Corrections committee to use new Appropriations memo to press agencies on program effectiveness

Committee leaders told members Jan. 15 they met with leadership from House Appropriations about a revised memo that will change how agencies present budget testimony.

Speaker 2 said Appropriations asked committees to require more robust presentations: organizational overviews, prior-year accomplishments, statutory and legislative requirements, new funding requests and new language proposals. The intent is to give committees a baseline to evaluate whether programs are necessary and effective.

Speaker 2 proposed—and members agreed—that five committee members (named in the meeting as Mary, Connor, Kevin, Bridal and Jeff) will sit down with the updated memorandum when it arrives, refine the questions the committee will ask BTS and DOC, and produce a template to be shared with the full committee before agency testimony so agencies must answer those questions in advance.

Members said the approach is designed to move beyond simple year-to-year line-item changes and surface pilot programs, recurring costs, or outdated assumptions baked into agency budgets. Speaker 2 said the chairs and vice chairs expect to circulate the updated guidance from Appropriations next week and that the corrections committee will use it to shape targeted oversight during the upcoming budget review cycle.

The committee agreed to begin work as soon as the updated memo is available and to reconvene as needed to prepare for the governor's budget release.