Appropriations committee opens session with large beginning balance, two governors' budgets and new worksheets for members

Summary

Legislative fiscal staff told the House Appropriations Committee the state begins the budgeting cycle with a stronger-than-usual balance and two competing executive budgets. Staff outlined how members will use new base/exec/revised worksheets and weekly budget status reports to track decisions during the 2527 biennium.

The House Appropriations Committee got its first briefing on the state budget process and revenue outlook as the session opened, with legislative fiscal staff saying the state enters the 2527 budgeting cycle with a substantially larger beginning balance and two executive budgets to compare.

For the record, Alan Knudson with Legislative Council staff told the committee that the state’s beginning balance “has been really healthy” since 2020 and that agencies’ unspent appropriations (“turn back”) are contributing to the cushion. Knudson said the governor’s executive recommendation for the upcoming biennium would move some money from the budget stabilization fund into the general fund and that agencies reported roughly $225 million in projected turn back that would increase the beginning balance.

The memo from fiscal staff matters because the committee must set spending against a revenue forecast. Knudson encouraged members to start from the prior biennium’s approved appropriations as the base point and then compare both Governor Burgum’s recommendation (already…

Appropriations committee opens session with large beginning balance, two governors' budgets and new worksheets for members

Summary

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