House Ways and Means committee adopts final budget spreadsheets, sends appropriation bills to the House

The House Ways and Means Committee on [date not specified] adopted final subcommittee spending spreadsheets and approved the combined appropriation and capital reserve bills after a series of voice votes and roll calls.

Chairman Bannister, who opened the meeting, framed the exercise as stewardship of taxpayer dollars. “We have a deal with them. We have a contract,” Chairman Bannister said, adding the committee sought “fiscal responsibility, meaningful tax cuts and smart investments.”

The committee approved reports and spreadsheets from public education, higher education, health care, economic development, criminal justice, transportation and regulatory, constitutional, and statewide subcommittees. Representative Whitmire summarized the public education package, saying the K-12 subcommittee focused on “teachers, children and ensuring their safety.” The subcommittee allocated $112 million to state aid for classrooms to provide a $1,500 salary increase and set a new starting teacher salary at $48,500, the subcommittee reported. The public education plan also includes $20 million for school facility safety upgrades and $35 million for bus purchase and lease to maintain a 15-year vehicle rotation.

Representative Ballantyne described higher education funding choices that prioritize tuition mitigation and capital needs while funding roughly 35% of capital requests and about $60 million in…