Executive Committee of the Legislative Council

Tuesday, January 27, 2026·52m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Executive Committee of the Legislative Council received an informational briefing on the FY26 legislative department budget ($80.1 million total) and FY27 budget planning, including a staff recommendation to appropriate $3.1 million for the Blue Book and $852,000 for the property tax audit; no votes were taken, but the committee faces a February 17 deadline to decide on personnel compensation.

Key Actions

·Overview of Executive Committee Work for 2026No Vote

+ 3 more actions

Controversies

Legislative per diem increases versus Medicaid provider rate increases

Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez raised concern about whether cost-of-living increases being applied to legislative per diems were being matched to increases given to Medicaid providers and other vendors, expressing sensitivity given tighter budget conditions. Director Craig Harper of JBC Staff directly contradicted any implied alignment, stating: 'The direct answer to your question is no. There does not appear to be any alignment between the per diem increase that you are discussing and the amount paid to providers,' and confirmed that the governor's request contains no increase in provider rates.

+ 1 more controversy

Notable Quotes

“We keep it separate from the long bill to maintain that separation of powers from the executive branch. It's also run earlier than the long bill, again, to maintain that separation of power with the executive branch.”
Director Castle — Director Castle explained why the Legislative Appropriations Bill is kept separate from the long bill and run on an earlier timeline.

+ 4 more quotes

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TranscriptPreview

Of the legislative council will come to order. Ms. Kurtzphelin. Roll call, please. Senators and Representatives Caldwell. Here. Duran. Here. Rodriguez. Excused. Simpson. Mr. President, let's do this. Madam speaker, here. We do have a quorum, Members. Today we have a fairly robust agenda. We will be hearing first from director Castle on an overview of our work for 2026. Then a highlight of the leadership session calendar, updates on the legislative department budget and budget process. I should mention filling in today for director decheco will be deputy director Chase. Thank you for being here. We will also be talking about the long bill appropriation, recommendations to the joint budget committee, an update on the legislative department cash fund, and. And if there is time, other business, and welcome. Good morning, Majority leader Rodriguez. Director Castle, kick us off. Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. It's my pleasure to be here for our first leadership staff meeting this year. The very first thing on the agenda, an overview of the executive committee's work in 2026, is very short. It's just my requested time to just let you know that there are meetings coming up this year, and those are…

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