’s deputy secretary of administration, said the administration’s analysts hoped to meet with legislative analysts this week to get on the same page about an updated projection.
Steve Klein, chief fiscal officer for the Legislature’s Joint Fiscal Office, said the meeting request was “unusual” and “very atypical for the process,” but said it would be up to legislators how to respond to the invitation. He declined to comment on the accuracy of the revenue projection.
Secretary of Administration Susanne Young released a revised revenue forecast on Tuesday afternoon, estimating $11 million in additional surplus “will be available for appropriation during the special session.”
That’s on top of the $44 million in additional revenue settled on during last month’s E-board meeting. Ferland credited the uptick to low unemployment, a strong stock market and other factors.
“We haven’t seen this type of revenue uptick in a long time,” Ferland said.
The last time the E-board met more often than twice a year was during the economic recession a decade ago, when it was meeting on a quarterly basis, he added.
As the Republican governor and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate remain entrenched on opposite sides of a $20 million gap in the education fund, Ferland said it was important for both sides to recognize how much money was on the table “because of what’s at stake.”
“The revenue is there. Let’s recognize it, and let’s use it to the degree we can while the legislature is in session,” the deputy secretary said.
As revenue continues to increase, it is increasingly possible for the governor to meet his objective of paying down property taxes, with money left over for the Legislature to fulfill its priority of paying down outstanding liabilities in the state employees pension fund, Ferland said.
Scott’s spokeswoman, Rebecca Kelley, said the administration was calling for an E-board meeting this month for the same reason the Legislature called for one last month: to inform ongoing negotiations over the state’s budget and taxes.
“We agreed with the Legislature’s call for the meeting last month, and feel this is the exact same circumstance and therefore warrants another meeting,” Kelley said in an email.
“Given the current debate over the Legislative majority’s insistence on raising property tax rates, having a complete and up-to-date picture of state revenue is critical to our work to reach agreement,” she said.
Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caldonia, the head of the Senate’s budget writing committee, said she viewed the request as a political play by the governor.
“Obviously the governor is using this as another opportunity to advance his agenda and I think it will have to be weighed within that framework,” Kitchel said.
“What this does is say, I think, there’s more one-time money, but the fundamental issue remains, which is the way one-time money is used for ongoing expenses,” she said. “Do I think $11 million would fundamentally change the budgeting principles? For me, it doesn’t.”
Democrats have accused Scott of trying to govern on a credit card, arguing that whatever money is spent on keeping taxes low this year will only create a bigger hole next year, and that each year of no new taxes will only increase the shock to Vermonters if and when they have to pay the actual tax rate.
The administration and Joint Fiscal Office generally are expected to agree to a consensus forecast ahead of an E-board meeting.
Rep. Janet Ancel, D-Calais, who is chairwoman of the House tax committee, said she doesn’t see the benefit it adjusting the revenue estimate now, when the board has a meeting scheduled for next month.
“This strikes me as more political than good policy,” Ancel said, adding that coming up with the revenue estimate requires extensive work from economists for the administration and Legislature.
“To do something quick and dirty now, may take some time,” she said. “I don’t know how much staff time it would take, but I really don’t know what’s gained by it.”