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JFAC tightens hearing format, posts consolidated budget materials on SharePoint
Summary
Legislative staff outlined a shorter, more focused budget‑hearing format and a reorganized online repository for hearing materials designed to give committee members quicker access to agency budgets, dedicated‑fund detail and historical trends.
Janet Jessup of Legislative Services walked the Joint Finance and Appropriation Committee through the committee's revised budget‑hearing format and the new online materials on Jan. 7, saying the changes are meant to give members more focused information in less time.
Jessup said hearings will be 90 minutes in the mornings and presentations will concentrate on maintenance budgets, current year enhancements and items that require committee action rather than long slide decks. Each agency presentation will include an agency description, organization chart and FTP (full‑time personnel) counts, a consolidated fund analysis that lists general, federal and dedicated funds, five‑year appropriation and expenditure trends, and a breakout of the most recent fiscal year's expenditures by account categories (personnel costs, operating expenditures, capital outlay, trustee and benefit payments).
She described the consolidated fund analysis as a tool to show dedicated fund balances and to remind members that dedicated funds—fees or other revenues tied by statute to specific uses—cannot be spent by other agencies. Jessup also said the budget book pages now include more vacancy and five‑year FTP trend data to help members spot unusual personnel spending or persistent salary savings.
Jessup explained where the materials will be available in SharePoint: a standard file ordering (legislative budget book pages, LSO slides, agency slides, hearing follow‑up, and required reports) and a "modified" sort so members can find recently posted items. She said analysts are avoiding cryptic acronyms in file names to make searching easier and that a fiscal source book summarizing dedicated funds will be available for members.
Committee leaders also discussed how last year's CEC (compensation‑and‑economic committee) timing produced a one‑time presentation in some enhancement lines; Jessup said the committee will handle CEC recommendations differently this year to fit the new format.
Ending
Co‑chairs and staff asked members to attend the shorter, focused hearings on time, to use the SharePoint materials rather than downloading full folders daily, and to bring agency‑specific follow‑up questions to analysts during or after the presentations.
