Vermont Gov. Phil Scott signed a two-year infrastructure package into law June 14, appropriating almost $123 million in bonded dollars for a variety of initiatives, including courthouse upgrades, clean water projects and repairs at the Vermont Veterans' Home.
The capital bill is the state's regular spending legislation that finances construction and maintenance projects, and this biennium's package, H.493, also authorizes an added $50 million through a separate cash fund.
"The Capital Bill I signed today will yield dividends for years to come," Scott said in a statement released by his office. "In my inaugural address, I made clear one of my priorities was to use one-time surpluses for future required match funding, so that we can take full advantage of federal funding opportunities. This bill sets aside $32 million of surplus for clean water projects, which will draw down $375 million in federal dollars over the next several years. That incredible 12:1 ratio will support jobs, and community revitalization."
The spending package's clean water investments include $15.9 million for various initiatives, plus $9.8 million in the cash fund to match funding from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), according to VTDigger, a statewide news service.
Undoubtedly the most contentious item in H.493 is $14.5 million to begin planning and saving for a new women's prison.
What to do about Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, Vermont's only women's prison, has been the subject of debate for years. Journalists, advocates and attorneys have all documented unsanitary living conditions at the South Burlington prison, and state officials have long promised action.
However, VTDigger noted that prisoner advocates and criminal justice reformers in Vermont fear that building too large a facility will allow the state to lock up people without adequately prioritizing further strategies for decarceration.
Vermont government officials have not selected a site for a new prison, which they estimate would cost at least $70 million, and construction is not expected to begin within this bill's two-year cycle.
In a concession to advocates, lawmakers included language in the bill requiring the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) to send a report to the Legislature in November detailing "the proposed size and scale of replacement women's facilities."
The report would include the expected numbers of correctional and reentry beds, bed types for specialized populations, and data to back up the department's plan. Another report, due in January, asks the Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS) to propose a site for the prison.
Renovation, Repair Costs Covered by New Law
VTDigger listed other notable projects funded in H.493, including:
- HVAC renovations at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, at a cost of $7.6 million, plus an additional $150,000 for design documents on an expansion.
- Another $2.75 million for a roof replacement at the Brattleboro courthouse, $6 million for a renovation at the county courthouse in White River Junction, and $1.25 million for design and planning of a replacement for courthouse in Newport.
- A roof replacement, costing $1.3 million, for the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans, and $2.75 million is earmarked for projects at the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury.
- Improvements to the Vermont Veterans' Home, totaling $6 million, that includes an elevator upgrade, an emergency generator and a boiler plant replacement.
- Another $3.6 million for the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board.
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