The Legislative Coordinating Council on an unspecified date approved revised budgets for legislative agencies, including carryover ARPA funds for the CALIS modernization project and several items tied to a possible redistricting special session, and accepted a last-minute amendment to add a 10% merit-based salary increase for legislative agency staff.

Dylan, a legislative staff member presenting the budget overview, told the council the packet “summarizes the major adjustments to both the current year and the budget year, agency budgetary submissions.” He said carryforward ARPA funds for the CALIS modernization total about $2,600,000 and that the total all-funds revised estimate for the current year is $56.5 million compared with $55.2 million previously approved.

Why it matters: The budgets set staffing and program resources for the legislature’s operations and fund short-term needs such as redistricting support and technology modernization; several members said they lacked sufficient time to review the materials before the meeting.

Key details from the approved budget and discussion: Dylan and other staff identified these line items in the revised budgets and the budget-year requests:
- $2,600,000 (ARPA carryover) for CALIS modernization (carryforward from FY25).
- $500,000 SGF to modernize the voting board.
- $400,000 SGF for conversion to Amazon Web Services and mainframe retirement (FY26 setup; further savings expected in later years).
- $400,000 SGF allocated for costs tied to a redistricting special session (estimated for a four-day session; licensing and other fees are additional).
- Estimated $400,000 SGF to reflect a 4.4% increase in legislative compensation beginning Jan. 1, 2026 (estimate subject to BLS data/certification).
- $200,000 SGF for session staff pay adjustments.
- $100,000 SGF for a K–12 funding simulator.
- Two half-year FTEs in FY26: one at $127,380 (Accido) and one at $105,600 (CISO); FY27 shows full-year FTE proposals including a CTO and CISO with larger salary amounts.

Senator Sykes expressed concern about receipt timing and asked whether the committee had a full accounting for redistricting-related costs, noting licensing and per-day estimates. Dylan and other staff answered that redistricting technical work sits in the Legislative Research Department and that the $60,000 line for redistricting licenses is separate from the $400,000 item for the special session (which includes member mileage and other expenses and could vary by session length).

Several members, including Senator Blasey, pressed for larger salary adjustments for agency staff to retain and recruit attorneys, revisers and researchers; Blasey offered a substitute motion to approve the budget with a 10% merit-based increase for legislative agencies (research, post audit, Legislative Administrative Services, and reviser of statutes). The substitute motion was seconded by Senator Schallenberger. After discussion about review timing and process, the council voted to approve the budgets with Blasey’s amendment.

Procedural notes and short-term follow-up: Multiple council members said they received the budget materials shortly before the meeting and requested earlier distribution in future cycles. Presenters said the revised estimates are subject to certification (for example, the compensation adjustment depends on final BLS data and a certification from the Reviser of Statutes). Gordon Self, Reviser of Statutes, said his office is working to fill vacant attorney positions and that turnover is driven in part by nonlegislative employers offering higher starting salaries.

Votes at a glance: The council recorded the motion to approve the legislative agency budgets, the substitute motion from Senator Blasey for a 10% merit increase, and the final approval; the record shows the motion carried (detailed roll-call tallies were not provided in the transcript).

Ending: The approved budgets will be forwarded in the legislature’s budget process; several members noted further review will happen in the larger budget cycle and that additional certification paperwork remains for some items.