House Finance Division 3 trims DHHS budget, shifts modest PDAB funds to Glencliff amid contentious DEI vote

House Finance Committee Division 3 approved a slimmed-down Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) budget package and a series of technical changes to House Bill 1 and House Bill 2 after hours of discussion about priorities, service availability and how to balance scarce general-fund dollars.

The division, which considers DHHS programs including developmental disability services, community mental health, hospitals and state-operated facilities, voted 14–10 to advance its HB1/HB2 package. Members also voted, 14–11, to move funding described for the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) into operating support for Glencliff School, citing immediate staffing needs.

Division 3 leaders said the work reflected the committee's limited choices after revenue estimates tightened. Committee members repeatedly framed decisions as tradeoffs among direct-care needs, long-term program commitments and the department's statutory responsibilities.

Why this matters: Division 3 oversees services relied on by people with severe behavioral health needs, residents of state facilities and people on developmental-disability wait lists. Committee members said their top priority was preserving direct patient care and hospital/discharge capacity while finding modest savings elsewhere.

What the committee did

- Approved a package of DHHS technical and policy changes intended to bring the committee's spending plan under its revenue estimate and to reallocate limited resources toward direct care. The package includes revenue adjustments, temporary suspensions of smaller statewide pilot programs and several accounting cleanups intended to clarify funding flows.

- Reallocated the division's…