Joint Budget Committee approves interim supplementals amid debate over lab review and WIC contingency

At its September hearing the Joint Budget Committee approved a package of interim supplementals (13‑31 over‑expenditure letters) after extended debate about priorities and legal authority.

Capital transfer: The committee unanimously approved (5–0) a staff recommendation to allow an over‑expenditure for a water tank replacement at East Canon City and to pursue a January supplemental to move $446,212 from a Buena Vista sewer project into that appropriation.

Corrections supplemental: After protracted discussion about jail backlogs and population‑management measures, the committee approved a Department of Corrections interim supplemental to fund 153 medium‑security contracted beds (vote 4–2). Staff said the request addresses a local jail backlog that JBC staff counted at roughly 545–650 inmates in August and that local jail per‑diem costs are higher than contracted prison beds. Members who opposed the motion said they wanted more evidence that DOC had exhausted alternatives such as population‑management measures, compassionate and medical release, and use of community corrections.

Community impact grants: Staff had recommended denial of an emergency request from DPHE to cover environmental‑justice grants after the fund’s continuous appropriation was converted to an annual appropriation. After debate the committee approved the department’s request (vote 5–1) but staff noted the situation could have been avoided with earlier coordination because the board approved grants before the appropriation‑structure change was finalized.

State public health laboratory: The committee considered DPHE’s request to fund a large recertification effort after disclosure of data‑quality concerns in the state lab’s chemistry work. JBC staff summarized the package (new chemistry instruments, staffing, and a contractor review of historical data that may have been manipulated). Members pressed for more detail and independent oversight; the committee approved only a portion of the request: continuation of three existing lab FTE and 50% of the requested contractor review cost, and it required DPHE to answer an RFI and provide a fuller plan by the committee’s next meeting (motion passed 6–0). The committee limited immediate contractor authority to avoid committing full contracting dollars without a complete plan.

WIC contingency: DPHE requested $7.5 million in general fund to cover one month of Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food benefits if a federal shutdown prevented October 1 federal funding from arriving. JBC staff and the Office of Legislative Legal Services advised that the emergency statutory criteria likely are not yet met and that it is unclear whether state law authorizes spending state dollars for the benefits. The panel declined to act and requested follow‑up legal and program options; staff said the governor’s office indicated repayment by the federal government is allowed but not guaranteed.

Health, life and dental claims: The committee approved a $17.7 million increase in HLD spending authority needed to cover higher claims and avoid unpaid claims or ad‑hoc reductions (vote 5–1).

Why it matters: The supplementals reduce immediate program risks (unpaid claims, county jail strain, grant stop‑work risk) but the committee used partial approvals and directed follow‑up in several places to control fiscal exposure — especially for the DPHE lab and WIC where statutory authority, procurement timing and oversight remain unsettled.

What’s next: JBC staff will prepare requested RFIs and report back in November/December. The committee’s over‑expenditure authorizations carry the expectation that January supplemental bills will be introduced to implement appropriation changes and that members will have the opportunity to amend or decline those bills.