House public safety finance DE2 reviewed; witnesses warn operating adjustments fall short

The Committee on Public Safety, Finance and Policy met to walk through the DE2 amendment to House File 2,432, the House public safety finance bill, and heard multiple agency and stakeholder witnesses say the committee—s funding target leaves substantial operating gaps for the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Department of Corrections (DOC).

Committee staff opened with a line-by-line spreadsheet walkthrough of Article 1 of the DE2 amendment, comparing the governor—s recommendations (shaded columns) with the House proposal. The walkthrough identified additions to agency bases, program transfers (including fraud investigators moved into the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), and a set of operating adjustments. Committee members were told the House package adds $50,000,000 per biennium above the February forecast, well below the operating-adjustment totals described in the governor—s budget materials.

The difference matters because testimony…