The House Appropriations Committee amended Senate Bill 2002 (the judiciary branch budget) on Oct. 12 to remove four full-time equivalent positions and related operating dollars that lawmakers moved to a newly created Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship.

Representative Lisa Hansen presented the amendment changes as a follow-up to the committee’s earlier action on SB2029. Hansen said the four positions — previously approved in the judiciary budget — are being transferred to the new office, and that the subtraction appears as roughly $205,000 in one operations line but also reflects a larger $894,000 adjustment moved from the new and vacant FTE pool. She said those amounts reflect how the judiciary budget is organized across multiple line groups (Supreme Court, District Court, Judicial Conduct Commission and the guardianship line) and that most of the effect comes from the vacant FTE pool rather than a single operating line.

Representative Nathie moved to reconsider the committee’s prior action on SB2002; Representative Hansen seconded. The committee adopted the amendment to remove the four FTEs; the motion to adopt carried on a recorded vote reported as 21 yes, 0 no and 2 absent. Hansen later moved a do-pass as amended on SB2002; the do-pass as amended motion also passed on the committee roll call reported as 21 yes, 0 no and 2 absent. The committee designated Representative Hansen as the carrier.

Members raised several clarifying questions during discussion. Representative Murphy asked about salary adjustments for Supreme Court justices and district judges; Hansen confirmed previously approved increases remain unchanged in this amendment (11.1% for justices, 12.1% for chief justice, and 7.7% for district judges) and that the only change in the current amendment was the transfer of the four FTEs. Hansen also said she consulted with the senators overseeing OMB and DHS budgets to align the various line items and funding sources during the transition.

The amendment leaves certain guardianship program funds in DHHS and OMB until the transition and removes the four positions and associated amounts from the judiciary budget to reflect their reassignment. The committee’s actions were procedural budget adjustments to reconcile the implications of creating a separate guardianship office.