The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 14 approved replacement-item and IT hardware funding for the Department of Health and Welfares Division of Indirect Support Services and attached language requiring a December 15 report on state vehicle fleet use.
Per the motion, JFAC approved funding for SQL Server replacement, Office of Information Technology support hardware, and other replacement items for FY2026. The motion included a specific directive: the Department of Health and Welfare must evaluate and report on vehicle utilization, counts, and appropriateness of state vehicles and submit the results to JFAC through the Legislative Services office no later than Dec. 15, 2025. The appropriation is conditioned on adherence to the committees language.
Why it matters: the department manages administrative support functions (IT, fleet, facilities) used across Health & Welfare programs. The report aims to give the committee data to assess vehicle counts, utilization patterns and potential efficiencies.
Committee action and votes: The motion was moved by Representative Mitchell, seconded by Representative Bierke, and passed on a recorded roll call: aggregate 17 ayes, 1 nay, 2 absent/excused.
Next steps: the department must compile the vehicle-fleet data and return the report to JFAC by the Dec. 15 deadline; the departments compliance with the language is tied to the appropriation enacted by the committee.