budget proposal

Lawmakers on the Joint Appropriations Committee are almost finished with the second week of hearing state agencies’ funding requests. Education funding was difficult to nail down.

Employee salaries came up as a common theme throughout the day. Departments say higher wages will allow them to be more competitive in the market.

The 2024 fire season is still fresh in the minds of legislators. They want to avoid spending that much money again, and some are willing to pay now if it means fewer costs later.

Lawmakers heard from two agencies with similar goals of reducing administrative costs.

The governor spent the week teasing priorities in his budget ask to lawmakers, which is expected to be released Monday.

This week Governor Matt Mead told the legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee that he is proposing cutting 60 million dollars out of the current…