The Operations Committee voted to report Senate Bill 160 to the House floor on a motion to advance the measure as a vehicle for completing the commonwealth's budget. Chairman Harris presided and put the motion for a roll call after members discussed funding delays that lawmakers said are affecting schools, home health providers and victim services.

Representative Krupa, a committee member, said the budget is more than two months late and described immediate consequences for local institutions. "Our budget is more than 2 months late, flat out unacceptable," Representative Krupa said. She said schools have been forced to take out loans to pay teachers and keep the lights on, "Home health agencies have warned me that they'll have to shut down services by the end of the month," and that "crime victim centers... are considering mass layoffs." Those statements were made during the committee discussion and reflect the concerns Krupa raised about delayed appropriations.

The committee's Republican members spoke in favor of moving the bill forward as a procedural step. A Committee Member (Republican) said advancing Senate Bill 160 is "a key step in the process of implementing a state budget" and announced that Republican members would vote in the affirmative on the motion. Chairman Harris announced that Democratic members would also vote in the affirmative; the chair declared, "Seeing that the ayes have it, House Senate Bill 160 will be reported from this committee to the floor of the House of Representatives." The committee then adjourned.

Why it matters: Reporting the bill as a vehicle allows lawmakers to alter and insert final appropriation numbers later in the process; committee members described the step as necessary to get funds flowing to entities that depend on state resources. Representative Krupa said the next scheduled voting session is not until September 29, a timetable she cited as part of her criticism of delays.

Discussion versus decision: The committee debate included statements of concern (Representative Krupa) and procedural justification for using the bill as a vehicle (Committee Member (Republican)). The formal action was the committee vote to report Senate Bill 160 to the House floor; no final appropriation numbers were adopted at the committee meeting.

Next steps: The bill is to be placed on the floor calendar, where members said final appropriation figures will be inserted at a later stage before final passage.