Legislative staff outline technical corrections to FY2025 budget packets

Janet Jessup, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, walked the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee through three technical corrections to the fiscal year 2025 budget packet on the committee’s yellow correction sheet.

Jessup told the committee the Department of Commerce contains two budget programs — Commerce and a separately created Broadband program — and that monies intended to be reappropriated into the Broadband program were reappropriated into the Commerce program in fiscal 2025. She said the department was provided reappropriation authority but that tracking requires the dollars be placed in the broadband program so broadband spending can be monitored.

Jessup also described a drafting error that affected the Department of Environmental Quality’s appropriation to the CAFO Improvement Fund. She said legislation directed a $2,000,000 transfer to the CAFO Improvement Fund but the bill’s language incorrectly referenced the DEQ general fund, which meant the intended transfer to CAFO did not occur as drafted. The correction before the committee would replace DEQ general fund monies that were used in error and make the agency whole for that appropriation.

Finally, Jessup described two adjustments inside the Department of Health and Welfare: monies budgeted for the substance abuse treatment and prevention program and for the physical health services program were placed in trustee and benefit payments but should be classified as operating expenditures because the payments flow to third‑party contractors under contract. She said the agency included language restricting transfers out of trustee and benefit payments, so the legislature must approve the reclassification.

Jessup paused for questions after each correction and said the three adjustments net to zero overall; she noted staff and agency analysts would be available if committee members had follow‑up. Chairman Groh thanked the staff for the work and said the committee would vote on the technical corrections the next day.

The changes Jessup described were presented as technical corrections rather than new program appropriations; she emphasized the moves align appropriations with the programs and expenditure categories intended when the FY2025 bills were drafted.