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Senate budget adds transport deputy funding, moves urban search-and-rescue to base; committee questions positions and equipment costs
Summary
The Senate budget restores $650,000 intended for transport deputy staffing and moves an urban search-and-rescue appropriation into the base, while the committee sought clarity on how many positions are new, funded or vacant.
The House Appropriations Committee reviewed several public-safety and corrections funding changes included in the Senate's FY2026 budget, focusing on positions and equipment costs.
Emily Byrne of the Joint Fiscal Office told the committee the Senate agreed with the House to include $650,000 for state's attorneys and sheriffs, intended to cover additional transport deputy positions. Committee discussion indicated the funding is designed to retain four filled positions and allow filling two vacant positions, while the Senate separately added two more positions (not funded in the same pot), which would increase headcount if funded later.
Byrne also noted the Senate added positions to the Labor Relations Board pursuant to S125; those new positions depend on the outcome of that bill. On emergency-response funding, Byrne said the Senate increased the urban search-and-rescue allocation by $50,000 and moved the program from one-time money to the base within the Department of Public Safety.
Committee members expressed concern about equipment-cost volatility. One member flagged that planned camera purchases could cost more than expected if tariffs and supply-chain shifts raise prices; Byrne said the budget reflects current appropriations but that agencies may revisit procurement plans if prices change.
Why it matters: the $650,000 and position changes affect staffing levels in sheriff and prosecutor offices and could change operational capacity for transport and detention. Moving urban search-and-rescue to the base creates a continuing obligation rather than a one-time investment and drew questions about permanence.
The committee asked JFO staff to clarify which positions are limited-service or permanent and to provide a positions spreadsheet that reconciles House and Senate counts; no formal votes were taken during the meeting segment summarized here.
