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Subcommittees approve closing reports for Agriculture and Welfare; key solvency and program changes directed
Summary
Joint subcommittees approved the State Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Welfare and Supportive Services closing recommendations, including revenue adjustments, transfers, new positions at reduced counts from the governor’s proposal, and directed reporting on solvency for certain accounts.
The joint legislative subcommittees presented and the full committees approved closing recommendations for the State Department of Agriculture and for the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Welfare and Supportive Services during the May 1 joint meeting.
State Department of Agriculture
The Joint Subcommittee on General Government recommended and the committee approved several technical and programmatic actions for the Department of Agriculture, including transfer of the Pest Plant Disease Noxious Weed Control budget account into the Agriculture Registration and Enforcement budget account (bringing associated positions and revenues), approval of recently increased fee revenues (subject to permanent rulemaking for equipment requests), and direction to provide annual status reports to the Interim Finance Committee on long-term solvency plans for affected accounts.
The subcommittee also recommended updated revenue and staffing approaches for the livestock inspection account (using a 5-year average revenue projection and reduced seasonal-contract staffing) to preserve solvency, and it closed multiple smaller budget accounts as recommended by the governor with authority for fiscal staff to make technical adjustments.
Division of Welfare and Supportive Services
The Joint Subcommittee on Human Services recommended net reductions to the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services’ general fund appropriations compared with the governor’s recommendation — about $348,250 in FY26 and $886,870 in FY27, producing about $1.2 million in biennial reductions — by approving fewer new HR positions than proposed and by trimming other requested staffing additions. The subcommittee approved federal-funded programs expansions that align with federal grants (for example, summer EBT and childcare IT supports) and approved contract spending for federal SNAP and income-verification systems. The subcommittee also approved an expansion of kinship care eligibility funded with opioid settlement revenues, while reducing the subgrants originally proposed and shifting some intended opioid settlement transfers.
Why it matters: Both sets of closings include technical changes and directed reporting intended to shore up accounts with solvency risks and to align staffing and fee revenues with projected workloads.
Ending
Fiscal staff was authorized to make technical adjustments; committees recorded motions to approve the subcommittee reports as presented and directed agencies to provide specified follow-up reports to the Interim Finance Committee.
