JBC briefing: caucus reviews $175M supplemental, sets 4PM amendment deadline

Rep. Rick Taggart, chairing the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) briefing for the House minority caucus, walked members through the supplemental narrative for fiscal year 2526 and outlined the process for amendments on a package that requests about a $175 million increase over the budget approved last April. He said members should first review table 3 (page 3) for department-level changes and then the six legislative items at the back of the package that may change existing law.

Taggart told the caucus the bulk of the requested increase is caseload-driven entitlement spending, with Health Care Policy & Financing (HCFA) identified as the largest driver. He explained the supplemental book's color coding (dark blue for increases, orange for reductions) and itemized that corrections, HCFA, human services and judicial matters are among the larger dollar changes.

The JBC chair emphasized that supplementals do not typically include substantive law changes and outlined amendment rules: amendment requests are due by 4:00 PM; they must be submitted by a member or clearly designated staff member; JBC staff cannot accept amendment requests from lobbyists unless coordinated through staff; amendments cannot include substantive law changes; and any amendment that increases funding must identify a source of funds or a corresponding decrease elsewhere. He named Justin Brecke as the JBC staff point of contact for caucus members on amendment logistics.

Taggart closed by saying the budget process is "painful" and warned that, absent new revenue or onetime gains, maintaining current reserve levels for FY2526 and FY2627 may not be possible and could force the reserve down toward 13 percent. The briefing adjourned after members were invited to follow up offline on department-specific questions.