Committee approves technical correction setting public‑school health insurance distribution at $21,902 per support unit

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 unanimously approved a technical correction to the program maintenance bill that sets the health insurance distribution for public schools at $21,902 per support unit.

Jared Tatro, deputy division manager for the Legislative Services Budget and Policy Analysis Division, told the committee the bill must include a specific dollar amount so the Department of Education knows how much to distribute per support unit. "That dollar amount is required to be in the bill so that the Department of Education knows how much to distribute per support unit," Tatro said.

The change fixes a rounding/formatting discrepancy in the previously prepared language: the per‑support‑unit amount in committee materials was shown as $21,902 (the math from the displayed per‑staff allowance multiplied by 14,130 produced $21,901.50 and rounded up). Committee members granted unanimous consent to include the $21,902 figure in the program maintenance bill; no member objected.

The correction is procedural rather than a new appropriation: it clarifies the distribution language so state education officials can calculate and disburse the health insurance funding to school support units in the manner the committee intended.

The action was approved by unanimous consent during the committee’s Feb. 12 session.