Busy Budget Week in the House

It’s budget week for the House Ways and Means committee and that means circumstances change minute-by-minute on issues related to spending state money. You can watch today’s committee proceedings online when members are scheduled to reconvene at 2:15 p.m.

The Association's legislative team has been very focused on restoring dollars to the Local Government Fund and working on provisos that require substantial attention. Provisos are one-year provisions in the state budget that drive how dollars are spent or require specific action.

Several provisos were addressed by the committee on Tuesday that could cause concern for cities and towns. There were articles in two newspapers today about these…one deals with voluntary acceptance of state roads by local governments. Another keeps local governments from collecting a convenience fee on credit card transactions.

These provisos are still in play until the committee makes its final vote on the budget, so read Friday’s From the Dome to Your Home for finalized details on these and other provisos and the Ways and Means committee’s recommendation for the Local Government Fund allocation.