House Appropriations Government Operations panel agrees to worksheet changes, adds one mineral‑royalties FTE and related funding

The House Appropriations Government Operations Division on an interim worksheet agreed to carry the committee’s draft into the House version with several amendments, including adding one full‑time position to work on a federal mineral royalties compliance program and approving related operating, IT and security funding. The committee also asked staff to add a vacant‑FTE pool entry across agency budgets.

Committee members said the changes matter because several requested positions and cost‑to‑continue items would otherwise fall out of the base. The group heard an explanation from James Carroll, chief financial officer for the Office of the State Auditor, about a federal mineral royalties position the auditors expect the federal government to reimburse in the second half of the next biennium.

Carroll told the committee the planned mineral‑royalties position is associated with compliance reviews on oil, gas and coal lease payments on federal lands; the auditors expect roughly $104,000 in federal funding for that work and said the federal Office of Natural Resource Revenue has shown interest in more reviews in the state. The committee agreed to include the position in the House worksheet and to add one‑time and ongoing amounts to cover startup and operating costs tied to the role.

Members also reviewed several other items: an increase requested to cover IT rate changes and related operating costs (the committee accepted an Armstrong recommendation to carry adjusted IT funding into the House worksheet); an adjustment to reflect a 3% operating‑savings target that produced a net general‑fund reduction in one line; and a request for IT‑security resources the auditors said are needed as contractor costs rise.

The auditors’ testimony included a breakdown for professional development requested by the auditors: $159,000 total in the proposed budget, split as $99,500 general fund, $45,000 special funds and $14,500 federal funds. The committee approved adding that program funding to the worksheet. Members also approved a one‑time item to buy new audit software and related operating setup (the committee agreed to $36,000 in one‑time funding for migration and setup).

On staffing, committee members confirmed they would not add new FTEs in the first half of the biennium beyond the agreed exceptions; they agreed to include one additional FTE for the mineral royalties program in the House worksheet and to create a vacant‑FTE pool line that will appear the same across agency worksheets. The committee discussed a previously requested general‑fund increase for temporary salaries (used for interns and short‑term hires) and agreed to consider whether special‑funded intern expenses should be adjusted if a position move changes billing practices next biennium.

No roll‑call vote was recorded in the transcript; committee members indicated consensus to carry the amended worksheet forward and staff were directed to record the changes in the worksheet.

The auditors and committee members repeatedly noted the process tradeoffs: salary increases adopted in one biennium create cost‑to‑continue pressures in later biennia, and agencies that do not request a cost‑to‑continue line may end up covering increases from other operating lines or seeing those costs fall out of agency bases. Committee members said they would revisit several items in second‑half negotiations and in conference committee with the Senate.

The committee asked staff to produce the worksheet amendment as discussed and indicated it will move the amended worksheet to the House version at the next step.