Nathan White, chief financial officer for the Department of Health and Human Services, presented the committee with the agency's quarterly budget and staffing update, detailing projected general fund lapses and vacancy trends.

White said HHS represents roughly 44% of the state's total operating budget and about 56% of the general fund portion of the statewide operating budget. Within HHS, roughly half of the operating dollars are federal funds; general funds make up about 31% of HHS operating dollars and the remainder are other funds.

He described the difficulty of projecting a general fund lapse for HHS because much of the budget is driven by utilization and external commitments. Based on current accounting and commitments, White said the department is looking at just under $20 million in total general fund lapse for the current fiscal year (the statewide surplus statement shows a larger statewide projection of about $39 million for fiscal year 2026). White also noted about 3,200 authorized full-time positions across HHS with roughly 400 unfunded positions built into the biennium budget; a hiring freeze and prioritization of direct care positions are among department strategies to manage limited staffing.

Committee members and the commissioner discussed how mandatory "back of the budget" cuts interact with lapse expectations and emphasized the governor's office and fiscal staff will play a role in final decisions. White said monthly accounting-unit reviews underpin the department's projections and that unusual events (contract terminations, retirements with large payouts) can change month-to-month projections.

The department offered to provide continued updates and more detailed vacancy and lapse breakdowns at subsequent meetings.