Latest news with #LegislativeFiscalDivision
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5 days ago
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New state analysis shows 2.1% biennium budget increase
The full text of Montana's biennial budget laid out on a lawmaker's desk. (Micah Drew/ Daily Montanan) An analysis of Montana's budget for the 2025-27 biennium showed a 2.1% increase over the previous biennium, the Legislative Fiscal Division reported this week. Some members of the state's legislature said during the session the increase was double-digits, focusing specifically on the general fund, which House Appropriations Chair Llew Jones said was a misrepresentation of the budget. 'Sadly, members of Montana's Freedom Caucus have been deliberately misleading constituents, citing as much as an 18% increase in our state budget by including General Fund spending from the previous session and transfers to other state funds in their calculations,' Jones said in a press release. 'Instead, the total state budget will grow by just over 2% in the next two years, which we accomplished while also giving historic income and property tax cuts to Montana families and small businesses.' Jones stated the calculations factored in 'transfer of General Fund resources to special trusts and the distribution of significant income and property tax reductions' when coming to the 2.1% number. That growth rate is less than inflation, the release noted, an often repeated goal of Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte. Some Freedom Caucus members are skeptical about the calculations. Rep. Jerry Schillinger, R-Circle, said an effort had been made to cut certain items out of the budget toward the end of the session to 'make it look better' and added that the money would still be spent anyway. 'I just haven't verified their numbers yet, but I'm highly skeptical of what Representative Jones is talking about,' Schillinger told the Daily Montanan. The fight over the budget was bitter during the session and a coalition of Democrats and Republicans pushed through the $16.6 billion spending package. Schillinger said some 'big government' Republicans, instead of working with fellow conservatives, sought out Democrats to work with instead. He said this has been happening for several sessions. 'It just came out more and more into the open this session,' Schillinger said. He added that if the legislature had done its job, Gov. Gianforte, a Republican, wouldn't have to be spending the time 'vetoing all these bills.' Not all spending bills have been signed or vetoed, meaning the calculations could change depending on spending, the Legislative Fiscal Division analysis stated. Schillinger said that it appeared likely the Governor would also be signing the mega-trust bill discussed heavily near the end of the session. HB 924, for example, was touted by Jones as critical money for housing, childcare, and disaster resiliency. It became a touch point for spending hawks in the legislature who repeatedly decried the spending. A release stated, 'these trusts will increase Montana's resources.'
Yahoo
15-04-2025
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Amid spending concerns, budget advances, major new trust proposed
Photo illustration illustration by Getty Images. Montana's big budget bill, House Bill 2, is headed to the full Senate after bulking up in the Senate Finance and Claims Committee, as is a separate proposal for a beefy new trust fund. The debate over spending is taking place alongside a discussion about how the state can keep paying for its needs — and whether legislators can keep adequate oversight and control over state dollars. Friday, Senate Finance and Claims voted 13-9 to approve HB 2 after passing several amendments that added to its bottom line, and it will likely be on the floor Thursday. Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, said HB 2 was costing a lot more for the 2027 biennium than the 2025 biennium, and he would be opposing it. 'My constituents did not send me here to spend 18% more than we did two years ago,' Fuller said. But Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said he expected to see other proposals that would add more money to HB 2, and it was time to move the $16.6 billion legislation out of committee. 'I think that we need to use this as a cutoff, at least for now, slow it down a little bit,' Windy Boy said. Some legislators want to slow down House Bill 924, too. Sponsored by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, the controversial piece of legislation would create a new trust fund for Montana. Jones said the bill collects a lot of small funds that already existed — and people figured out how to raid — into one trust. He said that fund will earn money for Montanans for generations to come in housing, childcare, disaster resiliency and more. 