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Joint Budget Committee approves new process to combine long‑bill drafts and authorizes staff to prepare omnibus cash‑fund bill
Summary
The Joint Budget Committee agreed to a clarified drafting process to reduce the number of separate long‑bill packages, authorized staff to prepare a combined bill removing required appropriations to certain cash funds, and approved content for two initial bill drafts to be consolidated for introduction later in the session.
The Joint Budget Committee on an administrative motion adopted a clarified process for long‑bill drafting that asks staff to flag pieces of legislation that can be merged into existing joint bills and to bring the committee a consolidated list before final introduction.
Kelly Shen, joint budget committee staff, told members the process intends to “ensure clarity for OLLS and reduce the number of bills within the long bill package.” She said staff will flag items during figure setting and the committee should, where practicable, include instructions in motions that a draft be merged into an existing joint bill.
The change aims to let staff, Office of Legislative Legal Services (OLLS) and JBC avoid producing multiple stand‑alone drafts that later would need to be recombined. Shen said staff will return the week of the 17th with an initial draft list and a proposed final list on Wednesday the 19th for the committee’s final votes on combined and stand‑alone introductions.
Members voted to approve the content of two draft measures for consolidation rather than approve them for immediate introduction: a draft to repeal a statutory appropriation to a collaborative management cash fund and a draft to repeal a statutory appropriation to the Child Abuse Prevention Trust Fund. Lou Ellen Lowe, JBC staff, presented the two bills and explained that the drafts would retain the overall funding amounts but change the mechanics so appropriations come directly from the general fund rather than routing through cash funds.
Committee members also voted unanimously to give staff authority to work with OLLS to prepare a bill that will allow combination of the types of repeal/appropriation bills discussed, and to prepare a consolidated draft the committee can vote on later.
The committee emphasized these approvals covered content only; final sponsor assignments and formal approvals for introduction will come after staff presents the consolidated list.
Ending: The committee’s procedural votes are intended to reduce drafting workload for OLLS and to limit the number of discrete long‑bill drafts. Staff will return with a consolidated package and proposed bill titles for members to approve before any bill is placed on bill paper.
