DOVER — It’s February, and for a few hundred state government officials, insiders, aides and observers, that means one thing above all else: budget hearings.

Every year, the General Assembly breaks after January, with the full legislature taking February off. But that doesn’t mean all 62 lawmakers are free to go on a vacation. Instead, the Joint Finance Committee convenes to review the governor’s new budget recommendations and hear from state agencies, nonprofits and constituents.

The bipartisan 12-member committee will spend the next four weeks in these budget hearings, the next step in the annual process of creating and passing a spending plan.

After various state entities like the Department of Education, the Delaware National Guard and the University of Delaware present their needs to the Office of Management and Budget in November, the governor works to prepare spending recommendations. Gov. John Carney released his budget proposal last week, calling for a $4.71 billion operating budget and an $894 million capital bond bill, both record highs.

Democrats and Republicans on the committee will sit through hours and hours of hearings this month, gathering information and passing it along to their colleagues, the 50 legislators not on the JFC.

The committee will return in May to take greater steps toward finishing the budget, which must be approved by the end of June. The finished budget is basically the governor’s proposal with some tweaks. How much lawmakers alter the recommended budget varies from year to year.

While COVID-19 has forced the legislature to go virtual, February’s budget hearings will have an in-person element to them. For simplicity’s sake, such as the ease of passing around the hundreds, if not thousands, of papers that committee members receive over the course of the month, some legislators will take part from the state Capitol, as will a few staffers.

All state agency heads and members of the public giving comments will participate remotely.

Naturally, not every agency gets the same amount of attention. Just half an hour is budgeted for the state treasurer’s hearing, while the Department of Health and Social Services is split across three days (Feb. 23-25) because of its size and the level of public comment it generates. The Department of Education on Feb. 17 is another high-profile hearing.

The University of Delaware, Delaware State University and Delaware Technical Community College this Thursday could draw substantial interest, as well.

The JFC consists of six senators and six representatives. Because Democrats hold the majority in both chambers, they send eight members, while Republicans get the remaining four spots.

The committee has two co-chairs, one from the Senate and one from the House. Although they technically switch off every year, so that one is officially chair this year, while the other will hold the title in 2022, in practice, both play a significant role in running proceedings.

Both co-chairs, Rep. William Carson, a Smyrna Democrat, and Sen. Trey Paradee, a Dover Democrat, are new to those roles this year, with their predecessors having opted not to run for reelection. Rep. Carson and Sen. Paradee were on the committee last year.

JFC chair is one of the most prestigious positions a lawmaker can hold, behind only House speaker and Senate president pro tempore, as well as perhaps the majority leader in both chambers. It’s substantially more work, at least for part of the year, but it comes with power and an extra $11,459 (the other 10 members get $9,626 bonuses).

In addition to Sen. Paradee, the committee consists of five other senators: Bruce Ennis, D-Smyrna; Laura Sturgeon, D-Woodbrook; Elizabeth Lockman, D-Wilmington; Dave Lawson, R-Marydel; and Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes. Sens. Lopez and Lockman are new to the committee.

On the House side, the JFC has Reps. Kim Williams, D-Newport; Dave Bentz, D-Christiana; Stephanie T. Bolden, D-Wilmington; Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown; and Kevin Hensley, R-Townsend, plus the co-chair. Reps. Williams and Bentz are new members.

Hearings can be difficult to follow, particularly for newcomers. The state budget is extremely intricate, with hidden monies here and there and all sorts of jargon that can make a casual observer’s head spin. In fact, there’s a long-running and somewhat truthful joke that only the co-chairs, the controller general and the budget director really understand what’s going on, although the process is less opaque than it was prior to the passage of Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act in 2010.

For perhaps the first time, all four of those key positions are held by rookies, although each has been around the budget for at least a few years, just not in their current leadership roles.

The committee is assisted by the Controller General’s Office and the Office of Management and Budget. The latter falls under the executive branch and is led by Cerron Cade, the former secretary of labor who was just confirmed as OMB chief last month. Mike Jackson, the OMB director for Gov. Carney’s first four years and a fiscal wizard, joined Delaware Technical Community College in November.

The CGO essentially serves as the fiscal arm of the legislature. Its analysts assist lawmakers during the budget process and draw up the estimated cost and revenue of bills with a financial impact. The office is led by Ruth Ann Jones.

An employee of the office since 2018, Ms. Jones was named the acting head in December after Controller General Mike Morton, who had led the office for the past eight years, retired. Lawmakers promoted Ms. Jones to full-time chief a few weeks later.

Individuals hoping to watch or give public comment should go to legis.delaware.gov/committee/jointfinance and click on the meeting notice for the day in question. From there, they can sign up to participate through Zoom.