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Joint Budget Committee

Wednesday, February 4, 2026·3h 55m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Joint Budget Committee worked through statewide compensation figure-setting for FY2026-27, a PERA pension-financing pitch projected to save the state $2.15 billion, and routine tobacco-revenue distributions — with staff pushing transparency reforms that ran into resistance over affordability and the difference between running state government and running a business.

Key Actions

·Statewide Compensation Figure-Setting, FY2026-27Passed

+ 2 more actions

Notable Quotes

I mean, my head hurts with this conversation because it's like we're losing money. Like, where is it going? I just. It's like, what are the departments spending it on if they're not not spending it on this?

Judy Amabile (D-senate) · witnessAmabile voiced the committee's frustration at being unable to trace how departments spend flexible compensation appropriations, the core problem staff's transparency reforms aim to fix.

+ 3 more quotes

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TranscriptPreview
To order. We are now onto figure setting and we are starting off with Mr. Kem and statewide compensation. Mike is yours. Thank you, Madam Chair. Alfredo Kem, JBC Staff and yes, presenting staff figure setting for fiscal year 2627 for statewide compensation. I want to go over the table of contents real quick to give you how I'm going to go through this. As you may know, I included an addendum memo that I sent out yesterday. It is attached to the online document released and it mostly just includes additional analysis related to health, life dental pieces. However, there is one additional staff recommendation. I am planning to throw that in after that list that first sequence of three decision points related to staff initiated policy recommendations, that first section in the document. So I will jump into that at that point. Aside from that, as you can see in the document, really the big piece is going to be salary increase components. I've basically broken this down for the committee into six decision points for salary increase pieces. Health, life, dental includes three decision points. Para unfunded liability payments includes five decision points. And then we have
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