Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee approves technical corrections and program-maintenance budgets, including $5.26 billion for Health and Human Services

BOISE — The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Friday approved a set of technical corrections and program-maintenance budgets for state agencies, moving money into newly created or correct fund accounts and setting base budgets and FTE caps ahead of the 2026 budget cycle.

The committee unanimously approved a pair of technical corrections to move $291,737,000 of reappropriated funds out of the Department of Commerce’s commerce program and into the newly created Broadband Office so those dollars can be tracked "for transparency moving forward," Janet Jessup, a budget and policy analyst with Legislative Services, told the committee. "This action would remove the monies that were reappropriated to the commerce, commerce program, and then also add them back into the broadband office so they can be tracked for transparency moving forward." Those two motions passed on roll calls called by the committee, each recorded as 20 ayes, 0 nays.

The committee also approved a $2,000,000 correction to reflect a general-fund transfer to the Department of Environmental Quality, and two technical adjustments in the Department of Health and Welfare that moved $160,000 and $240,000 respectively between expenditure categories so contract payments are appropriated as operating expenditures rather than trustee and benefit payments. Those…