Joint committee backs FY2026 legislative branch budget after debate over staffing and costs

The Joint Legislative Management Committee voted to support the proposed fiscal year 2026 legislative branch appropriations as presented to the committee on Dec. 11, 2024, after a lengthy discussion about personnel costs, one-time savings and workload pressures.

The budget presentation by Scott Moore of the Joint Fiscal Office said the FY2025 legislative branch baseline was $22,427,405 and that the FY2026 proposal would raise total legislative-branch spending by about $1.6 million — roughly a 7.13% increase — driven largely by personnel costs including negotiated pay actions and higher employer-based benefits. "The 1,600,000 increase, 90% is because of pay act and other personal [costs]," Moore said during the presentation.

Committee members probed the composition of that increase. Moore said he identified approximately $121,000 in older one-time appropriations that could be reverted to the general fund, lowering the net increase to about 6.59%. He estimated expense reimbursements accounted for about $300,000 of the total change but said a full line-item breakdown was not in the room.

Members raised trade-offs. One member recounted that national inflation over the prior 12 months was roughly 2.6% and said administrative spending rising faster than inflation would be difficult to justify to constituents. Other members and staff warned that workload during the coming session — including potential major changes to education finance and health care — would require significant analytic and drafting capacity.

Brynn Hare, director and chief counsel of legislative counsel, described recent turnover in the legal office and said law clerk positions have historically provided an inexpensive pipeline of candidates and session support. "These are typically new law school graduates...an economical way to relieve some of the burden on the attorneys during the really high volume times of the year," Hare said.

Catherine Benham of the Joint Fiscal Office responded to questions about later changes to internal service funds and said that adjustments that match corresponding revenue would not necessarily be "substantial," leaving the chair and vice chair to judge whether future differences require a committee review.

After discussion, the committee passed the motion to support the FY2026 legislative branch appropriations on a roll call vote of 6-2. The motion included a direction that the Joint Fiscal Office notify the chair and vice chair of any substantial changes before the executive branch releases its budget recommendation.

What happens next: the committee will monitor internal service fund updates and any administrative adjustments before the governor's final budget recommendation is released.