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Senate Appropriations

Friday, April 10, 2026·58m·▶ Watch / Listen

Key Actions

·HB 26-1331 – Suspension of Interim Committees (Continued)Passed

+ 7 more actions

Controversies

Whether the Legislative Department cash fund is a 'slush fund' (HB 26-1332)

Senator Kirkmeyer called the fund 'somewhat of a slush fund,' arguing that items such as furniture, ice machines, office supplies, and renovations should be directly budgeted rather than funded from reversions, and cited a fund balance of $19.2 million built from multi-year reversions averaging several million dollars annually. Senator Rodriguez disputed the characterization, stating 'it's always nice to call something a slush fund because it's always a catchy phrase and something we can use on social media and stuff. But you know, it's called having a budget,' and argued the branch had responsibly reverted nearly $18 million in unspent funds. Senator Simpson added that legislative budgeting is 'the best guess estimate' and not scientific.

+ 2 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“It appears like, I mean we should be budgeting for these things. So if we need a budget for them, we should be budgeting for them instead of creating a, what I'm just going to call looks like to me like somewhat of a slush fund that you guys slush money around to things that we should be budgeting for and in all fairness that we do with the judicial branch and the executive branch.”

Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer — Kirkmeyer challenged the Legislative Department cash fund during debate on HB 26-1332, arguing that items like furniture and renovations funded from annual budget reversions should instead be directly appropriated.

+ 4 more quotes

Votes

HB 26-1331 – passagePassed
Yes (7)Julie Gonzales, Barbara Kirkmeyer, Chris Kolker, Byron Pelton, Cleave Simpson, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
Amendment L002 to HB 26-1332Passed
HB 26-1332 as amended by L002 – passagePassed
Yes (4)Julie Gonzales, Chris Kolker, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
No (3)Barbara Kirkmeyer, Byron Pelton, Cleave Simpson
Amendment L001 to HB 26-1333Passed
HB 26-1333 as amended by L001 – passagePassed
Yes (5)Julie Gonzales, Chris Kolker, Cleave Simpson, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
No (2)Barbara Kirkmeyer, Byron Pelton
SB 26-002 – passagePassed
Yes (4)Julie Gonzales, Chris Kolker, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
No (3)Barbara Kirkmeyer, Byron Pelton, Cleave Simpson
Amendment J001 to SB 26-141Passed
SB 26-141 as amended by J001 – passagePassed
Yes (5)Julie Gonzales, Chris Kolker, Cleave Simpson, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
No (2)Barbara Kirkmeyer, Byron Pelton
Amendment L006 to SB 26-080Passed
SB 26-080 as amended by L006 – passagePassed
Yes (7)Julie Gonzales, Barbara Kirkmeyer, Chris Kolker, Byron Pelton, Cleave Simpson, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
SB 26-137 – passagePassed
Yes (7)Julie Gonzales, Barbara Kirkmeyer, Chris Kolker, Byron Pelton, Cleave Simpson, James Coleman, Judy Amabile
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TranscriptPreview
It. It's. Okay. Good morning, everybody. We've got a full House here, bright and early. The Senate Committee on Appropriations will come to order. Mr. Catlett, please take the roll. Senators Gonzalez. Present. Kirkmeyer. Here. Kolkerk. Here. Pelton. Present. Simpson. Present. Mr. Vice Chair. Let's do this. Madam Chair. Here. Okay. We have a few bills up today, and we are starting with House Bill 26, 1331. And, Senator Simpson, would you like to move your bill? Thank you, Madam Chair. I move. Senate Bill 261331. Okay, that's great. Motion. Committee members, do you have questions for the bill? Sponsors on Senate bill. House Bill 1331. No questions. Senator Kirkmeyer? Sure. Since this is the committee of reference, it might be good if someone told us what the bill. I mean, I can read it, but maybe the public would like to know what the bill does. Okay. Senator Simpson. Thank you, Madam Chair. I forgot this was the committee of reference. Several of these. Yeah. This is a continuation of the suspension of interim committees that we conducted for last year. We continue that suspension of interim committees and added into those committees the Committee of Water Resources, Water…
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