JFAC staff show SharePoint, hearing schedule and new LSO impact team to committee

Keith Bybee, division manager of the Budget and Policy Analysis Team in the Legislative Services Office, walked members of the Joint Finance and Appropriation Committee through the committee’s SharePoint site, the legislative session record and the JFAC hearing schedule during the Jan. 8 meeting.

Bybee demonstrated the SharePoint layout and a new file naming convention intended to help members download and annotate the legislative budget book and the presentations used in hearings. He showed members how to download files (to avoid read‑only mode), create a local JFAC folder, and how the budget book front‑end includes facing pages and a new sales tax distribution report beginning on page 39. Bybee said the legislative budget book is roughly an 850‑page document and that staff can provide printed copies on request, plus iPads or Surface devices to facilitate markup and note taking.

Bybee also reviewed the JFAC hearing schedule the committee will use over the next 10 weeks: the first week is orientation and agency overview, week 2 begins agency presentations (Department of Health and Welfare and secondary education agencies will be early), and the schedule builds to program maintenance settings and enhancement hearings. He noted that the committee will set program maintenance budgets on Friday, Jan. 17, and that starting in January 15 the committee will hold a dedicated hearing for agency replacement items and IT security recommendations.

Bybee and committee co‑chairs explained the work group structure: JFAC would meet roughly 8:00–9:30 a.m. and work groups would meet after the session daily to divide detailed review work. Bybee said agencies and analysts will follow a consistent naming convention in SharePoint so a member can find agency A’s analyst presentation (1‑0049A) and agency presentation (1‑0049B) in one place.

Paul Headley of the Legislative Services Office introduced a newly formed LSO impact review team—five staff and fellows who will support evidence, evaluation and targeted research for the legislature this session. Headley named the team members and their areas of focus: Casey Hartwig (public schools, higher education, natural resources), Alex Penny (health and human services, general government, capital budgets), Alex Hatfield (IT analysis, transportation, public safety, elected officials), Ellen Upton (research fellow, biomedical science background), and Kalyn/Calin Casey (research fellow, mechanical engineering and mapping/GIS capabilities). Headley said the team can produce short memos, one‑ or two‑page briefs or deeper research to identify evidence of program effectiveness and to surface data sources for committee use.

Bybee introduced the budget and policy analysis team and the committee’s analyst roster so members would recognize the staff they will work with in the coming weeks. He said staff will be available for individual tutorials on SharePoint and file setup; members asked staff to circulate guidance on where to find the session record and the quick steps to download files.

The co‑chairs and Bybee urged members to form relationships with their assigned analysts early and to participate actively in work groups; Bybee stressed that the SharePoint and session record were public and that all materials demonstrated to members are also available to the public via the Legislature’s website.