DHW seeks vehicle replacements, IT upgrades and flexibility to hire contract nurses as part of "other programs" bill

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Jan. 13 reviewed the Department of Health and Welfare’s indirect support services and licensing and certification budget items, including requests for vehicle replacements, IT upgrades and flexibility to use contract nurses for required facility inspections.

Legislative Services analyst Alex Williamson said the department’s one‑time replacement requests total $2.8 million and include $1.8 million to replace 60 vehicles, about $384,000 for visitation rooms, and roughly $648,000 for office remodels and furniture. The agency also requested $1.8 million in one‑time Office of Information Technology hardware replacements (including laptop refreshes) and an ongoing appropriation request tied to SQL Server software assurance; the governor recommended those items except for a cloud server capacity request the agency later resolved through other…