Appropriations panel reviews history, formulas and recent increases in state revenue sharing

The House Appropriations Committee on General Government heard a briefing March 13, 2025, from Ben Gilchick of the House Fiscal Agency on state revenue sharing, including constitutional per‑capita payments, statutory (CVT) revenue sharing, the Economic Vitality and Incentive Program (EVIP), and county revenue sharing.

Gilchick told the committee that state revenue sharing "represent[s] the largest unrestricted portion" of a constitutional requirement that about 48.97% of state spending from state sources be paid to local units of government. He explained constitutional revenue sharing is a per‑capita payment tied to the 4% base sales tax rate and that statutory revenue sharing has undergone several programmatic changes since the 1930s, including EVIP and the current CVT revenue‑sharing structure.

The briefing traced the history of statutory revenue sharing, noting a large reduction in the late 2000s that left roughly 1,300 local units without statutory payments, the introduction of EVIP in fiscal year 2012 with accountability and transparency conditions, and…