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Senate Finance explains role as policy-making committee separate from budget joint process
Summary
Committee leadership and staff explained that Senate Finance was meeting as a policy-making committee to consider bills related to state finances and budget policy; funding and appropriation decisions remain part of the joint budget process (JFAC/House Appropriations).
Committee leadership took time during the meeting to explain the committee's role as a policy-making body distinct from the joint budget process.
Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, told members that Senate Finance meets as a policy committee "rather than just the budget setting committee," and that occasionally Senate Finance or House Appropriations will take up policy bills related to the budget or state finances. Bybee explained the process: if Senate Finance agrees to advance a bill, the Senate may consider it and, if passed, the bill would go to the House where House Appropriations would also hear it and make recommendations; funding decisions for budget-related items would return to the joint budget process (JFAC) for approval as required.
Chairman Crow and staff reiterated the explanation later in the meeting to clarify why the committee had changed the agenda order and why the committee could introduce policy bills at this stage. Members said the clarification was intended to avoid questions about the committee's authority to act on policy items that have budget implications.
