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Unidentified speaker in transcript says legislators set appropriations, disputes claims of runaway program costs
Summary
An unidentified speaker argued in the transcript that state legislators set budget appropriations each session and therefore claims that program costs will become unaffordable in future years are false; the transcript shows no formal motion or vote.
An unidentified speaker in the transcript argued that state legislators — not program administrators — set the state budget and make appropriations each legislative session, and therefore objections that a program could become unaffordable in future years are incorrect. The speaker said legislators "know full well that the arguments they made are completely false" and that future costs are limited to what is appropriated.
The speaker outlined the procedural point that appropriations are set every session and repeated that any program's cost two, four or 10 years from now will equal the amount legislators choose to appropriate at those times. "It's impossible for the program to grow so large for the budget that we can't afford it because we're only going to appropriate to it that which is affordable for the state," the speaker said.
The transcript contains no recorded motions, votes or formal actions tied to this argument. No speakers are identified by name in the transcript; the remarks appear as an uninterrupted statement attributed to a single unidentified speaker (S1).
