Conference committee walks through judiciary and public safety budget differences between House and Senate

Nonpartisan fiscal staff led a line-by-line walk-through of the judiciary and public safety budget targets during the May 7, 2025, conference committee on judiciary and public safety.<br><br>John Walls, House fiscal staff, told conferees, “everyone should have a spreadsheet in their packets. In the interest of time, I'm not going to read all of the numbers.” Walls highlighted that the senate’s targets are higher than the house’s on many agency adjustments, producing differing totals for several agencies and programs.<br><br>The presentation summarized key differences. The House includes $3.5 million for cybersecurity and $4,000,000 for a “justice partner access” line. The Senate includes a higher forensic exam rate (from $136 to $165 per hour) that the House does not. The House includes fiscal deficiencies for interpreters and juries that the Senate does not. The House proposes three positions tied to a state fraud and financial crime effort (a new position at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and two support positions at the attorney general) funded at about $1,800,000 per year; the Senate did not include those positions.<br><br>Staff also said both chambers include some common items: a $14,000,000 request from E‑911 funds to maintain emergency communications infrastructure and creation of a crime victims account in a special revenue fund. The House deposits $8,000,000 in fiscal 2026–27 and $2,000,000 ongoing; the Senate proposes a one‑time transfer of $8,366,000 in fiscal 2026. The House includes $1,000,000 per year for two years for armored local radio grants; the Senate does not. For the Philando Castile Training Fund, the House included $5.5 million per year for the upcoming biennium and tails, while the Senate included $6,000,000 in fiscal 2026 and 2027 with no tails.<br><br>Walls described several recaptures and transfers: appropriations made to new agencies that were not fully expended would be recaptured and used elsewhere, and multiple fee increases (including civil filing and motion fees on the Senate side) are included as revenue adjustments. Staff also noted a $66,500,000 reimbursement‑contingent appropriation in the Senate related to federal Section 8 rental assistance, intended to prevent evictions if federal funding were reduced.<br><br>Committee members asked clarifying questions during and after the walk-through. Chair Kelly Mueller (House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee) asked about the fiscal treatment of a provision addressing fentanyl exposure of children and vulnerable adults and why costs appeared in different agency lines; John Walls replied that the fiscal notes for the bills were the same but the Senate had not chosen to include funding for Children, Youth and Families, “I don't know if that was an oversight or if the cost was such that they thought the agency could absorb.”<br><br>The spreadsheet presentation concluded with totals showing the House targets at roughly $80,000,000 for the upcoming biennium (and similar tails) and the Senate totals higher—approximately $106,000,000 for the upcoming biennium. Nonpartisan staff said those totals reflect different approaches to agency operating adjustments, new positions, fee changes and one‑time transfers. The committee did not take formal votes during the session.