Ways & Means committee reports H.493 favorable after high-level FY26 budget briefing

Ways & Means met March 25 and voted to find H.493 — the House appropriations measure for fiscal year 2026 — favorable to the full House after a Joint Fiscal Office briefing and committee discussion.

The nut graf: The committee’s action advances the legislature’s FY26 spending plan after the Joint Fiscal Office (JFO) walked members through high-level revenue and transfer estimates and noted a number of carry‑forwards and transfers. Several members said they were uncomfortable voting without more time to review line‑by‑line appropriations, but moved to report the bill so it can proceed to floor consideration and further amendment.

Emily Byrne and Chris Roehm of JFO summarized the financing underlying H.493. Byrne said the House Appropriations Committee’s FY26 plan is “built on the official consensus revenue forecast that was adopted in January of $2,400,000,000.” She and Roehm added JFO’s accounting of direct applications and transfers into the general fund — about $108,000,000 — produces roughly $2.5 billion in general‑fund resources for appropriations and transfers, and that the budget relies on roughly $136,000,000 in carry‑forward funds from FY2025.

Roehm walked members through several program‑level items included in H.493 that relate to Ways & Means jurisdiction. He pointed to a one‑time appropriation for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program administered by the Office of the State Treasurer; the language in the bill lists that appropriation at $140,000 as introduced, and committee discussion recorded a corrected amount of $148,000 for the program. Roehm also described technical tax language aligning state treatment of joint returns to federal practice, and said provisions from prior committee work — including language around pilot voluntary buyout programs and clean‑water surcharge sunsets — carried into the larger appropriations bill.

Multiple committee members said the briefing was brief and left them uneasy about approving such a large, complex measure without more time to examine details. “I’m a little uncomfortable with a vote that says, yeah, we approved the budget when we don’t have the details,” one member said during discussion, noting the committee had only received a high‑level overview. Other members replied that the Appropriations Committee had already spent extended time vetting the bill and that the pieces Ways & Means had requested remained in the package.

Representative Kimball moved to find H.493 favorable; the clerk called the roll and the committee reported the bill out on a 10–0–1 tally. The roll call recorded the following yes votes: Representative Branson; Representative Burkhart; Representative Celtas; Representative Polcom; Representative Kimball; Representative Maslin; Representative Odey; Representative Bogazak; Representative Canfield; and Representative Kornheiser. One member did not record a vote on the roll call. The committee’s clerk announced, “we have [a] tax law committee, 10 0 1.”

What happens next: H.493 is now on the committee’s calendar for further consideration on the floor and will appear in the calendar addendum described by JFO staff. Committee members and staff said they expect additional documents — detailed line‑item spreadsheets and a JFO highlight document summarizing major changes — to be circulated to members later the same day or the next.

Clarifying details captured at the briefing include JFO’s figures: the January consensus general‑fund revenue forecast of $2,400,000,000; roughly $108,000,000 in direct applications/transfers into the general fund; approximately $136,000,000 in carry‑forward from FY2025; a transfer package that includes about $77,200,000 to the education fund and roughly $163,000,000 to the debt service fund; and roughly $10,000,000 held on the bottom line for anticipated H.91 (human services/housing) conversations. JFO staff noted the appropriation for VITA appeared in committee language at $140,000 but was identified during the meeting as $148,000 in the budget document.

Speakers listed in the committee record who contributed to the discussion were Emily Byrne (Joint Fiscal Office), Chris Roehm (Joint Fiscal Office), Representative Kimball (mover), and multiple committee members who participated in the roll call. The committee did not adopt any technical amendments during the meeting; members emphasized they expect to consider and potentially amend the bill further at the floor stage.

Source evidence: JFO’s remarks and the committee roll call were discussed on the committee record March 25, 2025.