Joint Fiscal Office urges committees to prioritize budget requests; House Appropriations will request committee letters

James Duffy, a budget analyst with the Joint Fiscal Office, told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry committee that House Appropriations has issued updated guidance asking policy committees to provide clearer, prioritized budget information to appropriators this year. "The intention behind this memo is such that you all... have a tiered or prioritized approach to funding requests," Duffy said, distributing a one-page memo and noting the guidance was posted on the Appropriations website.

The memo asks committees to distinguish one-time requests from base (ongoing) budget items and to provide a short rationale for why programs exist, what need they serve, and what would happen if funding were reduced or expanded. Duffy said the guidance is meant to be outcome-neutral — helpful whether a committee ultimately recommends increasing, reducing, or maintaining funding — and to give appropriators clearer information for difficult tradeoffs in a tighter fiscal year.

Committee members discussed practical questions raised by the memo: whether to ask outside grantees for efficiency metrics, how to account for agency staff and internal reassignments instead of new hires, and how to present priorities in the event of potential cuts. One member cited a food bank overhead example of roughly 15 percent, urging that committees probe administrative costs for outside recipients.

Duffy reminded members that the governor’s recommended FY '27 budget and supporting materials are posted on the JFO website and that House Appropriations will request committee budget letters in approximately one to two weeks, likely with a Wednesday deadline in the week before town meeting. "If past practice is followed, I think February, the week before town meeting week is usually when those letters are due," Duffy said.

The committee scheduled regular work in the weeks ahead and flagged upcoming agency presentations from Forests, Parks & Recreation and the Agency of Agriculture. Duffy offered JFO assistance to committees wanting fiscal follow‑up or help framing questions for witnesses.

The committee did not take formal action on the memo during this meeting; members were asked to review the guidance and provide feedback to Appropriations on what worked and what did not.