House Appropriations advances seven bills, sends measures to Committee of the Whole

The House Appropriations Committee advanced seven bills at a morning meeting, forwarding each to the Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendations. Votes ranged from unanimous approval to narrow margins, and sponsors adopted several technical amendments on the floor.

Why it matters: The committee controls whether funding and budget-related policy changes proceed to full consideration by the House. The seven bills affect state agencies' budgets and procedures, including the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), judicial staffing for the Seventh Judicial District, an appropriation and reporting requirements for expedited DNA kit processing, and a technical change to the TABOR population-growth calculation used to compute the state spending limit.

House Bill 1005 (sponsor: Majority Leader Duran and Rep. Titone) was presented with no committee questions or sponsor amendments. The chair thanked OEDIT for working with the committee and said OEDIT “think[s] that they can make this work without any new FTE” if the state is awarded the Sundance Film Festival. The committee moved HB1005 to the Committee of the Whole with a favorable recommendation; the motion passed 8–2 with one member excused.

House Bill 1094 (sponsors: Reps. Brown and Johnson) likewise drew no committee amendments. The committee moved HB1094 to the Committee of the…