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LSO outlines streamlined budget hearing process, SharePoint materials and fund analysis
Summary
Janet Jessup of LSO walked JFAC through the committee’s revised, streamlined hearing format, standardized slides for every budget, and where to find consolidated fund analyses and agency materials on SharePoint.
Janet Jessup, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Jan. 7 that the committee’s budget hearing process has been streamlined to 90‑minute morning sessions and that staff have standardized slide packs and a SharePoint repository to make agency materials and background analysis easier to find.
Jessup described the standard content members will see for every agency: an agency description, organizational chart, five‑year appropriation and expenditure trend, a consolidated fund analysis showing beginning and ending balances for dedicated funds, and a pie chart breakdown of fiscal‑year expenditures by account category (personnel costs, operating expenditures, capital outlay, trustee and benefit payments). She said the consolidated fund analysis was new last year and helps members spot agency‑specific dedicated fund balances used for fees, loans or other statutory purposes.
She also explained the difference between ongoing and one‑time appropriations and how the five‑year base snapshot separates ongoing enhancements (added permanently to an agency’s base) from one‑time additions. Jessup flagged that some line items in last year’s budget presentations reflected how the committee temporarily handled compensation‑related changes (CEC) and that those presentation conventions would not be repeated in the same way this year.
During questions, Senator Cook asked about salary‑savings percentages and how agencies use one‑time personnel savings. Jessup said reasons vary: positions left unfilled, retiree payouts not included in base appropriations, or structural staffing changes. She cautioned that agencies should not rely on one‑time savings to fund ongoing pay increases. Committee co‑chairs emphasized that members should attend the shorter, focused hearings because the presentations will be the primary opportunity for the full committee to hear about agencies that members do not cover in work groups.
Jessup showed the committee how to navigate the SharePoint materials (session materials sorted by agency and by modified date) and said that PDFs on the SharePoint include the LBB pages, LSO slides, agency slides and hearing follow‑up. She offered to provide printed cheat sheets on account categories and expense codes for members.
Committee leaders closed the briefing with housekeeping reminders about attendance and the importance of attending the condensed sessions so members can ask analysts and agency heads questions during the meeting time.
No formal votes were taken. Members were instructed to use the SharePoint repository and analysts’ materials to prepare for work‑group deliberations and floor action.
