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Committee hears explanation of new 'new and vacant FTE' pool and how agencies will access funds
Summary
Staff described a change that leaves vacancy savings visible in each agency's budget as a separate 'new and vacant FTE' line item while requiring OMB transfer approval to spend those dollars; committee members questioned how the percent is calculated and how staffing changes will be reported.
Appropriations staff explained that the Armstrong budget approach keeps vacancy and new‑FTE dollars visible in each agency's bill by adding a separate “new and vacant FTE funding pool” line item rather than transferring the money to OMB as in a prior biennium.
Grant and Stephanie, committee staff, explained the calculation is a percent applied to agency salary totals and is tiered by agency size; it does not reflect each agency’s actual reported vacancies. Stephanie said the method is “being done in a similar fashion to last time” and that “they're not actually looking at vacant FTE and the vacant FTE report and identifying vacancies. They're just applying a percent based on the size of the agency.”
Committee members pressed on practical consequences. Staff said the dollars will appear in the agencies' budgets but agencies must request a transfer from OMB to move funds from the new line item into salary lines for hiring; language specifying that process will be included in OMB’s budget bill. Senator Sickler and others questioned whether agencies could reallocate line‑item dollars internally; staff replied that some one‑line agency budgets historically have flexibility to reassign salary and operating funds within the appropriation.
No formal action was taken; the committee directed staff to provide a comparison long sheet and to include statement of purpose information in amendment language so legislators can see the amounts in the bill.
