By Elizabet Hewitt | VTDigger | June 22, 2017
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[…] Amy Shollenberger, a lobbyist for Action Circles, said the final agreement between lawmakers and the administration seemed to be a true compromise in that nobody walked away with a full win.
“They say a good compromise is when nobody gets anything good,” Shollenberger said. “It seems like everybody gave in in a certain way, although I do think the governor got more of what he wanted than anybody else.”
She said it remains to be seen how the compromise proposal will play out on local levels and how school boards respond.
Shollenberger said the budgeting process played out differently than in past years because lawmakers early on rejected a key piece of Scott’s budget proposal, involving a delay in local school budget votes. This administration also seemed to have less of a presence in legislative committee rooms than others did in past years, she said.
Meanwhile, another factor hanging over Vermont lawmakers is the impact of possible budget cuts in Washington, D.C.
“The wild card is still the federal budget,” she said. “I think that’s a big piece of what made this year so weird.” […]