Governor’s "keeping promises" budget emphasizes schools, reserves and infrastructure

Laurie Wolf, administrator of the Division of Financial Management, presented Governor Brad Little’s executive budget to the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee Tuesday, saying the proposal is a “keeping promises” budget that prioritizes K‑12 education, roads and reserves while keeping a conservative revenue outlook.

Wolf told lawmakers the recommended general fund revenue projection for fiscal 2026 is about $6.2 billion and that the executive budget leaves a projected ending balance of roughly $227 million after transfers and expenditures. She said the administration is proposing transfers to Utah‑style rainy day accounts — a $59 million transfer to the budget stabilization fund and a $50 million transfer to the public education stabilization fund — and noted that after those transfers the state would hold an unusually large revert reserve of about $1.4 billion, or roughly 22% of the budget.

The nut graf: the governor’s plan combines continued spending on ongoing priorities with a modest, $100 million placeholder for tax relief. Wolf said the administration used conservative revenue assumptions and kept overall structural balance while directing money to a set of stated priorities: teacher pay and school supports, workforce training, transportation capacity, water projects and wildfire-management funding.

Key facts and priorities

- Education: The governor recommended an additional $150 million for public schools, including $83 million for teacher pay and roughly $30 million for health…