Montpelier
But failing to gain commitments from Sen. President Pro Tem Tim Ashe and Scott on their new plan, House members backed out of a second attempt at compromise late Friday night.
Instead, House Democrats decided to vote against compromise amendments they had proposed and instead advanced the budget bill passed by the Senate earlier this week, drawing the ire of Republicans, who decried the pivot as “disingenuous.”
At the end of the night, the Senate version of the budget was passed in the House, but Minority Leader Don Turner, R-Milton, who said he did not realize it was the final vote on the bill, accidentally voted yes, and said he would be calling for a “re-evaluation,” meaning the House will return to vote on the bill again on Monday.
Lawmakers were attempting to break a deadlocked special session that began on May 23, and prevent a government shutdown on July 1.
Following weeks of gridlock, House members and administration officials said on Friday that they had finally hammered out an agreement that could resolve the property tax dispute at the heart of their disagreement, potentially ending a weekslong impasse over the state’s spending package.
The plan would have put in place the Senate’s spending package next year but also split a large pot of anticipated surplus revenue.
Under the plan, up to $28.3 million in anticipated surplus revenue would be split 50-50: half would go to the education fund to lower property tax rates and half would into paying down teacher pensions liabilities.
The governor, who previously had refused to consider any agreement that failed to prevent an increase in property taxes next year, said he was on board with the plan, and willing to agree to a property tax increase.
But Senate leadership was not on board, according to lawmakers.
Senators expressed trepidation about allocating even more one-time money to buy down tax rates in 2020, according to Rep. Kitty Toll, D-Danville, who is chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“When the Senate looked at this proposal they had some great concerns about setting aside additional one-time money for ongoing expenses and the hole that would create,” Toll said during a meeting of the House Republican Caucus on Friday night.
Responding to the Senate’s concerns, Toll proposed to divvy up the pot of anticipated surplus three ways.
In an amendment she put on the table, one pot of money would go toward paying down property tax rates in 2020, the governor’s priority; another would go toward teachers pension liability, a Democratic priority; and the third would go toward a spendable reserve in the general fund, a concession to Senate leadership.
“The conversations broke down and this looked like a way out for me where everybody got a little of something,” Toll said.
During weeks of back and forth discussions over the budget, the governor successfully pressured legislators to use about $20 million in one-time money for paying down education property tax rates, but fell short of the $40 million he needed to fully buying down tax rates next year.
Scott repeatedly has pledged not to allow a tax rate increase in 2019, but he also has repeatedly said that fears of a government shutdown were unfounded because he would reach a deal with lawmakers before the budget deadline.
The governor already has vetoed two budget bills during this session over built-in or potential tax increases.
