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JFAC orients members on SharePoint, hearing schedule and new LSO support team
Summary
At a Jan. 8 orientation, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) was shown how to access the legislative budget book and agency materials via SharePoint, reviewed the 2025 hearing schedule and met new Legislative Services Office staff and an LSO impact review team available to support members during the session.
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Jan. 8 oriented returning and new members on how to use SharePoint to access the legislative budget book and agency materials, reviewed the committee hearing schedule for the 2025 session and introduced new Legislative Services Office staff and a newly formed impact review team.
At the committee’s orientation, Keith Bybee, LSO division manager for the Budget and Policy Analysis Team, walked members through signing in to the JFAC SharePoint site, recommended downloading documents to remove PDF read‑only restrictions, and described a new file‑naming convention designed to keep analyst and agency presentations organized. “Think of SharePoint as that same mechanism, the kind of repository for you to check each morning before you come in the committee,” Bybee said.
The nut graf: the committee will use SharePoint and an updated meeting schedule to streamline daily work and to support the week‑by‑week plan—morning JFAC sessions from roughly 8:00 to 9:30 a.m., followed by topic work groups—while LSO and a new impact review team stand ready to provide research, data and mapping support to members.
Bybee showed members how to download the legislative budget book and analyst/agency slide decks so members can annotate and retain editable copies. He also highlighted new front‑end budget book material, including sales tax distribution tables and graphics comparing historical collections and projected amounts through fiscal 2026.
Paul Headley, deputy chief at LSO, introduced a five‑person impact review team assigned to the session to help with targeted research and analysis. Headley said the team can produce short briefs or deeper research and will support analysts and work groups on a range of topics, including performance and evidence questions. “As I’ve looked at performance measures…there’s one theme that continues to rise to the top and that’s evidence,” Headley said.
Committee co‑chairs and staff urged members to use SharePoint daily, to request printed copies if they prefer paper, and to coordinate with analysts for the work‑group assignments the co‑chairs will rely on as the session proceeds. Bybee noted staff will conduct one‑on‑one sessions for members who need help downloading materials or marking up PDFs.
The committee also reviewed an abbreviated hearing calendar. The first week will include DFM’s executive budget presentation and analyst orientation; program maintenance decisions are scheduled for Jan. 17, and the committee expects to set some program maintenance budgets the following Friday. Agency hearings and work groups will be staggered so JFAC members can receive agency presentations one week and set related budgets the next.
Staff introductions during the session included LSO analysts assigned to portfolio areas (e.g., Jared Tetreault, deputy manager; Janet Jessup, natural resources analyst; Alex Williamson, health and welfare analyst) and impact review team members (Casey Hartwig, Alex Penny, Alex Hatfield, Ellen Upton and Kalyn [last name not specified on record]). Members were told the staff will take meeting notes, support work groups and help prepare materials for floor consideration.
Ending: The committee recessed after the orientation and will reconvene for the governor’s executive budget presentation and detailed agency hearings; staff asked members to contact their assigned analysts early so work groups can begin substantive review immediately.
