During its budget decision meeting today, the Senate Budget and Taxation Subcommittee on Health and Human Services concurred with a House budget action to restore $3.9 million to local health departments through the Core Funding formula. This subcommittee recommendation will be discussed before the full Senate Budget and Taxation Committee this Thursday during its decision meeting. If adopted by the full committee, local health departments will receive $45.6 million in FY 2016 instead of $41.7 million as proposed in the Governor’s budget.

Through actions taken in HB 72, the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2015, funding for local health departments was being rolled back to the FY 2014 level of $41.7 million in the Governor’s proposed budget. The elimination of formula-driven inflationary increases, which were restored as an offset to the teacher pension shift two years ago, would have reduced funding by $7.8 million in FY 2016 and $5.9 million for FY 2015.

Instead of adopting the funding reduction of $7.8 million in FY 2016, the House rejected the BRFA language and voted to restore $3.9 million in funding for local health departments. The Senate Budget and Taxation Subcommittee has concurred with this action.

For more information, see our previous posts on Conduit Street summarizing House and Senate budget actions.