Committee accepts House amendments to legislative budget, okays use of 15th-floor space for staff

A joint Senate-House committee voted to accept House amendments to the legislative budget that increase several line items, transfer printing costs to the secretary of state and add a provision allowing Legislative Council staff to use office space on the Capitol's 15th floor to house additional employees.

Representative Meyer, who walked the committee through the House changes, said the measure raises the "maximum monthly increase" for an unspecified benefit from $2,079 to $2,475 and that passage of Senate Bill 2084 added $198,000 to the budget. "The first thing that we did was we added funding, for the maximum monthly increase," Meyer said.

The House amendments also add $10,000 for legislators' form dues, and add $290,000 for public printing of bill copies; the printing amount was described as a transfer of funding from the Office of the Secretary of State tied to House Bill 1002. Committee members were…