Purpose

To reduce state spending by cutting agency appropriations when certain job vacancies remain unfilled, and to require reporting on these reductions.

Main Provisions

• Reduction in appropriations

  • For the biennium ending June 30, 2025, general fund and nongeneral fund appropriations for agency operations are cut by the amount saved in salary and benefits from positions that have not been filled within 180 days after their job postings.
  • This reduction applies only to positions that were posted in fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
  • The resulting savings are carried forward and reflected as reductions in each agency’s base budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

• Exclusions (no effect)

  • The reductions do not apply to positions that require law enforcement training or to any public safety position.

• Reporting requirement

  • The commissioner of management and budget must report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the Senate and House finance committees about the amount of spending reductions each agency experiences under this section.

What this bill seeks to accomplish

• Encourages agencies to fill vacancies promptly to avoid budget reductions.
• Creates a mechanism to reduce ongoing spending when vacancies persist beyond 180 days.
• Improves transparency by mandating reporting to key legislative budget leaders.

Significant changes to existing law

• Adds a new process that ties vacancy duration (180 days) to automatic appropriations reductions in future base budgets (2026–2027), affecting both general and nongeneral fund spending for agency operations.
• Explicitly excludes law enforcement and other public safety positions from these reductions.
• Introduces a formal reporting duty to legislative budget committees on the size of reductions by each agency.

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Relevant Terms unfilled positions; vacancies; 180 days; 180-day threshold; salary and benefits savings; general fund; nongeneral fund; agency operations; biennium ending June 30, 2025; fiscal years 2023; fiscal years 2024; fiscal years 2025; fiscal years 2026; fiscal years 2027; base budgets; commissioner of management and budget; chairs; ranking minority members; Senate Finance Committee; House Finance Committee; reporting; law enforcement training; public safety; position postings.