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JFAC deadlocks on CEC pay motions; multiple proposals fail, committee will revisit
Summary
Lawmakers debated four alternative plans for change‑in‑employee‑compensation (CEC) — including a $1.55 per hour flat‑dollar plan, a merit‑based 4% plan, and the governor's 5% merit plan — but none of the motions passed on Jan. 31; the committee said it will return to the issue on a future date.
The Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee considered four competing change‑in‑employee‑compensation (CEC) proposals on Jan. 31 but failed to pass any of them, leaving statewide employee pay increases unresolved for fiscal 2026.
Legislative Services Office analyst Mr. Bybee explained the methodology behind four motions included in the committee packet. The motions differed principally in distribution method and totals: a flat dollar approach calculated as $1.55 per hour per permanent employee (with various add‑ons for community colleges and public schools), a dollar‑plus‑minimum motion that combined $1.55 with a 3% floor for higher earners, a merit‑based motion providing up to 4% based on performance, and the governor's recommended approach of a 5% merit distribution.
Representative Miller moved what the packet lists as Motion 1 (a $1.55 hourly allocation that, when combined with other line items, totaled $177,429,000). Senator Cook offered a competing motion that would combine $1.55 or 4% by merit, and Representative Furness and Senator Wintrow presented alternate substitute and governor‑recommended motions. Representative Furness described her substitute as providing the $1.55 floor plus a minimum 3% increase for employees up to specified salary thresholds and said her motion "does include those increases for the state troopers." Mr. Bybee explained that one motion calculates the dollar amounts for community colleges using a 5% placeholder as noted in the governor's recommendation and that other line items include nursing and healthcare worker increases, IT and engineering pay adjustments, and parity funding for employees at the minimum of pay schedules.
Multiple roll calls followed. One substitute motion (Senator Cook's merit‑focused motion) was called and "failed to achieve a majority in the House," the clerk announced. Subsequent votes on other motions likewise failed; the committee chair summarized that "this motion has also failed and we will come back to this issue at a future date." Earlier in the meeting the committee also spent time resolving how joint committee voting would be counted and located a 2023 leadership letter describing voting procedure; the chair later ruled that the committee would proceed under the letter's precedent for this meeting.
Why it matters: the CEC decision determines how state agencies and educational institutions will distribute pay increases (flat dollar vs. percentage vs. merit), affecting recruitment and retention and distributing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars across fund sources. Lawmakers on both sides argued philosophical points about merit‑based pay versus flat increases that address lower pay scales.
The committee adjourned after failing to pass any of the CEC motions and said staff will return to the calculations and bring revised or clarified motions on another day. Committee leadership apologized to scheduled agency presenters and said those hearings would be rescheduled.
