The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has voted on a series of starting points for each state agency budget it will set. Among them: Requests for inflationary adjustments in any agency, from any funding source, won’t be automatically built into any agency budget, regardless of whether Gov. Butch Otter recommended funding them. Instead, JFAC members who propose budgets for the agencies may include those items or not, on a case-by-case basis. Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello, objected to making that call by unanimous consent, so a motion was made and it was approved on an 18-1 roll-call vote.

A similar decision was made on replacement items included in state agency budgets, from any funding source, whether or not the governor recommended them. Again, Nye objected to making that call by unanimous consent.

“If we vote in favor of this motion, we are not accepting the governor’s recommendation, although we can add them back on a case by case basis,” Nye said. “My question is why don’t we do the opposite – accept the governor’s recommendation, on the condition we can revise it on a case by case basis as we go?”

Sen. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, who had made the motion on replacement items, responded, “It’s a good question, senator. I believe that this recommendation, where we start with a clean slate, gives us much more options. … I think it gives the committee much more discretion, and it puts the responsibility on the committee to actually put it in. I think it’s a much better budgeting process.” With that, the full committee, including Nye, voted 19-0 in favor of the move.