Senate Health and Welfare committee members asked to review agency budget requests before JFAC hearings

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on an unspecified date asked members to review specific department budget requests and report their feedback ahead of upcoming Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) hearings.

The committee chair told members, “I have to go before the JFAC committee at some point and talk to them about the health and welfare budget.” The chair asked members to contact a staff member listed in the packet — identified in the transcript as Misty — to set appointments to review budgets seeking increases and to relay committee feedback to her for JFAC.

The chair noted two members present already serve on JFAC and said those members would be excused from the exercise but could still provide input. Committee members were asked to select one or two budgets, meet with Misty and relevant Department of Health and Welfare staff, and then provide feedback to the chair so she can speak to JFAC about the committee’s views on budget increase requests.

The request was framed as a policy-and-budget alignment exercise: “It's kind of nice to be in a committee and being talking about policy, but to be able to see the budgets that go along with that policy is a good thing too,” the chair said.

No formal vote or directive to staff was recorded in the transcript; the chair requested members send her an email indicating which budgets they will review and return with feedback. The transcript does not specify which line items are under review or the dates of the JFAC hearings.