Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Appropriations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House Appropriations Committee to restore $18.5 million for universal school meals in FY26 budget language
Summary
Members of the House Appropriations Committee agreed during a March 21 meeting to put language back into the committee budget to fund universal school meals, after staff explained that the yield bill’s modeling assumes the program is included in the Education Fund and in property-tax calculations.
House Appropriations Committee members said March 21 they will add language to the committee budget to include $18.5 million for universal school meals in fiscal 2026, after staff from the Joint Fiscal Office explained how the yield bill models the Education Fund.
Committee members heard from Julie Richter of the Joint Fiscal Office, who summarized that the yield bill sets property-tax yields by calculating Education Fund needs: “The yield bill doesn’t appropriate the education fund programs and appropriations. The yield bill is really the purpose of filling the education fund of setting property taxes,” Richter said. She and committee members noted House Ways and Means’ yield bill assumes universal school meals in its modeling.
The committee was shown the Education Fund outlook, which staff said reflects using a $41 million Education Fund surplus and a $77.2 million general-fund transfer to reduce average property-tax bills in FY26. Under the Ways and Means modeling presented to the committee, including the universal school meals assumption corresponds to an estimated statewide average property-tax bill change of about a 1.1% increase year over year. Richter said the universal school meals appropriation is estimated at $18.5 million in FY26 and is included in the spreadsheets Ways and Means used to build property-tax yields.
Committee members and staff discussed the practical implications: if the universal meals appropriation is removed from the budget, the yield-modeling would overestimate the amount property taxes must raise; conversely, changes to the $77.2 million general-fund transfer would change the gap filled by property taxes. Members emphasized coordination with House Education Committee and House Ways and Means because the yield bill sets tax rates based on assumed appropriations rather than making those appropriations itself.
The committee directed staff to restore language to the committee budget reflecting the $18.5 million universal school meals assumption and to continue coordinating with Ways and Means and Education staff on the final bill text. No formal roll-call vote on the appropriation language was recorded during the session.
The committee paused business for dinner and planned to return to further budget work after the break.
