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House Finance subcommittee largely adopts Department of Law budget, declines extra statehood defense funding
Summary
A House Finance Budget Subcommittee recommended the Department of Law operating budget for FY26 largely as proposed by the governor, approving new attorney positions and rejecting an additional $1 million request for statehood defense funding.
The House Finance Budget Subcommittee for the Department of Law recommended an FY26 operating budget that closely tracks the governor's amended proposal but rejects an additional statehood defense request.
The subcommittee proposed $84,799,100 in unrestricted general funds (UGF), $3,016,800 in designated general funds (DGF), $42,482,100 in other funds and $2,452,300 in federal funds, for a total of $132,750,300. The package includes 611 permanent full‑time positions and 29 temporary positions. The subcommittee held four meetings on the department's budget and adopted the governor's proposed items except for one item related to expanded statehood defense efforts.
Why it matters: The subcommittee approved new positions aimed at reducing caseload pressure and handling specific legal workloads but declined further statehood defense spending, signaling restraint on that line despite prior appropriations.
The subcommittee funded five new permanent full‑time positions in the criminal division, at about $1,100,000 UGF, and funded an Attorney 5 position dedicated to complex Brady disclosures at roughly $279,909 UGF and another Attorney 5 plus a law office assistant for post‑conviction relief at approximately $387,300 UGF. In the civil division, funding moved labor relations analysts into the Department of Law in line with the governor’s Administrative Order 356 (September 2024) and added an Attorney 5 for labor relations work at $279,900 UGF.
On the statehood defense request, the subcommittee noted the department already has a $500,000 temporary increment in the FY25 base covering FY25–FY27 and earlier appropriations of $3,700,000 remain unspent. The department testified that statehood defense has cost the state an estimated $2–$3 million per year since FY22. After considering that testimony and the available unspent funds, the subcommittee declined an additional $1,000,000 for FY26–FY27.
The chair set an amendment deadline and the subcommittee received no member amendments. The subcommittee adopted the attached narrative and budget action (B.A.) reports that accompany the closeout.
The committee did not hold a roll call vote on these recommendations during the presentation; action on the full committee recommendation will occur in subsequent proceedings.
