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State Spending

When people in Montpelier talk about the state budget, more often than not they are referring to the General Fund. It covers almost every aspect of state government, and--aside from property taxes--the majority of taxes levied within the state go to support the General Fund. However, the General Fund represents about 30 percent of all state spending each year. Federal funds represent about 30 percent, as does the Education Fund. And there are numerous smaller funds. On the interactive pages in the State Spending section of this website, users can see how each of the funds supports various functions of state government.

(Currently, appropriations for fiscal 1994 through fiscal 2011 are available. Additional years will be posted as they become available) more...

Change year:Or specify a fund:
Funds:

Functions:
Appropriations by Function 2015 (all funds) :
General Government - $144,300,686
Protection to Persons and Property - $295,944,197
Human Services - $2,343,258,267
Labor - $30,303,165
General Education - $1,778,993,891
Higher Education and Other - $84,791,559
Natural Resources - $94,969,240
Commerce and Community Development - $72,106,803
Transportation - $663,168,481
Debt Service - $71,791,440
Miscellaneous - $12,535,165

View Individual Appropriations by Function (all funds)

General Government $144,300,686
Protection to Persons and Property $295,944,197
Human Services $2,343,258,267
Labor $30,303,165
General Education $1,778,993,891
Higher Education and Other $84,791,559
Natural Resources $94,969,240
Commerce and Community Development $72,106,803
Transportation $663,168,481
Debt Service $71,791,440
Miscellaneous $12,535,165
Total - 2015$5,592,162,894


Recent trends in Appropriations (all funds): (in millions)


view as bar graph
Start year End Year Change
yeartotal appropriations (all funds)change (base 2011)change (year-to-year)
2011 $4,849,096,588
2012 $4,867,953,655 0.4% 0.4%
2013 $5,125,205,156 5.7% 5.3%
2014 $5,370,335,935 10.7% 4.8%
2015 $5,592,162,894 15.3% 4.1%
State Spending (continued)

Vermont maintains several accounts from which money is appropriated and spent each year. The primary account is the General Fund, which covers most functions of state government - human services, environmental protection, economic development, agriculture, law enforcement, the court system, the governor's office, job training, the state police, and more. Two other major major accounts are the Education Fund and the Transportation Fund. In addition, the state maintains a separate account for federal money it receives to support a variety of programs, such as Medicaid, highway construction and maintenance, and job training.

Each fund has it's own source of revenue. In most cases, an particular tax, like the personal income tax, is dedicated to particular fund, like the General Fund. However, some taxes are allocated to more than one fund.

Typically, legislators and state officials mean the General Fund when they refer to the state budget. Most state taxes - except property taxes - support the General Fund, and it includes most of the activities and programs people associate with state government. However, the General Fund represents only about 30 percent of all state spending. The other big accounts are federal funds and the Education Fund, In additional, there are more than a dozen smaller funds that use used to track money flowing through state government.

The State Spending section of this website makes it possible for users to view funds together and separately to better under how Vermont pays for the various functions of state government. Users also can separate state funds from federal funding.

Within the major functions of state government, there are many smaller, detailed appropriations. For example, within the "human services" functions are the appropriations for the Department of Mental Health, Department of Corrections, Department for Children and Families, and others.

To view all of these line-item appropriations, click on the "view individual appropriations by function below." There will be a total for each major functions with the detailed appropriations below. Again, users can view the appropriations by year by individual fund or see total for all funds for each line-item.



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