Senate approves current‑fiscal‑year budget adjustments after amendment redirects $60,000 to emergency food pantries

Senators approved a package of current fiscal‑year budget adjustments Tuesday, adopting an amendment that moves a $60,000 one‑time appropriation from the Hale Theater to emergency food pantries and then passing Senate Bill 2,001 by roll call.

Senator Hilliard, sponsor of SB 2,001, opened debate by thanking staff — “a tremendous amount of appreciation needs to go to our staff, both Jonathan Ball and the fiscal analyst office and Michael Christiansen and his staff and with the governor's office, their staff and the agencies” — and characterizing the process as difficult but necessary. He said the Legislature would revisit budgets in January if needed and stressed he did not foresee a tax increase as a revenue option.

The amendment, offered by Senator Davis, would strike language on one line and adjust two others so that $60,000 originally placed as a one‑time appropriation to the Hale Theater would instead be added to emergency food pantries. Davis framed the change as a response to heightened demand: “The folks at the lower end who are having a hard time feeding themselves truly need the help and the emergency pantry in all of our communities is helped by this.”

Opponents warned against late changes to a negotiated package. Senator Hilliard said he would resist altering an agreed bill, noting the appropriation to the theater was intended to offset other cuts. Senator Jones declared a conflict of interest and opposed the amendment: “I must declare a conflict of interest. I am on the board of the Hale Center Theater.” Senator Goodfellow argued the Hale Theatre is an important cultural asset and urged colleagues not to remove the funding.

Senators divided on the floor and then conducted a roll‑call vote. After a procedural interchange in which Senator Stevenson attempted to explain his vote and was ruled out of order for offering a “present,” the presiding officer announced the amendment had passed. The presiding officer later announced final passage of SB 2,001 under suspension of the rules with 25 yes, 0 nay and 4 absent; the bill was referred to the House for further action.

The bill’s debate also touched transportation funding. Senator Walker answered questions about a planned $35,000,000 change to the Critical Needs Highway Fund, saying the group had chosen to move money into the Transportation Investment Fund in later years to retain flexibility and that the project schedule or scale “may end up changing.” Walker said they would re‑examine bonding in the 2009 session and that the exact impacts on projects were not yet clear.

The Senate-recorded tally for the final passage was 25 yes, 0 nay and 4 absent. The amendment’s net effect, as explained on the floor, was to remove a $60,000 one‑time appropriation to the Hale Theatre and add $60,000 to emergency food pantries, with related line‑item adjustments reflected in the bill text.

The Senate took no further substantive action on SB 2,001 after passage; the bill will advance to the House for any additional consideration.