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Institutions committee told Appropriations needs cash numbers for capital bill today
Summary
Committee members on Institutions were told the fiscal office and Appropriations want final cash‑fund numbers for the capital bill H.494 by this evening so the budget office can complete work; members discussed limits on moving funds between cash and bonded buckets and a roughly $1.1 million shortfall that needs a fix across FY26–27.
The Institutions Committee met Tuesday, April 22, to finalize cash allocations for the capital bill H.494; the Joint Fiscal Office requested the committee deliver final cash‑fund numbers by the end of the day so the Appropriations Committee can complete the budget mechanics.
Committee members said the numbers — more than the narrative language — are what the budget office needs immediately. Scott Moore, the Joint Fiscal Office representative, told the panel, "they want the numbers." He and others explained the Appropriations staff will use the cash figures to assemble the overall budget and will have a harder time changing those figures once submitted.
Why it matters: the committee's assignments of projects to the cash fund versus bonded dollars affects whether the state stays within bonding caps and how much flexibility remains to move projects between funding sources. Members repeatedly emphasized that moving a project from cash to bonded (or vice versa) can force additional language changes in the capital bill and that Appropriations needs the cash column consolidated quickly to prepare the budget.
Committee members discussed a concrete sequencing issue: if $3.1 million is shifted from cash to bonded, other projects must move from bonded back to cash to keep totals within limits. Committee staff said that shifting those dollars is possible, but it will "trigger language we would have to send over to appropriations so that [they] know what we've actually decided on our cash," in the words of one staff member.
Members and agency officials also raised an immediate funding gap affecting Buildings and General Services (BGS). Committee discussion centered on finding roughly $1.1 million in bonded dollars to move into FY26 work so a nearly completed courthouse project can be closed out. Wanda Menori, Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, described options for locating that money in the bonded bucket and pledged to review her project list to identify candidates to move between fiscal years. "If we're only $1,100,000 away for making this thing work, we could find $1,100,000 out of 61,000 or whatever the dollars might be," she said.
Committee direction and timing: staff said the Appropriations office wants the cash figures by about 6 p.m. the same day; the fuller bill language and any bonded/cash swaps can continue to be worked the following day. Multiple members urged that, while the spreadsheet numbers are the immediate priority, the committee must still review and finalize bill language before passage.
The meeting recorded no formal votes on funding changes; members agreed to provide the requested cash totals to Appropriations and to continue work on language and possible bonded shifts in the next day.
