The House has voted 40-27 in favor of HB 594a, Rep. Dennis Lake's bill to "sweep" budget surpluses into the budget stabilization fund whenever they occur. House Appropriations Chair Maxine Bell, R-Jerome, spoke against the bill, saying it conflicts with the budget process the state follows, which includes supplemental appropriations that lawmakers examine and approve to cover unanticipated expenses during the budget year. Bell said under the bill, they'd have to tap the stabilization fund whenever such issues came up. "It should be a savings account, not a checking account," she said.

The bill now moves to the Senate side, where its fate is uncertain this late in the legislative session.