Senate passes state budget, sends it to House

The Senate unanimously approved its version of the state's budget Tuesday.

"We kind of looked at the areas in terms of protecting our most vulnerable citizens," said State Sen. Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia.

Vermont senators are calling for more mental health and addiction workers to help fight the opioid crisis.

They'd like to spend $4.3 million of the state's nearly $6 billion budget on the crisis.

"Taking care of folks who suffer from mental illness goes hand in hand with economic development. They're not mutually exclusive," State Commerce Secretary Mike Schirling said.

Schirling is concerned that the Senate's budget cuts out any funding for a program he oversees called the Think Vermont Innovation Initiative, which he says would help attract workers needed to fill jobs and boost the state's economy.

"Growth is essential. If we don't mindfully grow, we don't develop our workforce. If we don't attract and retain more workers, (we're) going to continue to face the budget pressures that we are under today and have been for many years," Schirling said.

The Senate's version of the budget also doesn't fund Gov. Phil Scott's proposed tuition waver for members of the National Guard.

But Kitchel, who heads the state's Senate Committee on Appropriations, said the state already has programs to help veterans afford school, and the Legislature has to be fiscally responsible.

"I think we made a lot of investments in economic development, workforce development. It was in, perhaps, different ways to reflect, maybe, some of the things that have changed from January when the governor put his budget proposal together," Kitchel said.

The budget bill now moves to the state House for review.