'This is kind of a Montana-made legacy and investment in the future,' Jones said. Detractors, though, fear it was rushed into existence and loosens the grip legislators have on their ability to appropriate funds. On the House floor last week, Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, said he'd never seen a larger fiscal note than the one for HB 924. The bill initially directs $679 million from the general fund into the trust. Monday marks day 74 of the 2025 session, the Montana Legislature has 90 days to complete its work, and both bills are progressing. At this point in the session, the state budget sometimes looks like it won't pencil out, with numerous proposals to reduce income and property taxes still in play, and plenty of spending bills alive. On top of that, prior to the session, a report from the Legislative Fiscal Division warned of the risks of recession and potential federal cuts. It said continued income tax reductions and spending pressures raise a question about whether the governor's proposed budget will mean income can match expenses by the 2029 fiscal year. 'Decisions of this magnitude will be made by the 2025 Legislature and will set up Montana's state finances for success or failure for decades to come,' the report said. The most recent calculation of bills in play by the Legislative Fiscal Division shows ongoing expenses outpacing ongoing revenues by 2026, and a gap of $500 million by the 2029 fiscal year. However, the Legislature won't pass all the bills that reduce income, and it will kill some of the spending ideas, although in a debate last week on the House floor, Falk said he's worried by the trend. 'Even just the last few days, the line between structural deficit and breaking even has gotten quite a bit worse,' Falk said. In a press availability Friday, Sen. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, said HB 2 is large in part because legislators want some ideas to stay in the mix, but only for the time being. 'There will be a reckoning, and there has to be a reckoning,' Pope said. Jones described HB 924, the Growth and Opportunity Trust, as an opportunity for the legislature to have a significant and positive impact on Montanans for decades. The bill, which received bipartisan support and opposition with a 53-44 final vote in the House, is a combination of several proposals the Montana Legislature had already heard, Jones said. He said the trust 'is a kind of a conservative, forward looking trust' that takes a portion of volatile revenues and 'turns them into long-term assets.' Montana has a coal trust, but Jones said it's worth only about $1.2 billion, while other states have tens of billions of dollars in similar trusts, such as Alaska, with $80.3 billion, and Wyoming, with $11.6 billion. The Montana trust fund would take in about 50% of volatile revenue, such as income from capital gains. He said half of the trust would reinvest funds, and the other half would distribute funds. A fiscal analysis of the bill said allocations would go to local disaster resiliency, state property tax assistance, water development, bridges and early childhood programming. Jones said the principle is protected, and withdrawal would require a two-thirds vote by the legislature. He said the bill allows Montana to store money, but it includes recession triggers for hard financial times. 'This is the acorn,' Jones said of the bill. 'I'm hoping it will grow into an oak tree.' Although the bill passed to the Senate, it elicited criticism from both Republicans and Democrats on the House floor. Falk said the bill came much too late in the process given its heft and complexity, and he would have liked such legislation to be thoroughly vetted by the Legislative Finance Committee. 'If we're taking tax revenue that creates a surplus, and it's too high, I think we need to give it back to people,' Falk said. 'We don't even give them interest on their money.' Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, said the bill allocates money for specific purposes in advance, and she wasn't sure legislators should box themselves out of future decisions that way. 'What this bill does is it takes away from your ability to spend future funds and ties the hands of future legislatures,' Gillette said. Minority Leader Katie Sullivan, D-Missoula, said she liked the idea of being able to save money and prepare for the future. However, Sullivan said she had concerns both about the authority the governor's office has to reduce the size of transfers and how the bill reserves a portion of future income tax revenue. She said the structure gives away some legislative power and oversight in the appropriations process. 'The legislature is in charge of appropriations, and we should keep doing our job in that space,' Sullivan said. Sullivan also said property tax rebates proposed in the bill amount to just $40 for residents, and 'we need to amp that up so it's meaningful for taxpayers.' Jones agreed that property taxpayers need more help, but he said the only way the executive can touch the funds is during emergencies as outlined with specific language and set triggers in the bill. In support of the bill, Rep. Jonathan Karlen, D-Missoula, said it might not be the way he would write it, but it would make a difference for Montanans. Karlen said legislators don't always have the chance to take up bills that affect their constituents for generations to come. 