Committee reviews proposed budget reversions and general‑fund transfers including $86.2M for debt service and $77M one‑time to education fund

Staff and committee members spent the meeting reviewing proposed reversions of prior‑year appropriations and a set of transfers into and out of the general fund, including several large base and one‑time moves that remain subject to negotiation between the House and Senate.

Staff member Emily Burn opened the discussion by walking the committee through the supplemental reversion and transfer sheets that accompany the budget packets. "This first sheet...is the reversions that are in the house passed version. We sort of assumed that the Senate would accept all of them," Burn said, describing funds the House moved to revert to the general fund because the original purposes were complete or no longer needed.

The committee was told the House added an additional $2,000,000 reversion tied to an appropriation for the Brown Housing Finance Agency that related to an unused wrap pilot program. Burn described that and several other reversions that come mostly from prior‑year, one‑time legislative appropriations for studies or contracts that are now complete and have unobligated balances.

On transfers, staff presented two groups: recurring "base" transfers and one‑time transfers. The largest base transfer shown is $86,200,000 to debt service funds to pay bonds. Another recurring transfer proposed to the capital infrastructure (cash) fund totals $14,880,000 based on the calculation staff outlined for the committee. Burn said a small statutory transfer also moves money into a tax computer modernization fund "per statute." The Fish and Wildlife fund was shown receiving a transfer tied to a departmental financial restructuring; whether that transfer is handled as base or one‑time remains open.

Among one‑time transfers, the packet carried a $77,000,000 transfer to the education fund as assumed by the yield bill. The governor had proposed a $15,000,000 one‑time transfer to an information technology special fund to support transition work; the House reduced that proposal by $5,000,000 and instructed the Agency of Administration to revisit the amount. Burn also identified an environmental contingency transfer that the governor added at about $9,520,000 and which the House reduced by $4,000,000; she said the committee staff were carrying the additional $4,000,000 at present while negotiations continue. Separately, the House and corrections discussions produced a recommended reduction of $7,340,000 in a cash‑fund transfer treated as a one‑time adjustment in the materials.

The packet also lists direct applications that move outside receipts into the general fund at fiscal year end: annual AHS federal receipts, an attorney‑general settlement transfer of $2,000,000, net transfers from the Division of Financial Regulation programs (which can swing year to year), sports‑wagering receipts (an estimate carried in the packet), and liquor control transfers based on actual profits rather than the prior estimate.

Burn told the committee staff would follow up with agencies to confirm current estimates because the packet was assembled months earlier and figures can shift. "A lot of times at this point in the year, we will reach back out to the departments...sometimes there's a little bit more money than we thought. Sometimes there's a little less," she said. Committee members asked staff to flag open items (notably the IT fund and a pair of transfers) and to highlight those lines on the next version of the supplemental sheets.

No formal votes or final actions were recorded on the reversions or transfers during the meeting. Committee members and staff scheduled further review—the staff said they tentatively expect to review the DAA package the next day—and agreed to circulate updated numbers later in the week as departments respond to follow‑up inquiries.

Ending: The committee's review focused on clarification and verification rather than final decisions; staff will return with updated estimates and revised supplemental sheets as negotiations between the House and Senate continue.