Chair proposes Armstrong baseline as starting point for Protection and Advocacy Project budget

Chairman Nelson convened the Human Resources Division section of the House Appropriations Committee to review the Protection and Advocacy Project budget and asked staff to explain differences between the competing executive proposals and how the committee will handle amendments.

Legislative staff summarized why the two executive budgets differ and what items the committee will routinely treat the same going forward. "In this case, really the only difference would be with the, salaries and wages increase," staff member Adam said, and he identified standard adjustments—salary and health insurance increases and a new-and-vacant FTE pool—that will appear across agency worksheets.

The committee was told the Armstrong version of the executive recommendation is the simplest baseline for the panel to adopt now, subject to any member amendments. Chairman Nelson said using the Armstrong figures as a baseline would allow the legislative staff…