Joint Fiscal Office outlines rescission rules, emergency‑board options and draft Senate language to respond to federal funding cuts

Emily Burton and Catherine Benham of the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) briefed the committee on April 25 about current rescission law and proposed budget language the Senate added to address potential federal funding reductions.

The JFO presentation summarized current statute and described a three‑tier approach the budget language uses to provide administrative flexibility without bypassing legislative oversight. The memo presented to the committee explains how reductions in the state revenue forecast normally trigger a rescission process and how the emergency board and Joint Fiscal Committee (JFC) participate when the General Assembly is not in session.

Why it matters: Committee members and JFO staff emphasized that federal funding is large and unevenly distributed across departments. The language under consideration would create a clearer baseline for measuring federal reductions, give the emergency board limited authority to transfer a specifically appropriated contingency, and preserve legislative review in larger rescissions.

Key points from the briefing

- Current rescission process: JFO summarized the current law: rescission is triggered when the revenue forecast declines and the governor or…