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Committee recommends $6,338,640 transfer from legislative cash fund to general fund to help close budget shortfall
Summary
The Executive Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Joint Budget Committee include a $6,338,640 transfer from the legislative department cash fund to the state general fund (an increase of $2 million from the committee's earlier recommendation) to help address the statewide budget shortfall and preserve legislative reserves.
The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council unanimously recommended that the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) include a $6,338,640 transfer from the legislative department cash fund to the state general fund as part of the long bill package, an increase of $2 million from the committee’s earlier recommendation.
Madam Speaker moved the recommendation, saying the transfer should be effectuated through the JBC long bill transfer process so it mirrors how prior transfers were handled. "I move that we recommend that the joint budget committee include a $6,338,640 transfer from the legislative department cash fund to the general fund in the long bill package, which is an increase of $2,000,000 from our previous recommendation," she said.
Committee members discussed the tradeoffs between addressing the state's budget shortfall and preserving a reserve for the legislative branch. Several members noted the legislative branch has no separate, codified emergency reserve; one speaker observed a 15% emergency reserve would be about $11 million for the legislative department. That speaker said maintaining a balance in the cash fund felt appropriate because the fund had been used previously for building emergencies and construction work.
One member described bids on upcoming furniture purchases that came in around $1,200,000, lower than previously represented, and said that additional transfers could be revisited later. Another member noted a broader pool of funds might be available as the construction project progresses and suggested the committee could consider a larger transfer over time.
Madam Speaker’s motion passed on a unanimous roll call (Duran; Lundin; Deglise; Rodriguez; Madam Speaker; Mr. President). The committee discussion recorded that the money would move from the cash fund to the general fund via the JBC transfer language included in the long bill.
Natalie Castle of Legislative Council staff was credited during the meeting for work producing the relevant figures; the chair recognized her contribution.
The action is a recommendation to JBC and does not itself effectuate the transfer; final execution depends on JBC inclusion in the long bill package.