'What's in this bill is an ongoing, fiscally responsible way to support pensions, housing, critical infrastructure, water, our early childhood system,' Karlen said. The bill will have a hearing Tuesday in Senate Finance and Claims. HB 2 is expected to be on the Senate floor later this week, and the most recent report said the legislative proposal is 0.7% more than the governor's budget. In the meantime, a plan still needs to gel for a property tax decrease for residential payers, and an income tax reduction is expected too. Falk said he's only in his second session, but he thinks every session, projections show a negative structural balance 'in the out years.' 'I think this is worse — way worse — than normal,' he said. He said legislators will make reconciliations, erasing here and there, and the governor may veto some spending, but he sees the need for work ahead. Pope sees work ahead as well. He said he is proud of the work Democrats have done on their priorities, at times with help from nine Republicans in the Senate, whether it be increasing provider rates or help for housing. At the tail end of the session, he said, the legislature is entering the firefight. 'We have to not only keep pursuing the things that remain undone, and there's a fair amount of that, yet we also have to circle back every half hour to protect something that's already been decided, and it can be harrowing,' Pope said.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
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House approves $16.6 billion state budget
The Montana House of Representatives convenes for a floor session on Jan. 6, 2025. (Micah Drew/ Daily Montanan) Fixing bridges and roads, while funding nursing homes and law enforcement officers took center stage Wednesday on the House floor with the full chamber's first look at Montana's big budget bill — a plan that costs $16.6 billion. Last fall, Gov. Greg Gianforte proposed his budget for the next biennium, and since the beginning of the 2025 Montana Legislature, House subcommittees have combed through the request and put their fingerprints on it. Wednesday, House Appropriations Chairperson Llew Jones, R-Conrad, and the chairpeople of the subcommittees presented the various sections of House Bill 2 on health, justice, education and natural resources and transportation. Jones said the budget is the result of a lot of time and work by staff and legislators, and the product before his colleagues generally followed growth in inflation and population. Given the hours of investment legislators had put into HB 2 the last three months, he urged his fellow representatives to stick with the bill as is and avoid any amendments — either to increase or decrease it. 'It has some discipline and is transparent,' Jones said. But adopting a budget is job No. 1 for the legislature, and Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, advocating for his own amendment, said legislators shouldn't just be rubber stamps. 'You're not a potted plant here. You have to exercise your own judgement as to whether this makes sense,' Mercer said. The largest chunk of the bill goes to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, or Section B, an estimated 44%, according to a budget overview from the Legislative Fiscal Division. That's $7.3 billion for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. Education accounts for $3.5 billion, and transportation and natural resources make up $2.9 billion. Rep. Mary Caferro, vice chairperson for House Appropriations, said the budget is a statement of legislator values, and she too thanked staff from the Legislative Fiscal Division, 'the smartest people in the whole Capitol.' 'The people of Montana deserve a fair budget that makes life more affordable and provides them the freedom that comes from economic security and good health,' said Caferro, D-Helena. After a full day of review, the House adopted the budget bill on a 60-39 vote. 'Let's send it onto the Senate and let the work continue,' Jones said. Montana's population is increasing, and the state is feeling effects of both the population growth and tourism, said Rep. Jerry Schillinger, R-Circle. 'It's affected all of these departments,' said Schillinger, chairperson of Section C. His committee reviewed Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Department of Livestock. For example, he said, the state needs to fix bridges, although the number of people needed for the job was debated in an amendment, as was a hunter education course for Montana. The legislature added 22 people to the Department of Transportation, many to work on bridges, although with money from state and federal fees. It also added four meat inspectors in the Department of Livestock, one portion of an overall 6.4% increase for the biennium from the 2025 base, or $2.1 million overall. In an explanation for the meat inspectors, Schillinger said the pandemic brought to light how fragile food systems have become, and those employees will help with safety. He also said the Department