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Legislative panel accepts EROC revenue outlook recommending cautious lower revenue figures
Summary
The Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee presented revised general fund revenue estimates below the governor's recommendations; the Joint Finance Committee accepted the report by unanimous consent.
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee voted by unanimous consent to accept the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee's (EROC) revenue assessment, which recommended lower general fund revenue projections than those put forward by Governor Brad Little.
EROC co-chair Senator Kevin Cook, R‑District 32, told JFAC the committee had completed its assessment of the governor's general fund projections for fiscal years ending June 2026 and 2027 and recommended more cautious totals for appropriation. "We recommend cautious in making appropriations above the committee's revenue recommendation," Cook said, noting uncertainty tied to Federal Reserve action on inflation and the recent presidential election.
The committee reported that Governor Little's general fund projection for fiscal 2025 was higher than the EROC median. EROC recommended $5,990,000,000 for fiscal 2025 and $6,400,000,000 for fiscal 2026. Cook summarized the committee's process as a review of business, tax and financial data and testimony from economists and industry experts.
Representative Jeff Ehlers, R‑District 21 and EROC co‑chair, thanked committee members for their work and emphasized the effort to reconcile agency and expert testimony with the governor's numbers. "I just wanna say thank you to all our committee members for the hard work that they put on," Ehlers said.
Co‑chair sought and received unanimous consent to accept the EROC report; Senator Woodward seconded the request and no objections were raised.
Why it matters: EROC's recommended revenue figures set a more conservative baseline for JFAC as it prepares program maintenance and enhancement budgets. The committee explicitly warned lawmakers to be cautious about appropriating above the EROC recommendation because of macroeconomic uncertainty.
The report and the committee's acceptance now become part of the budgeting record JFAC will use as it moves into program maintenance hearings next week.
