Committee advances bill to let prior budget continue, authorizes short‑term reallocations

The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted to recommend Senate Bill 14, which would allow the previous fiscal year's appropriations to continue in force until the Legislature enacts a new budget or amends, lapses or eliminates those appropriations. The committee recorded a motion, a second and a voice vote recommending the bill favorably; the record does not include a roll‑call tally.

What the bill does: as introduced, SB 14 provides a mechanism for continuous state budgeting so that, if a new budget is not enacted, the prior year's appropriations carry forward. The bill authorizes the Secretary of Administration to make temporary reallocations among accounts to cover cash‑flow issues, subject to numeric limits explained in committee discussion: a total temporary reallocation cap of $400,000,000; a limitation that the…