House committee advances constitutional spending-cap bill to move forward with fiscal notes attached

Representative Will Stapp, sponsor of House Bill 51, told the House Judiciary Committee that HB 51 is part of a two-bill package to change the statutory appropriation limit (the constitutional spending cap). Stapp told the committee the bill must be enacted alongside its companion measure in the other chamber for the change to take effect. "HB 51 is basically first in a 2 parter. It's a change in the statutory appropriation limit, i.e., constitutional spending cap," Stapp said.

Committee members asked whether the cap would interfere with the state’s ability to respond to unforeseen emergencies. Representative Kopp asked specifically about disaster response such as highway washouts; Stapp replied, "No. So disasters are exempt from the statutory and the constitution appropriation limit as is, there's a list of other ones, federal funding, etcetera."

After brief discussion and no amendments filed to the committee deadline, Representative Cott moved that HB 51 (work order 34/LS0377/A) be moved from committee with attached fiscal notes. The motion carried by unanimous consent; the committee clerk recorded that, "Hearing no objection, HB 51 ... moves from committee with attached fiscal notes." Committee members agreed to sign paperwork after adjournment.

The measure was advanced from committee for further consideration by the full legislature; committee members noted that one or more companion measures would also be required for the cap change to take legal effect. The committee previewed future hearings on other bills at the end of the session and adjourned.