Budgets and Confirmations
This week was all about the budget and confirmations. Both chambers took committee and floor action on multiple budget bills. The most notable budget activity was the House passing the Health and Human Services budget off the floor on a party-line vote (54-44). Even though there has been a flurry of activity on budget bills in both chambers, there remain areas of wide disagreement between the Senate and the House on a number of those budget bills. The chambers will need to resolve those differences before they can send the final bills to the Governor. See the chart below for an update on status of budget bills.
On a parallel track, the Senate made major progress authorizing the Governor to assemble her executive team by confirming many of her key appointments. These confirmation votes are traditionally bipartisan votes and this year is no different. Listed below are several appointments that received individual confirmation votes this week due to their importance. There are hundreds of other appointments that get confirmed “En Bloc,” which means as a group, and these are typically to fill boards and commissions.
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Kraig Paulsen, Director of the Department of Revenue, 49-0
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Mark DeJong, Board of Corrections, 49-0
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Beth Townsend, Director of Workforce Development, 50-0
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Gerd Clabaugh, Director of the Department Public Health, 49-0
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Justin Kirchhoff, IPERS Investment Board, 49-0
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Wayne Walter, IPERS Investment Board, 48-1
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Jeffery Wright, State Public Defender, 49-0
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Stephanie Groen, Director of State-Federal Relations, 49-0
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Chris Kramer, Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, 48-0
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Debi Durham, Director of the Economic Development Authority, 48-0
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Rod Roberts, Labor Commissioner, 48-0
Budget Bills
|
Budget
|
House
|
Senate
|
Status
|
|
Admin & Reg
|
HF759
|
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Passed House (54-46) 4/9; to Senate.
|
|
Ag & Natural Resources
|
|
SF609
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Passed Senate (32-18) 4/8; passed House Full Approps 4/11.
|
|
EcoDevo
|
|
SF608
|
Passed Senate Full Approps; to Senate floor.
|
|
Education
|
HF758
|
|
Passed House (58-38) 4/4; to Senate.
|
|
HHS
|
HSB253
|
|
Passed House (54-44) 4/11; to Senate.
|
|
Infrastructure
|
HSB251
|
|
Passed House (100-0) 4/9; to Senate.
|
|
Judicial Branch
|
|
SSB1254
|
Passed Senate Full Approps; to Senate floor.
|
|
Justice System
|
|
SSB1255
|
Passed Senate Full Approps; to Senate floor.
|
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Transportation
|
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SF600
|
Passed Senate (46-0) 4/2. Passed House (100-0). To Governor.
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Bills to Governor
As the end of session draws near, we are also tracking which bills have passed both Chambers and have been sent to Governor Reynolds to sign.
