House Appropriations Committee approves FY 2025 budget adjustment draft after brief debate

The House Appropriations Committee approved a draft of the FY 2025 Budget Adjustment Act (draft request 25) on Feb. 3, 2025, by recorded roll call and sent the measure on to Ways and Means for further consideration.

The vote followed a motion to approve “draft request 25 … 1.1 of the budget adjustment act,” which was made and seconded on the committee floor. The chair said the bill will go to Ways and Means “and be voted out of Ways and Means tomorrow,” and that it will be back on notice Wednesday and on the floor Thursday and Friday.

The vote drew a short period of substantive comment rather than extended debate. Representative Wayne raised concerns about one section of the bill that he said had not received public testimony: “We don’t know what the costs are … Are we creating an attractive nuisance where children and drug dealers are intermingled?” he said, urging that the committee had not had adequate testimony on that provision. The chair responded that appropriations typically do not get the same in-depth policy testimony as policy committees and noted that the Human Services Committee had heard from witnesses, including Theresa, on the language.

Representative Lynn criticized removal of a previously discussed cash capitalization fund (section 78), saying the committee had voted on it last year and that keeping a cash-capitalization approach helps reduce borrowing over time. “I was a little concerned that we took out section 78, which was the cash capitalization fund,” Lynn said. The chair and staff said the fund is not being eliminated but that the administration asked for more time and the changes could appear in the FY 2026 budget instead; the immediate adjustment does not remove the cash fund or associated money, the chair said.

The clerk conducted a roll call. On the record in the transcript, Representative Bloomly voted yes; Representative Dickerson was recorded no; Representative Harrison was recorded no; Representative Roevicki voted yes; Representative Nigro voted yes; Representative Squirrel voted yes; Representative Stevens voted yes; Representative Giovanni voted yes; and Representative Shire voted yes. The chair stated the result as “Over 7 4.” The transcript does not list every member’s vote by name; the recorded roll-call entries above reflect the votes that were explicitly called in the transcript.

After the vote the chair reminded members to coordinate with their caucuses and said committee staff will provide a one-page summary for members. The committee adjourned and will reconvene at 9 a.m. the following day to begin work on the FY 2026 budget and related language.

Ending: The committee’s approval advances the FY 2025 adjustment as a committee bill to the next procedural steps; it will appear before Ways and Means the next day and may receive additional review there and on the floor later in the week.