Joint Fiscal Office briefs committee on appropriations, budget process

On Jan. 15, Joint Fiscal Office staff gave an orientation to the committee on the state appropriations process, explaining how the Appropriations Act authorizes spending across state government and where members can find budget documentation and fiscal analyses.

The briefing framed the appropriations bill as the state's "power of the purse," a must-pass act that gives departments authority to spend. Catherine Benham, chief fiscal officer for the Joint Fiscal Office, told members they will face trade-offs across priorities and reminded them: "you have to kind of put your money where your mouth is." She added plainly that "government does not run without it."

Benham and other JFO staff walked committee members through the basic architecture and numbers of the budget. The office described the total current-budget scale at about $8.7 billion, with roughly $3.1 billion coming from federal funds and the general fund around $2.3 billion. Staff cautioned members to distinguish one-time funding from base (ongoing) funds: JFO…