The Joint Appropriations Subcommittee Section E opened its organizational meeting with Chair Beattie announcing the committee had a quorum and laying out the schedule and rules that will guide budget hearings for the upcoming biennium.

The committee’s work will cover seven agencies: the Office of Public Instruction; the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (including the university system); the Board of Public Education; the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind; the Montana State Library; the Montana Historical Society; and the Montana Arts Council. "The purpose of today's meeting is to get organized and also to establish a starting point in our budget," Chair Beattie said.

The session focused on process rather than policy. Julia Patton, lead fiscal analyst for Section E, explained a terminology change in the printed budget materials: what used to be labeled "FTE" (full-time equivalents) will now appear as "PB" or "positions budgeted." Patton said the change is intended to reduce confusion by clarifying that the line item measures budgeted positions and dollar equivalents rather than individual people: "You could have one person who's working half time, who is half or point 5 of a FTE or point 5 of a position budgeted," she said.

Patton walked members through the committee’s vote sheet for the base budget, which the staff described as the fiscal year 2025 appropriations (including executive branch budget changes through roughly August) with one-time-only fiscal year 2025 appropriations removed. That base budget will be displayed by fund type (general fund, state special revenue, federal special revenue and proprietary) and by expenditure category (personal services; operating expenses; equipment; capital outlay; local assistance; grants; benefits and claims; transfers; and debt service). The base is the starting point to which executive decision packages for the 2026–27 biennium will be added.

Patton said the base budget printout is organized by agency and program and includes a column for positions budgeted for each year. She noted that the fiscal 2026–27 base figures are the same on the initial sheet because decision packages proposed by the executive will be added later in the process.

Committee members were given a schedule of hearings and work sessions and were told that the committee expects to hold executive action in mid-February once staff have had time to analyze multiple agency hearings and the section can prioritize across a zero-sum budget. "That's because we have, we must balance the budget overall," Chair Beattie said, explaining why mid-February was chosen as the target for executive action.

Administrative matters discussed included proxy handling, with Vice Chair Senator Fuller collecting signed proxy sheets for use when the committee takes executive action, and distribution and handling of committee materials and binders. Patton showed members where to find committee materials online and explained that the committee web page will host daily agendas, meeting materials by agency, agency profiles and posted public comments.

The committee also received a safety briefing from Sergeant Greg Tuchner of the House Sergeant at Arms office. Tuchner reviewed procedures for lockdowns, evacuations and shelter-in-place in case of earthquakes, and identified the assembly point and locations of the nearest AED and fire extinguisher. "In the case of a lockdown, sergeant staff will secure the room and the chairman will direct everyone to remain in place and then we will stay locked down until we're given the all clear by law enforcement," Tuchner said.

No formal budget votes or amendments were taken during this meeting; the hearing for the day's agency will have executive action scheduled for the next day and the section will take final executive action on all agencies in mid-February. Staff and analysts from the Governor's budget office—Nancy Hall and Ben Ternes—were present to support the committee during hearings.