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Appropriations bill clears committee, includes disaster relief, teacher bonuses and one-time allocations
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 6005, the special-session appropriations measure that packages multiple nonrecurring and recurring allocations discussed during the session; committee approved the bill and sent it to calendar and rules by recorded vote (21 ayes, 5 nos).
The Finance, Ways and Means Committee approved House Bill 6005 on Jan. 28, the appropriations bill for the special session that bundles the funding elements debated earlier in the meeting.
Representative Peter Lambert, who described the appropriations, said the bill contains a range of recurring and nonrecurring items discussed in committee: education-related allocations (including the Education Freedom Scholarships and a $2,000 one-time teacher payment), a recurring estimate of sports-wagering revenue routing, and multiple disaster-relief items tied to Hurricane Helene including local disaster relief, an interest-payment subsidy and funds to seed a recovery loan program.
Lambert described the bill as including “approximately $910,390,000” in spending as discussed in committee and listed several line items in his opening remarks: a teacher-bonus allocation for roughly 86,000 teachers, nonrecurring funds for interest-payment assistance for loan interest, $100,000,000 for a future disaster relief fund, $240,000,000 directed to local Hurricane Helene relief, and other listed items including $20,000,000 for Hampton High School reconstruction and a recurring $6,270,000 estimate tied to sports-wagering revenue flows. The sponsor called one amendment a clerical fix and introduced an untimely administrative amendment that the committee accepted.
Committee members debated standalone amendments (one to remove the scholarship language from the appropriation bill was tabled) and a late-filed amendment by the sponsor was adopted. The final roll-call recorded 21 ayes and 5 no votes; the committee chair announced that the motion carries and the bill moves to calendar and rules.
What this does: If enacted, the appropriation bill would enact the funding lines approved by the committee, including disaster-relief disbursements, the teacher bonus, and the allocation mechanics for sports-wagering revenue to the facilities account; several items were described as nonrecurring and some depend on later rulemaking or administrative actions.
