Higher education budget overview sets FY26-27 base; committee warned one-time funding lowers tails

The House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee received a fiscal briefing that laid out how the committee will set base funding for the FY26-27 biennium and how ‘‘tails’’ could affect FY28-29 obligations.

Ken Savory, the committee's nonpartisan fiscal analyst, told members the state fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30 and that the committee’s omnibus higher education appropriations will be almost entirely general fund direct appropriations. He said direct appropriations are typically written into session law and that ‘‘tails’’ (out-year obligations) follow the base set by the committee unless the session law specifies otherwise.

The briefing emphasized that FY24-25 included substantial one-time funding that raised the apparent recent funding level. ‘‘So the spending is lower than it was in 24…