Senate Appropriations Human Resources Division orients members, flags prison and state hospital budget decisions

Senator Dever, chair of the Senate Appropriations Human Resources Division, opened an orientation meeting explaining the panel’s role in preparing agency budgets for the full Senate and urging members to participate in amendment work rather than voting “no” without discussion.

The session was intended to familiarize returning and new members with committee practice, staff roles and the schedule for next week’s hearings. Dever said the committee will divide work across subcommittees, prepare amendment packages and then present consolidated recommendations to the full appropriations committee and the Senate floor.

“Couple of things I’d like to say. One is that the legislature has two primary roles. One is policy making and the other is budget,” Dever…