Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ombudsman Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
JFAC leaves Health and Social Services Ombudsman at current funding level; rejects a small salary increase request
Summary
Committee voted to provide no additional appropriation for the newly created Office of the Health and Social Services Ombudsman while rejecting a substitute motion to add $25,000 for salaries.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted to not increase the FY2026 appropriation for the Office of the Health and Social Services Ombudsman, an office established last session to review health and social-services complaints involving children in state care.
Representative Price moved, and the committee approved, a motion providing no additional appropriation for FY2026. A substitute motion by Senator Cook to add $25,000 for salary increases was considered and failed on a committee tie; the original no-additional-appropriation motion then passed in subsequent voting.
Analysts reminded the committee the office was created by last session’s Senate Bill 1380 and that it is statutorily required to operate independently of other agencies. Committee members who supported limiting growth said that the office and its director are new and that the committee should hold the new office to the current appropriation while it establishes operations. Lawmakers who supported additional funding said case counts and workload already exist and that full staffing should be funded; analysts noted the office reported having a caseload in the low dozens.
Vote and outcome: The committee approved the no-additional-appropriation motion (final announced totals after the substitute failed: Senate 6 yes, 4 no; House 9 yes, 1 no; total recorded: 15 yes, 5 no) and accepted the prepared motion language as presented.
Why it matters: the office oversees complaints and monitors child welfare and related systems; committee direction to hold funding steady leaves oversight to existing appropriations and requires the office to proceed without new FY2026 dollars beyond the base budget.
What’s next: the office will continue operations under current budget authority, and the committee retained the option to reconsider appropriations in later sessions after the office demonstrates operational needs or returns follow-up reports.
