Senate committee recommends concurrence on HB 3, supplemental appropriations for FY2025

House Bill 3, a supplemental appropriation measure to cover estimated shortfalls in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, won a committee recommendation for concurrence after lawmakers questioned large agency increases.

Senator Kaczmeier, the bill carrier, told the panel that HB 3 "provide[s] funding for unanticipated costs necessary to complete the fiscal year 2025," and described it as the routine annual supplemental request.

The bill drew questions about specific line items. Senator Ellis asked for explanations of large amounts, noting on the record that "public health and human services, that's at over $27,000,000," and that the Department of Justice and Department of Corrections had significant increases. Kaczmeier said the health-and-human-services shortfall stems largely from reliance on contracted clinical staff to operate 24/7; the Department of Justice increases include retirement- and legal-services related costs; and corrections costs reflect higher per-diem costs, including out‑of‑state bed costs.

Senator Usher objected to the scale of the request, saying, "this is $70,000,000, and I'm not satisfied with the answers that were given," and asked for more explanation before supporting the package. Other senators pressed for detail on multiple specific lines, including a state-auditor reinsurance increase and smaller district-level education distributions noted in the fiscal note.

Senator Kaczmeier moved that the committee recommend concurrence in HB 3. The transcript records the committee vote as a voice vote with the clerk noting, "Senators vote aye. And 24 senators vote nay." The committee reported that House Bill 3 be concurred in; the Senate later adopted the committee report on the floor.

The bill text appropriates unspecified totals to multiple agencies for FY2025; the fiscal note and line-item descriptions were the principal focus of committee questioning. No roll-call vote listing individual senators was recorded in the transcript excerpt for the committee motion.

For readers tracking next steps: HB 3 was reported out of the committee of the whole and placed on the Senate calendar for further action as part of the concurrent process between chambers.

Ending: The committee endorsement moves HB 3 forward to the full Senate for final consideration and any subsequent enrollment steps between the two chambers.