Appropriations committee advances bills on stolen firearms, workers’‑comp court move, water-rights transition and curriculum funding

The House Appropriations Committee heard and acted on several bills in a multi‑hour session, advancing measures on criminal penalties, court administration, water‑rights administration and K‑12 curriculum funding.

House Bill 493, sponsored by Rep. Steve Kelly, would create the offense of possession of a stolen firearm. Kelly told the committee the bill is aimed at an uptick in stolen firearms and associated juvenile use. Natalie Smitham, chief financial officer for the Department of Corrections, testified about the fiscal note and said the department assumed a small incarceration impact: “When we look at these bills, our assumption is that there's a problem that the bill is trying to solve. We assume that the bill wouldn't be brought forward if there wasn't an impact… based on the language… we don't anticipate that it would be a significant impact.” Smitham said the department modeled two new incarcerations per year as a baseline, using its usual per‑diem estimate. Committee members pressed whether the offense would primarily affect juveniles; Vice Chair Mercer and others noted juvenile cases are typically handled in youth court unless the offense is made transferable to adult court. Representative Mercer said he believed the fiscal estimate overstated state prison costs if most cases remain in youth court. After discussion the committee voted to give HB 493 a due pass recommendation (vote 18–5).

The session also advanced a bill to transfer the Workers’ Compensation Court from the Department of Labor and Industry to the judicial branch (recorded as House Bill 516 in the committee record). Sponsor Ken Walsh summarized the bill’s fiscal profile and said the largest implementation cost is information technology integration. Dave McAlpin, court administrator, testified that the fiscal note lists a one‑time implementation estimate of about $757,000 to migrate data, add e‑filing and integrate the court into the state’s full‑court enterprise case management. McAlpin said the $757,000 splits…