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Committee examines program and staffing requests for meals, legal/ethics offices, tax-assistance and criminal justice items
Summary
The committee reviewed diverse smaller-dollar and personnel requests, including a proposed restaurant-meals SNAP pilot, ethics commission staff positions, an extra VITA staffer to move sites to full-time equivalents, and a slate of Criminal Justice Council equipment and position requests.
The committee reviewed multiple social-service program requests and several staffing position requests that members said require careful prioritization against larger appropriations.
On food-security proposals, members discussed a proposed SNAP restaurant meals program startup line of $175,000, described by a lobbyist as roughly $100,000 for positions and $50,000 for startup costs for participating restaurants (software upgrades, etc.). Members said they would be reluctant to cut Meals on Wheels or senior meal sites and suggested that, if cuts are necessary, the SNAP restaurant-meals pilot would be a lower priority.
The Ethics Commission requested two new positions — a legal counsel and a staff attorney — to handle an increased caseload after legislation expanded municipal-ethics duties in the prior biennium. Several members said funding at least one position should be a priority if full funding faces resistance.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program requested funding to increase each site’s existing 0.75 full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing to a full-time FTE, an increase the committee noted would cost about $148,000 and allow year-round tax-assistance coverage, particularly in rural areas.
The Criminal Justice Council presented a suite of requests that included a $300,000 curriculum ask, a $700,000 bundle of RFPs for equipment (iPads, cameras and similar items), a $103,000 grouping for additional RFPs, and roughly $332,000 for three staffing positions (one listed as athletic trainer, one canine training position and one described as a separate position). Committee members asked staff to review the council’s memo for line-item detail.
Committee members also discussed a $1.5 million Secretary of State line for a printed voter guide; at least one committee member questioned whether printing and mailing a statewide guide is an efficient use of funds given digital availability. Members noted they will ask the Secretary of State’s office to clarify the plan and expected benefits.
