Senate Finance and Claims concurs in House Bill 1 after adopting amendment to equalize partisan staff funds

The Senate Finance and Claims committee on Thursday concurred in House Bill 1 — the annual "feed" bill that funds legislative salaries, per diem and session operations — after adopting an amendment that redistributes partisan staff funds on a per-member basis.

Representative Lou Jones (House District 18), sponsor of House Bill 1, told the committee the feed bill covers remaining session payroll and operating costs and includes a legal-defense line item tied to pending litigation. "There is a legal defense portion of it. That's, I believe, $120,000 to $150,000," Jones said, describing funds to defend the legislature in a privacy-related case. He said the bill funds printing, IT and other session needs.

Angie Carter of Legislative Services presented a detailed breakout and described overall increases in the draft for 2025. "The total requested budget for the 2025 feed bill is about $2,400,000," Carter said of the legislative services portion, a figure she said represents a roughly 23% increase from the 2023 feed bill. Carter said much of the growth stems from higher staff-matrix amounts (12–15% on average), additional audiovisual engineering/contracting and the outside legal-services line referenced by the sponsor.

During executive action, President Regier offered an amendment (printed in the hearing as HB0001.001.003) to change how partisan caucus staff money is allocated. Regier described the amendment as an equity measure: "We took currently the senate minority at 320,849, divided that by 18. That's in there. So you come to 17,823 per member," he said, explaining the per-head calculation and how it would be applied to both chambers.

Committee members pressed whether the change represented new spending or a redistribution of existing partisan funds. Senator Ellsworth asked whether the measure would add nearly $400,000 for partisan staff; Regier said the intent was parity on a per-member basis and that leaders had already set budgets for their caucuses. Carter provided the committee’s original breakouts for majority and minority session and exempt staff to clarify the totals.

On the roll call for the amendment, the tally was 12 in favor and 10 opposed; the chair declared the amendment passed. Vice Chair Esp then moved that the committee concur in House Bill 1 as amended. The final roll-call vote to concur passed 19–3. Chair Carl Glynn said he would carry the bill to the floor and adjourned the committee.

Key figures cited in committee discussion: - Legislative services portion (Legislative Services Division): about $2,400,000 (noted as ~23% increase from 2023). - Senate ask reported in the hearing: $6,280,000 (approx.). - House ask reported in the hearing: $10,400,000 (approx.). - Outside legal services / litigation defense referenced: approximately $125,000 (Angie Carter) and sponsor noted $120,000–$150,000 for legal defense. - Amendment math example: senate minority total cited ~$320,849; per-head figure presented as $17,823.

The committee requested that Legislative Services provide a projected biennial reversion figure (unused funds that would revert to the general fund or an IT reserve) after the meeting. The committee also clarified that four exempt chamber staff are set by statute, while session staff levels are not statutory. The committee adjourned after completing the concurrence vote.

(Reporting based solely on testimony and recorded votes in the committee hearing.)