JFAC at a ‘standstill’ after today

After today’s JFAC meeting, the joint committee will take a break, and not meet either Friday or Monday. It’s unclear whether or not it’ll meet on Tuesday. “We’re sort of at a halt,” said Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. “After today’s work, we will be down to essentially the two major budgets, public schools and Health & Welfare, (and) a few budgets that are ancillary to that, like the CAT fund and the Tax Commission, we’re still working on that a little bit. So our plan is to be subject to the call of the chair.” Today’s agenda includes some smaller agencies’ budget-setting and a reconsideration of the parks budget solely to correct a technical error in the approved motion, not to make any substantive changes.

Cameron said JFAC is waiting for the House and Senate education chairmen to be ready to make budget presentations to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee early next week. Also, he told JFAC members at their 7 a.m. briefing this morning, “We need the Medicaid reform piece to pass one body before we can set the Health & Welfare budget. We need to sort of have a finalization of what’s happening. … so we’re sort of at a standstill. The co-chair and I met with House and Senate leadership last night, and that was the decision that we came to, was that we would go at ease subject to the call of the chair ‘til we’re ready to take the next step.”

He told JFAC members, “You’ve done a great job. We’re a little bit over target, but I think by the time we finish up we’ll be right in line.”