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Senate Finance and Claims committee rejects amendment to House Bill 1 on partisan staff funding, 10-12
Summary
The committee voted down an amendment (HB 1.001.003) that would have reallocated partisan staff funding on a per-member parity basis, after debate over fixed caucus costs, payroll timing and whether the change belongs in the feed bill; the amendment would have added about $381,000 overall.
The Senate Finance and Claims committee voted 10-12 to reject an amendment to House Bill 1 that would have changed how partisan caucus staff funds are allocated.
President Regier, who sponsored amendment HB 1.001.003, told the committee “This amendment is really about equity,” saying the proposal would allocate partisan staff dollars on a per-legislator basis so each caucus receives parity and leadership can decide how to use its allocated “bucket” of funds.
The amendment sponsor said a spreadsheet shows the change would leave the House total essentially unchanged by dividing funds per head and would add about $381,000 overall to achieve parity. He framed the approach as giving caucus leadership discretion: “If you want more funds to run your caucus, win more elections,” he said.
Opponents questioned both the timing and the method. Senator Flowers argued the proposal ignored fixed baseline costs for running a caucus and that “adding almost $400,000 to our budget on partisan staff is not what voters sent me here for,” urging that such a policy change be pursued as a separate bill with negotiation between majority and minority. Senator Ellsworth and others also pressed for clarity on how many partisan staff positions exist and which costs are fixed versus variable.
Staff responded to implementation concerns. Miss Carter said start-up appropriations and the feed bill provided five days of salary and 15 days of per diem and that the new payroll would not be processed until after Jan. 24; she said if an amendment were passed and signed before that date, the payments could be processed without interruption.
After debate the committee took a roll call vote on the amendment. The chair announced the result: 10 yes, 12 no; the amendment failed. Individual votes were recorded during the roll call.
Following the vote, senators discussed a separate clerical error in the budget preparation that under-budgeted some caucus lines compared with the prior base budget. Senator Flowers said his review with staff showed the Senate minority was budgeted about $9,091 less than the prior base, and named other line differences for the House. The chair said the committee would hold the bill and allow staff to prepare formal corrections or amendments and reconvene, and a member withdrew the earlier motion to concur in House Bill 1. The committee then adjourned.
The committee’s next step is to have staff prepare the clarifying numbers or a formal amendment; members were asked to retain the distributed handouts so staff need not reprint them.
