Committee holds proposal to create small legislator-directed appropriation fund for more work
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Summary
Representative Shelley presented HJR14 proposing a small, legislator-directed fund (1% of post-base transfers, split between chambers and capped at $10 million). The committee expressed concerns about accountability and potential earmark-like outcomes and voted to hold the resolution for further refinement.
Representative Shelley outlined House Joint Resolution 14 to create a small legislator-directed appropriation fund, funded by 1% of certain transfers after base budgets are met, split 50/50 between the Senate and House. She estimated the current-year amount might yield roughly $60,000 per House member, with a total-legislature cap of $10,000,000.
Shelley illustrated a potential use: a roughly $14,000 request for weighted vests for students with special needs; she described the fund as a way for local legislators to support targeted, community-level projects that larger appropriations processes may overlook.
Committee members, including Representative Wilcox, warned the proposal risked devolving into earmarks or campaign-promotional spending and urged stronger guardrails and auditability. Representative Peterson and Representative Burton expressed interest in the idea but said it needed more structure on oversight, bids, and how payments would be audited or routed through agencies.
After extended discussion about caps, auditing, and whether the proposal would simply shift decisions from EAC to individual legislators, Representative Burton moved to hold HJR14 so the sponsor could refine it. The committee voted to hold the resolution unanimously.
Ending: The resolution was not advanced; the sponsor said she will work with members to add structure and return with revisions.