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Joint Fiscal Office briefs committee on appropriations, budget process
Summary
Joint Fiscal Office staff walked committee members through how the Appropriations Act works, key budget numbers and timelines, fund types and reserves, and where to find JFO resources to track proposals and fiscal notes.
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 reported about $182.5 million of one-time funding noted last year and urged that one-time revenues be paired with one-time expenditures rather than used for recurring program costs.
The presenters reviewed typical budget pressures members should expect to see, including salary and benefits commitments, pension and other post-employment liabilities, caseload-driven programs such as Medicaid, capital needs, and costs arising from recent flood recovery. JFO staff also described statutory or formula reserves that limit discretionary use of some funds, including stabilization and rainy-day reserves, and noted the general fund reserve target is 5 percent.
Staff outlined the budget calendar and decision points: the governor develops and presents a recommended budget, the legislature (beginning with the House) acts on it, the Senate considers changes, and differences are resolved in a conference committee before sending a final bill to the governor. JFO emphasized that members will work in two fiscal-year contexts during the adjustment and next-year budget cycles and that the office's revenue forecaster will update projections for members next week.
Grady Nixon, fiscal editor and bill coordinator for JFO, demonstrated where to find the office's documentation: the web report (the live budget table that accumulates GovRec, House, Senate and conference changes), fiscal notes for individual bills, the annual Fiscal Facts compendium, issue briefs, and archived joint fiscal committee materials. Nixon showed the web report columns that track changes across stages and noted the web report's section notes explain line-item changes and where funding was moved (for example to contingency lists).
Staff walked members through key practical points: how the budget is organized by functional categories (general government, natural resources, education, transportation, etc.), how some expenses appear duplicated in department-level totals (global commitment reporting), and where to find recent revenue-tracking charts and reserve balances on JFO's site. Benham said the committee should expect to wrestle with recurring costs tied to new positions and program operations when considering proposals.
Committee members asked specific questions about fund shares and particular program items; staff said they would circulate additional materials (including a chart Adam can post) and that revenue updates and the governor's budget proposal will arrive in coming days. JFO staff also encouraged members to use the office's contact list and to request printed copies of presentations if they have difficulty viewing screens in the hearing room.
The session closed with procedural remarks about scheduling and follow-up; JFO scheduled a revenue-forecast briefing for the next meeting and said more detailed budget adjustment materials will be available on the JFO website.
Ending: Committee members will next receive the updated revenue forecast and the governor's recommended budget in the coming week; JFO staff provided instructions on where to find the live web report and fiscal notes to prepare for line-by-line review.
