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JFAC asks Office of Energy and Mineral Resources and Health and Welfare to report on moving home energy programs
Summary
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved language directing the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources to work with the Department of Health and Welfare and report steps necessary to transfer the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and Weatherization Assistance Program if the Legislature chooses to do so.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved a motion requiring the Office of Energy and Mineral Resources (OEMR) to work with the Department of Health and Welfare to produce a report outlining steps necessary to transfer administration of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Weatherization Assistance Program into OEMR, if the Legislature later elects to make such a transfer.
Committee staff summarized the OEMR FY2026 budget request, which included a fund-shift to align personnel costs between dedicated accounts, an ongoing federal appropriation of $24,500,000 to administer the Home Energy Rebates program, and a governor’s recommendation for one FTP and $481,100 from the general fund for the Speed Council (a request that committee members earlier declined to approve). The committee debated separate language provisions; members removed objectionable language that would have directed local transportation departments and confirmed that the Speed Council language was not included in the OEMR language adopted today.
The report language adopted directs OEMR and the Department of Health and Welfare to provide a timeline and steps the Legislature would need to follow to transfer LIHEAP and Weatherization Assistance Program grants and their administration into OEMR. Committee members clarified the motion requests a report only; it does not perform the transfer or move funds. The report is to be provided to JFAC by the date specified in the language (no-later-than date as recorded in the packet).
Why it matters: moving program administration for federally funded assistance programs would change which state agency manages grants and program operations, with implications for staffing, eligibility, and program administration. Committee members debated whether the language had been vetted by a work group; one member who authored the language said it was intended to prompt agencies to discuss program fit and offer a recommendation.
Votes and procedural notes: the OEMR budget maintenance motion and the report-language motion moved forward with recorded votes. Committee members emphasized that the language requires only a report, not an actual transfer of grants or money.
Ending: committee leaders closed the session after completing the day's package; they reiterated that the committee would only reconvene if the House or Senate later killed items on the floor.