of Environmental Quality has been affected 'in a large way' with housing and commercial developments and legal challenges related to permitting. As a result, he said, nine more people are budgeted to handle the growing caseload for that agency at a cost of $2.3 million for the biennium. That amount is part of a 7.2% increase for the biennium altogether, or $9.7 million, including $5.4 million for mine reclamation. All told, Schillinger said his section added 63 positions for a total of 3,973. On the floor, Mercer tried to cut an engineer and project manager from the Department of Transportation budget, or two positions altogether out of 16, but the amendment failed. He said everyone is committed to bridges, but he didn't see the need for the total number of new employees. 'I think that's excessive,' Mercer said. But Schillinger and others said the legislature discussed it, a number of bridges are under restrictions, and Montana roads need the resources. Rep. Marilyn Marler, D-Missoula, pitched a successful amendment to reinsert a hunter education program into the budget, which she argued is a healthy and important part of the state's culture and heritage. Marler also said it wasn't costing taxpayers because the dollars come from hunting licenses and an excise tax on guns and ammunition. Rep. Shannon Maness, R-Dillon, said it pained him to speak in support of a budget increase, but the money was already allocated for that purpose — and it's needed. 'This program is suffering,' Maness said of hunter education. 'It's been hampered in recent years.' The public safety portion of the budget, comprising five agencies, is led by Rep. Fiona Nave, R-Columbus, and is the smallest of the budget sections. 'These dollars really, really have to stretch over things that we are required to do,' Nave said. Nave summarized the budgets for the judicial branch, Department of Justice, Office of Public Defender, Department of Corrections and the Public Service Commission, the latter of which receives no general fund money. The budget approved in committee gave substantial, 9% raises to highway patrol to address poor retention, which Nave said was one of the biggest issues in state law enforcement. 'The officers end up moving from agency to agency depending upon who can pay them the most. And unfortunately, the state's a little bit disadvantaged because of the timing,' Nave said 'We end up having to do it first and then all the counties can take a look and say, okay, you know, can I match that.' Another big ask came from the judiciary, where the courts asked for additional judges in Yellowstone County to handle increased caseload. The committee approved two of the requested three judges, but added a condition requesting the 10 judges in the county to look at having specialized dockets to streamline the process. The Department of Corrections saw the largest increase in the budget with a $68 million bump. The biggest chunk of that is nearly $24 million in contracts for out-of-state prison beds — roughly three times what the state originally paid in 2023 to send 120 inmates to Arizona. Now, Montana houses 600 male inmates in out-of-state prisons owned by private prison operator CoreCivic, and while the Legislature is considering hundreds of millions of dollars for DOC capital projects, it is unlikely to make much headway in the backlog of inmates in Montana's penal system. Rep. S.J. Howell, D-Missoula, brought an amendment to strip the funding to send inmates out of state, citing concerns over accountability and oversight at private prison facilities, but the House opposed the change, with Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, calling the argument 'completely fallacious.' Nave said that while she was sympathetic to Howell's position, the state was 'in a crisis' and had no other choice but to pay. 'There are no places to put these people. If we're not going to fund this, you can either put bunk beds in places we have now or put them on the streets,' she said. 'The money put here in the line item is to pay for the beds we are already utilizing and that we need to pay for. We are obligated.' Another amendment to increase funding for the Office of Public Defender — which the committee funded below what the department had asked for — also failed. But one amendment introduced on the floor did pass. Earlier in the session Speaker Pro Tempore Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings, carried a bill to create a railroad safety inspection program within the PSC as a standalone bill, which passed the chamber 98-2 before being tabled in the Appropriations Committee. Her budget amendment asked for half the inspection staff the original bill requested, and many lawmakers spoke in support, pointing to recent train derailments in Montana as a need. Rep. Neil Duram, R-Eureka, said he wanted to avoid another scenario like a 2021 Amtrak derailment that killed 3 people and injured more than 50. 'That's the event that we want to prevent. If $200,000 will get us there, I'm a yes.' The Department of Public Health and Human Services accounts for nearly half of the entire budget for HB 2, more than $7 billion for the biennium. Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, served as chairperson for that subcommittee, and she said the good news is that the legislature trimmed the budget slightly from the governor's proposal. However, she also said one difficulty is declining federal match dollars for health programs. Gillette said for every 1% decline in federal match, Montana has to pay from $16 million to $17 million. 'That's going to present some serious future challenges for us,' Gillette said. Caferro said Gillette ran a fair subcommittee, and such leadership is important because many members of the public from all walks of life testify there. 'We see the faces of the people behind all of these decisions and numbers and lines on pieces of paper,' Caferro said. To Caferro, the agenda represented a 'strong agenda for children,' for babies, toddlers and families. 'Children don't ask what home to be born into, but I believe it's government's role to take care of children first and foremost,' Caferro said. The cost for the biennium is 1.6% lower than the base in 2025, according to the overview from the Legislative Fiscal Division. Highlights include one-time funding of $79.5 million to operate facilities including the Montana State Hospital, nearly $2 billion for Medicaid expansion, provider rate increases for Medicaid and non-Medicaid providers, and a cut of 80 net positions out of 2,832. The House considered numerous amendments — to cut and add — and all but one, characterized as a technical adjustment, failed. Mercer, a fiscal conservative, proposed numerous amendments to trim the budget, and his proposals failed, but other legislators joked that they would work on softening his heart. 'My heart is plenty soft,' Mercer joked back. Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell said much of the work on the general government section of HB 2 was about ensuring 'we have good transparency and accountability in state government.' The committee reviewed the Legislative branch, Consumer Council, Governor's Office, the Commissioner of Public Practices, the Auditor's Office, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Administration, the Department of Labor and Industry, and the Department of Military Affairs. Some of that was seen in the Legislative branch, which received information and technology upgrades, including an additional $229,000 in one-time funding to increase the public's access to lobbying information. The State Auditor's Office also received money for consumer information and fraud prevention. The Department of Military Affairs also saw a boost, with the budget adding $3.8 million to develop 14 new positions. Rep. Luke Muszkiewicz, D-Helena, said the section was about the people behind the numbers and that state employees are 'knowledgeable, conscientious and dedicated public servants who are committed to serving the people of Montana.' Falk said there was some pushback at times, but called out the tension between the Legislature and the Executive office, saying 'it should be there.' Three amendments were brought, with just one passing from Falk. It eliminated $12.9 million from the general fund, state special revenue, federal special revenue, and proprietary funding that was set to go to the Recruitment and Retention Contingency Fund, the largest cut made to the budget on the floor. 'I think in general, things were restrained,' Falk said. 'I would like to have seen us do more.' Chairman David Bedey, R-Hamilton, highlighted investments the state is making in education. Bedey's subcommittee reviewed the Office of Public Instruction, the Board of Public Education, the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind, the Montana Arts Council, the Montana State Library and the Montana Historical Society. The Office of Public Instruction received a 10% increase in funding for the Local Education Activities Program, which involves aid for major maintenance projects, debt service assistance and school lunch funding. The budget also includes an increase in teacher pay, which is contingent on the passage of House Bill 252, which has come to be known as the STARS Act and is a major education proposal this session. There's also $640,000 for a study of high schools and $2 million for OPI for database modernization. Several bills — HB 515, HB 551, SB 322 — will have to pass for some appropriations to go through. There's also money for the agency to add seven new staff. Bedey also added the committee had made some adjustments and cuts 'to align the budget with actual projected spending for the unanticipated significant enrollment appropriation.' There's also money to study how AI will be used in classrooms, which will be implemented by the Montana Digital Academy. 'Its purpose is to get our arms around how AI is going to influence education and the kind of educational materials that we more and more rely upon, like online materials, to support,' Bedey said. 'We don't use books like they did when I was a kid.' The Montana State Library will also see some increases, mostly for personal services and fixed costs. The Montana Historical Society also received an increase — including a one-time appropriation of $1 million to plan for the country's 250th birthday — as well as half a million for operation of the Montana Historical Society.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
