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Appropriations Committee assigns members to comb budgets, grants and produce $20 million options
Summary
Committee members were given homework: review ups and downs, identify new base items and grant lines, and submit candidate cuts or re‑allocations (including a target of $20 million) by the committee’s stated deadline to inform FY 2026 choices.
After the ADS presentation the House Appropriations Committee shifted to internal work planning, assigning members to review agency budgets and grant inventories and to surface possible savings or one‑time funds.
"I'm going to give you all an assignment to do about finding money and where you want to spend money so that we all kind of are engaged in making these decisions as a committee," the committee chair said. The chair asked members to examine the governor's recommended base items, the ups‑and‑downs reports, and the grants inventory and to forward findings to committee staff.
Joint Fiscal Office staff walked members through the Vantage budget reports and a grants inventory available on the JFO site as tools for that review. Emily Byrne, Joint Fiscal Office, demonstrated where committee members could find grants and special fund lines for departments such as Fish and Wildlife and Commerce and Community Development.
Committee staff asked members to identify items that are "new base" or otherwise not part of a status‑quo operating budget — examples included new positions, one‑time grants and newly embedded programs. Members were told to exclude routine salary and benefits changes, which are shown separately in the ups‑and‑downs reports.
The committee asked members to send Maria/Marie (committee staff) an anonymized list of candidate reductions and one‑time funds, including grant lines and special funds that merit further review. The chair set an immediate deadline: provide ups‑and‑downs and grant findings by "tomorrow morning" so staff could assemble a consolidated wish list and short list for committee deliberations.
The committee framed the assignment as a shared responsibility: members should return a prioritized list of places they would cut to free up money for higher priorities. The chair said the committee will use the consolidated list to decide which governor's requests to retain and which to trim, and to set a target for reallocations. "I'm going to ask you to think about where you're gonna find $20,000,000," the chair said.
Staff emphasized practical steps: check the governor's budget summary for items described as new or different from the base, consult the ups‑and‑downs for each agency, and use the grants inventory to find recurring or under‑used grant lines (including special funds tied to license revenues or pass‑through federal funds).
No formal votes were taken during this part of the meeting. Committee staff said they will compile the submissions, anonymize them for internal ranking, and return a consolidated list to members for the committee’s next meeting.
