The House and Senate released their supplemental budget proposals – operating, capital, and transportation (with the exception of the Senate Transportation budget, expected Tuesday). The Senate went a little out of order this year and released its supplemental capital budget on Thursday, February 20.
Both the House Appropriations and Senate Ways & Means Committees held public hearings this afternoon starting at 3:30 pm.
With all the budgets coming out around the same time, AWC staff is working quickly to analyze and summarize the proposals. We have a high-level summary in today’s Bulletin and will send out a more detailed Budget Alert with a budget matrix comparison summary on Tuesday, February 25.
The revenue forecast that came out last week projected around $600 million in additional revenue for the biennium. That, combined with the recent caseload forecast that predicted somewhat lower spending needs, means that the budget writers have more money to work with as they negotiate a final compromise on the various supplemental budgets.
Next policy cutoff deadline is looming
For bills that aren’t part of the budget process, the next policy cutoff deadline is coming up on Friday, February 28 and the fiscal committee deadline is Monday, March 2. That means a quick turnaround for bills being heard in the opposite house.
For a list of the hot bills that AWC is tracking, you can always check out our weekly Hot Sheet.
Legislative wrap-up webinar
We know that the session isn’t over yet. But we’ve already scheduled a webinar for March 19 to recap all of the legislative action. Make sure to register for the free webinar.