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Governor's ‘slush fund' may get legislative oversight
Photo illustration by Getty Images. A pot of money estimated to grow to more than $100 million by the end of 2026 — and referred to as the governor's 'slush fund' — may end up having direct oversight by the Montana Legislature. On just the third day of the 69th legislative session, members of the House Appropriations Committee raised questions about the lack of information in House Bill 4 regarding one item in particular. The bill described the entry only minimally. The committee learned it represented an estimated $101 million in interest earnings from remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars allocated to the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to remain under control of the Governor's Office, as proposed in HB 4. Spending for the current biennium was approved last session, but unplanned expenses still come up, such as grant opportunities. HB 4 outlines those budget amendments, mostly for unanticipated federal funds, and $1.27 billion in all, according to a fiscal analysis of the bill. The significant amount of cash with the Governor's Office and lack of transparency around a plan for it prompted Rep. Mary Caferro, R-Helena, to recently describe the dollars as a 'slush fund,' as have others. In a press conference this month, Caferro said a bill that would have stabilized rates for Medicaid providers was tabled, and the Governor's Office 'strongly opposed it,' but it has the money to pay for it. 'The slush fund? That could have paid for four years of those provider rates,' Caferro said. A memo from the Legislative Fiscal Division about the fund said spending included $12 million to purchase the 'old USFB building' for investment, $5 million for a veterinary diagnostic lab building project, and $1.3 million on National Guard recruitment, among other smaller items. 'The interest earned on these funds are not subject to program restrictions and may be spent on any lawful governmental purpose,' the memo said. Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, also said this week he had concerns about the lack of legislative oversight when he learned about the fund. The memo from the Legislative Fiscal Division said $53.2 million of the money, from interest, came out of the 2023 session. It said another $54.2 million was 'appropriated in a budget amendment' in December 2024, to be considered in HB 4 this session. The bill, requested by the governor's Office of Budget and Program Planning, appropriates amendments for the 2025 fiscal year, and it provides for some spending to continue into 2026 and 2027. Last session, however, Regier said the bill spelled out the exact dollar amount in that item from the Governor's Office, and this year, a specific figure wasn't included in the bill. Regier also said he does not believe the governor's budget proposal, released in November, discussed the fund. 'I get why the executive would want unrestricted dollars, but that's, in my mind, our job,' Regier said. 'The legislature should be the one appropriating.' He said the legislature already doubled the governor's emergency fund last session to an estimated $18 million, and this session, it has preliminarily approved another $24 million for the governor to support recruitment and retention of state employees. Early this week, the Appropriations Committee had yet to take action on HB 4. However, an amendment in the wings would strike the item from the bill, or change the item to a legislative appropriation. Rep. Terry Falk, R-Kalispell, requested the amendment, and he said this week he intends to present it, and he believes it easily has support. 'It's not legislative intent for the governor to have money he can just spend willy-nilly,' Falk said. He said transparency is key for the people of Montana. 'We're fiduciary agents for the people's money and the people's budget. We need to be accountable. People expect that, and they should,' Falk said. Rep. Llew Jones, chairperson of the House Appropriations Committee and sponsor of HB 4, said he too has requested an amendment to set those funds aside. He said the committee will likely take up the bill next week. Jones earlier told the Montana State News Bureau the legislature can't direct every dollar of spending, but he told the Daily Montanan this week he anticipates the legislature will have the ability to appropriate the money. In the past, he and others said the amount of money coming from interest earnings wasn't a large amount, but that has changed. 