JFAC accepts CEC panel’s report; will make decision Thurs. on state employee pay

The Legislature’s joint Change in Employee Compensation Committee presented its report to legislative budget writers today, which calls for approving Gov. Butch Otter’s recommendation for 3 percent merit-based raises for state employees next year. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee voted unanimously to accept the report, without committing where it’ll go on funding raises.

“We’ll make a decision later on this week as to what we do with our budgets in relation to the CEC,” said Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, JFAC co-chair.

On Thursday morning, JFAC is scheduled to vote on the statewide budget decisions that will form the basis for all the state agency budgets it sets, including CEC (Change in Employee Compensation). That will come after agency budget hearings wrap up on Wednesday. Then, the joint committee will hear recommendations from chairs of germane committees in both houses Thursday and  Friday on budgets ranging from education to Health & Welfare, before beginning agency budget-setting next week.