Senate Minority Leader Sen. Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, speaks during an earlier debate on the state’s motel housing program at the Statehouse on March 28, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe Legislature has once again sent a midyear spending bill to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk, but a partisan stan doff over Vermont’s motel voucher program continues to unfold.On Thursday afternoon, the Senate gave final approval to its second attempt at an annual budget adjustment bill, after Scott vetoed the first version last month. But without a key change sought by Republicans to narrow criteria for the voucher program, the bill appears destined to meet the same fate.Republicans brought forward an amendment on Thursday to bring eligibility rules for the motel program in line with an executive order signed by Scott late last week. The order — which the Legislature’s chief lawyer has called unconstitutional — extended motel stays for families with children and certain people with acute medical needs through June 30. “Those individuals would be prioritized over any other eligible people,” said Senate Minority Leader Scott Beck, R-Caledonia, when bringing forward the amendment on the Senate floor.Democrats, who have sought an extension for all people sheltered through the program via the midyear spending bill, stood by that conviction on Thursday. The motel program’s looser winter rules ended for the season earlier this week, on April 1. While the governor’s executive order shields a narrow group from time restrictions on their stays this spring, it left out the majority of people eligible for the program over the winter months — including people over the age of 65 and people fleeing domestic violence. Evictions for those not included in the order began Tuesday. All of these unhoused individuals met vulnerability criteria determined by the Legislature last year, and lawmakers voiced their opposition to further winnowing down access to emergency housing.“Are we exiting veterans who are 100% disabled but don’t need to plug something in to stay alive?” said Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden Southeast. “Are we exiting widows because they’re not getting cancer treatment, but they simply lost a spouse, and that’s not good enough anymore?”Lawmakers also emphasized constitutional concerns with Scott’s order, and the danger of codifying it into law.“This is not a small issue,” said Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham. “The rule of law and respect for the constitution does not get swept away in one broad stroke, but rather it occurs through the death of a thousand cuts.” The Senate ultimately declined to approve the amendment, with all Democrats voting against it, except for Sen. Thomas Chittenden, D-Chittenden Southeast, who said he sided with Republicans in order to advance a bill Scott would sign. The bill ultimately passed on a party-line vote.The ongoing stalemate over the spending bill makes the prospect of passing the midyear adjustment increasingly improbable. At a meeting of the House’s budget panel earlier on Thursday, members of Scott’s administration told lawmakers they were beginning to make preparations in case no such bill makes it to the finish line. “It’ll be complex. It won’t be easy. It’ll be very challenging for financial offices across the state,” said Secretary of Administration Sarah Clark. “But we do believe that we can develop a plan that will support the core functions of state government through the end of the fiscal year through the mechanisms that we have available to us.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Still at odds over motel program, Senate sends another spending bill to Phil Scott. ...read more read less