The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is making its first budget decisions this morning, on deficiency warrants - bills for fire suppression, pest control and hazardous material incidents during the past year that the state is obligated to pay. A bigger-picture decision will come tomorrow, when the joint committee is scheduled to set a target figure for next year's budget.

The fire suppression bill from the state Department of Lands came to $3.08 million, considerably below the 28-year average, and covered 183 fires, of which 94 percent were kept to less than 10 acres. "This is a bill that has already been incurred by the state, and we have a financial responsibility to pay our bills," said Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, as he moved to approve the payment. It passed unanimously, on a 19-0 vote.

Similar votes approved the two other pending deficiency warrants: $68,500 for hazardous materials emergency response; and $209,000 for the Department of Ag for pest deficiency warrants, including $153,200 for the quagga and zebra mussel program and a rather small number, $100, for grasshoppers and mormon crickets, reflecting the costs exceeding those directly billable to a federal grant. Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, said, "Sen. Brackett and I were just wondering how many Mormon crickets you could kill for 100 dollars." Sen. Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, responded, "Not enough."