DHHS public health services budget largely federal; committee presses on staffing and program moves

The Division of Public Health Services’ budget is small in state general‑fund terms but complex, department officials told the House Finance Division’s Division I work session on the division’s operating budget.

The division’s operations are funded mostly by federal grants and other dedicated revenue; the governor’s recommended operating budget shows roughly $24 million in general funds for the division compared with about $135 million in federal funds, and public health constitutes around 2.2 percent of DHHS general‑fund operating spending, Nathan White, chief financial officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, said.

That disparity helps explain why Division of Public Health Services staff focused much of their briefing on grant dependencies, position counts and how programs were…