JFAC to move budgets paperless, shorten hearings and set statewide maintenance budgets early

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee opened by announcing procedural changes for the 2025 session designed to speed budget work and increase public access to materials.

Madam Chair Harmon told members the committee is "shifting away from our 800 page budget book binders to digital devices," and that the new digital approach will allow members and the public to access more material than the old printed books provided. She said presentations will be posted in advance, agencies must submit PowerPoints roughly 72 business hours before hearings, and a new budget website and SharePoint landing pages created by the controller’s office and Legislative Services Office will provide tabs for federal grants and audit summaries.

Keith Bybee, manager for budget policy analysis with the Legislative Services Office, walked the committee through the SharePoint access process and the device workflow, giving practical instructions for downloading documents and marking them locally. Bybee said presentations will be available roughly 72 business hours before hearings and agendas will be posted the day before hearings. He and staff offered one‑on‑one device assistance for members who needed help saving links or downloading documents.

Both co‑chairs described a scheduling shift that prioritizes setting a group of "statewide maintenance" budgets early in the session. The committee will group agencies by functional areas (education, health and human services, public safety, natural resources, economic development and general government) and set approximately 10 statewide maintenance appropriation bills within the first two weeks; those statewide maintenance packages will cover baseline costs such as employee benefits and other recurring obligations. The co‑chairs said the change is intended to give members more time to examine line items and replacement items later in the session instead of leaving much of the work to the final weeks.

Bybee outlined the practical schedule: the committee will review maintenance packets and then set the maintenance budgets, which will be attached to appropriation bills; subsequent weeks will focus on line items and agency detail. He also noted that many small agencies that have only maintenance requests are likely to be set without separate hearings, a practice the co‑chairs said is standard for the second regular session with exceptions for agencies that need additional attention.

Committee members raised operational questions. Senator Cook asked for clarity about which specific budgets would be set on the first budget‑setting Friday; Bybee said budgets heard earlier in the week would be the ones considered on the following Friday and offered to provide more detailed identifying information by analyst. Senator Ward Engelking asked whether the committee needed a formal vote to adopt the new hearing format and schedule; the co‑chairs said schedules are typically not voted on but offered to entertain a motion if members preferred a formal vote.

Bybee introduced the Legislative Services Office analyst team and technical staff who will support the digital rollout, naming staff who will handle audio/video, SharePoint maintenance, and training. Committee members thanked staff and emphasized patience during the transition.

No formal committee actions or votes took place during the procedural discussion; staff will provide device training and the committee will proceed under the revised schedule unless members seek a formal motion to adopt the new rules.