'It has become a much more significant number,' said Jones, R-Conrad. The Governor's Office did not respond to a question about whether it would support such an amendment, nor did it respond to the characterization of the dollars as a 'slush fund.' The memo from the Legislative Fiscal Division said the total actual interest earned on ARPA funds was $80.7 million through Feb. 12, 2025. It said expenditures totaled $18.7 million, leaving a balance of $62 million 'at this point.' 'The Governor's Office has the authority to spend this appropriation, so this balance is at a point in time and may change,' the memo said. At the initial hearing, Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, said she wondered if all the budget amendments should actually be included in HB 4, since its purpose is for spending that couldn't have been foreseen. Gillette, who said she's most familiar with items related to the health department, wondered if 'mission creep' might be taking place, or miscommunication, and if some items should be in HB 2, the main budget bill, more directly under the control of the lawmakers. 'I'm not really sure what's going on, but it feels like these things should be in the budget,' Gillette said. 'They're not things we didn't anticipate. They're programs that are long standing. And so can you help explain any of that?' This week, Gillette said she doesn't believe anything malicious is taking place with HB 4, but she said she suspects that as the baton has gotten passed from one administration to the next, some items that represent ongoing spending end up in HB 4 anyway. 'It impedes legislators from getting the full picture,' Gillette said. In response to Gillette in January, Jones said a conversation about the larger purpose of HB 4 had started, and the committee wouldn't take action on the bill until right before its transmittal deadline, more than halfway into the session, so legislators would have time to learn more. A budget official from the Budget and Program Planning of the Governor's Office referred Gillette to statute. Rep. Luke Muszkiewicz, D-Helena, said he appreciated the short narratives in the bill about what the amendments cover. For example, under the Office of Public Instruction, the bill lists farm-to-school grants as an expense. Those amendments are signed off on by 'approving authorities' for each branch of the government. That means the chief justice of the Montana Supreme Court for expenses related to the judicial branch, for example, or the governor for executive agencies. But Muszkiewicz said the item from the Governor's Office simply said '31 CFR, Part 35,' or Code of Federal Regulations, Pandemic Relief Programs, and he wanted more information. 'What we have appropriated right now for ARPA interest, for this biennium, is $101 million of that,' said Errolyn Lantz, from the Governor's Office. 'That is a projection of what will be earned on the ARPA interest money through 2027.' The fiscal analysis for the bill said $92 million was part of the Governor's Office, and Muszkiewicz wanted to know what portion the item in the bill represented. Lantz said all but $3.6 million comes from ARPA interest. Caferro also asked whether the item in question should be in the main budget bill. Amendments in HB 4 relate to the current 2025 budget year, she said, but the item in question requests authority to continue through fiscal year 2027. Evelyn Davis, from the governor's budget office, said the Legislative Finance Committee had already seen and approved money for the current fiscal year, and placing items that have a later end date in HB 4 would approve their continuation after the end of the federal fiscal year. At the meeting, Caferro said she wanted to know details as well: 'What do you plan to spend this $92 million on in the next biennium?' At the time, Lantz said she would provide a list of how the money had been spent. 'I will say that current and future expenditures will follow federal guidelines, as it's federal funding,' Lantz said. 'I believe you,' Caferro said at the hearing. But Caferro said this week she had not yet seen a list. The Governor's Office did not respond to an email Tuesday requesting more information about the fund. Falk, however, said he believes the information in the memo from the Legislative Fiscal Division represents most of the available detail to date. ARPA money has been used for a variety of expenses, including infrastructure and communications, and HB 4 includes some ongoing projects. The money is obligated but not all of it is spent yet, although it must be spent by the end of 2026. At the meeting, Jones said it wouldn't be unusual to have an appropriation continue. He also said the bill would be in the committee for a while, and typically, three or four amendments would come up as federal grants arose that require legislative action. In the meantime, he said, he wanted to be sure committee members received answers to all of their questions about the bill. This week, Jones said the legislators may want to put the money toward infrastructure programs that fell short, or in a capital development fund. He said a precise amount is difficult to estimate because ARPA funds are being spent down along the way, and interest is variable, but he expects legislators will 'suggest an appropriation of that money.'
