House advances major budget package with increases for education, corrections and water projects

The House spent a substantial portion of its March 1 session on the 1995 Appropriations Act (House Bill 360), which committee chairs said meets five priorities: infrastructure, juvenile and criminal justice, education, controlling growth of government and tax reduction.

Representative Stevens, sponsor of the budget, told members the package includes nearly $80 million more for transportation projects, roughly $4.5 million set aside for water development, class-size funding, increased textbook money, and a roughly 6% increase overall for higher education (including a 4% increase in the WPU and tuition adjustments). The budget includes funding for new juvenile and adult corrections beds (including a 240-bed prerelease center), additional troopers and crime-lab staff, and new investments in human services to reduce the foster-care backlog.

Committee chairs summarized line-item highlights on the floor: capital facilities adjustments and bond repayments; higher-education fee schedules and campus priorities; public-safety increases including troopers and dispatchers; health and human services investments including a MASH-like unit aimed at resolving long-term foster care cases; and community and economic development programs such as housing trust funds and tourism initiatives.

Floor action included adoption of several technical and substantive amendments (fee-schedule inserts, intent language, and vehicle purchase limits in higher ed to align with other departments). Sponsors described the package as bipartisan in many respects and asked members to review the bill as it proceeded to the third-reading calendar.

Next steps: HB 360 was placed at the top of the third-reading calendar; additional supplemental appropriations remained pending and could alter growth-rate figures once combined with bonding decisions.