Joint Budget Committee introduces long bill and authorizes technical adjustments to finalize budget

The Joint Budget Committee moved to introduce the long bill for fiscal year 26-27 and to give staff limited authority to make technical adjustments as the package is finalized.

Vice Chair Bridges moved to grant Director Harper permission to make technical adjustments without bringing them back to the full committee "in the range of $5,000,000 up and down," and to introduce the long bill to close the 26-27 budget. The motion to introduce the long bill and the accompanying procedural motion passed 6–0. Sponsors for the long bill were named and the bill will start in the House and run with the long-bill package.

Committee members thanked staff and each other for the work to reach this point and noted there remain a small number of bill drafts to finalize before the process is complete. The committee stood in recess to allow staff to post redrafts and to reconvene when both chambers' members can meet.

What this means: the committee voted to move the budget package to the next stage of the legislative process and delegated limited technical authority to staff to handle last-minute technical changes within a defined tolerance. Staff will post updated language and fiscal notes for bills that were introduced earlier in the meeting and will return to the committee as needed.