House Appropriations hears overview of governor's FY26 executive budget; staff to provide follow-up data

The House Appropriations Committee heard an overview of the governor's fiscal year 2026 executive budget recommendation from Mary Anne Cleary, director of the House Fiscal Agency, during the committee's Wednesday meeting in Room 352 of the State Capitol.

Cleary said the executive recommendation is a broad proposal intended to present how the administration put the budget together, not a line-by-line final plan. She said starting balances for the governor's proposal reflected stronger-than-expected revenues, noting the general fund balance at the end of fiscal 2025 was about $2.0 billion and the school aid fund balance about $1.1 billion. She told members the governor's adjusted gross appropriation totals about $83.5 billion across all funding sources.

Why it matters: the presentation outlined the components members will consider as they begin the budget process, including supplemental requests, ongoing cost increases and one-time investments that together shape available funds and potential statutory changes the Legislature must consider.

Cleary highlighted several items driving the executive recommendation. The governor's proposal includes roughly $500 million in supplemental requests for the current fiscal year, including approximately $284 million in general fund to cover Medicaid cost and utilization changes and about $81.6 million required as a federal repayment related to a prior Medicaid disallowance (this payment is one of multiple expected installments). The recommendation also asks for boilerplate spending authority to use $255 million of ARP funding for home- and community-based services projects…