JFAC completes its work - all but the ‘trailer’ bills…

With budgets set this morning for the state Department of Agriculture, the Division of Career-Technical Education, the Agricultural Research & Extension Service, the last few divisions of the state Department of Health & Welfare, and the Millennium Fund, on which JFAC followed the recommendation of the Joint Millennium Fund Committee, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has now completed its schedule of agency budget-setting.

The job’s not completely done, as numerous “trailer” bills remain to fund policy legislation that’s in the process of passing, including several major pieces of the public schools budget. But today marks the end of the major work of the joint committee, which normally meets daily at 8 a.m. and for the past three weeks has been starting each weekday with a 7:15 a.m. work session to prepare for budget-setting motions it takes up at 8. The 20-member joint committee won’t be meeting at all tomorrow morning.

Typically, it take two weeks after the completion of budget-setting for all appropriation bills to be developed and work their way through both houses, meaning that’s the first point at which the legislative session could possibly end for the year.