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Senate restores $19 million to general fund, shifting Child Care Contribution Special Fund revenue into base budget
Summary
The Senate budget restores a $19 million general-fund allocation tied to childcare rather than reducing general-fund support and relying on special-fund revenue, and raises infant/toddler reimbursement rates; committee staff flagged concerns about whether the special-fund transfer could be used for non-childcare purposes.
The House Appropriations Committee reviewed the Senate's FY2026 budget Wednesday, where the Senate restored a $19 million general-fund appropriation tied to childcare instead of implementing the governor's proposed reduction and relying on the Child Care Contribution Special Fund.
Emily Byrne, Joint Fiscal Office, told the committee the Senate left the general-fund amount in place and proposed transferring anticipated additional revenue from the Child Care Contribution Special Fund into the general fund to "make the general fund whole." Byrne said the Senate also increased infant and toddler reimbursement rates from 4.5% to 5.5%.
The change reverses the governor's recommendation to reduce general-fund support while increasing spending authority from the special fund. A committee member noted that the special fund's purpose is to support childcare and warned that transferring special-fund revenue into the general fund "may or may not be used for childcare," and said that could be a topic for further discussion.
Committee staff said the budget documents retain the spending condition language requiring plans before money is released for the education transformation dollars associated with childcare-related initiatives. Byrne said the Senate's move to put certain education-transformation dollars into the base was partly intended to make hiring and program administration easier.
Why it matters: the Senate change affects how state childcare programs are funded in FY2026 and how those revenues are classified for future budgets. Committee members pressed staff for a spreadsheet showing the net effects across the governor, House and Senate proposals; Byrne said she would provide it.
The committee also heard that the Senate added small targeted increases tied to childcare administration and workforce supports, including the infant/toddler reimbursement increase; costs and implementation details will be subject to later agency budget and policy discussions.
The committee paused the discussion to request a clearer spreadsheet from JFO and said it would revisit the issue during conference negotiations between the chambers.
