Legislative staff outline "green sheet" general fund update and plan for maintenance budgets; 1% CEC placeholder used
January 12, 2025 | Finance, SENATE, Committees, Legislative, Idaho
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
Keith Bybee, manager of Budget and Policy Analysis at the Idaho Legislative Services Office, walked JFAC members through the "green sheet" general fund daily update and the structure of the statewide maintenance packets the committee will consider when setting fiscal year 2025 budgets.
Bybee said the green sheet compares the legislature's choices against the governor's recommendation, and is intended to show the committee how actions and proposed changes affect the general fund. He described the maintenance package as a starting point that removes one-time items such as reappropriations and executive carry forward from the base and then adds four standard maintenance adjustments: benefit-cost increases, inflationary adjustments, statewide cost allocation changes, and a 1% change-in-employee-compensation (CEC) placeholder.
"The goal of the general fund daily update is to track what the legislature takes up," Bybee told the committee, noting the handout and packet posted to SharePoint. He said the DFM forecast and the Economic Outlook committee report would both inform the number JFAC eventually adopts.
On the 1% CEC placeholder, Bybee and other staff explained the figure is a mechanical convenience incorporated in agency requests so the legislature can quickly model the cost of a uniform raise. The co-chairs told members the committee plans to wait for the formal CEC committee recommendations before making a final across-the-board CEC decision; the 1% figure is a temporary placeholder to ease calculations while the legislature evaluates the results from the CEC process.
Bybee and the co-chairs outlined the committee schedule: staff will post daily updates while members use working groups and scheduled hearings next week to review agency line items. The committee intends to set maintenance budgets on the published schedule and later consider agency line items, supplemental requests and any nondiscretionary adjustments in subsequent votes. Members were reminded they can propose line-item changes or base reductions during the scheduled budget setting and working-group process.
Why it matters: The green-sheet presentation frames how JFAC will approach the short-term budget structure for FY25, showing the arithmetic of removing one-time funds and where staff expect increase pressures. Staff emphasized the approach is procedural: passing maintenance appropriations does not preclude members from proposing reductions or augmentations to agency budgets during the normal line-item review process.
Bybee said the green sheet compares the legislature's choices against the governor's recommendation, and is intended to show the committee how actions and proposed changes affect the general fund. He described the maintenance package as a starting point that removes one-time items such as reappropriations and executive carry forward from the base and then adds four standard maintenance adjustments: benefit-cost increases, inflationary adjustments, statewide cost allocation changes, and a 1% change-in-employee-compensation (CEC) placeholder.
"The goal of the general fund daily update is to track what the legislature takes up," Bybee told the committee, noting the handout and packet posted to SharePoint. He said the DFM forecast and the Economic Outlook committee report would both inform the number JFAC eventually adopts.
On the 1% CEC placeholder, Bybee and other staff explained the figure is a mechanical convenience incorporated in agency requests so the legislature can quickly model the cost of a uniform raise. The co-chairs told members the committee plans to wait for the formal CEC committee recommendations before making a final across-the-board CEC decision; the 1% figure is a temporary placeholder to ease calculations while the legislature evaluates the results from the CEC process.
Bybee and the co-chairs outlined the committee schedule: staff will post daily updates while members use working groups and scheduled hearings next week to review agency line items. The committee intends to set maintenance budgets on the published schedule and later consider agency line items, supplemental requests and any nondiscretionary adjustments in subsequent votes. Members were reminded they can propose line-item changes or base reductions during the scheduled budget setting and working-group process.
Why it matters: The green-sheet presentation frames how JFAC will approach the short-term budget structure for FY25, showing the arithmetic of removing one-time funds and where staff expect increase pressures. Staff emphasized the approach is procedural: passing maintenance appropriations does not preclude members from proposing reductions or augmentations to agency budgets during the normal line-item review process.
View full meeting
This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.
View full meeting