JFAC analyst: revenue outlook unchanged; tax bills and judicial pay proposals could reshape FY26

Keith Bybee, division manager for budget and policy analysis with the Legislative Service Office, briefed the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on the General Fund “green sheet,” the staff summary of current revenue and appropriation activity. “You adopted a revenue projection for fiscal year 2025 of 5,990,000,000.00,” Bybee told members, and he said the Legislature is currently carrying a balance of $463,000,000 from FY2025 appropriations and reappropriations.

Bybee said the committee’s maintenance budget actions now stand at about $5,404,000,000 — roughly a 2.5% increase year over year and about $250 million below the governor’s maintenance request. He said that some agency maintenance budgets remain marked with asterisks on the green sheet until final actions are completed.

The analyst highlighted several active bills that could materially affect the committee’s work and the revenue target. Of particular significance, he said, is House Bill 40, an income tax cut bill projected to reduce revenue by $253,000,000 in FY2026 and to grow in future years. “There are several tax relief bills out there,” he said, and several were already on the House and Senate calendars.

Bybee also called out bills that affect the committee’s workload in other ways: Senate Bill 1028, to create a new judicial judge in the First Judicial District, and House Bill 124, described as a judicial salary increase bill. He told members the committee will need to reconcile incoming tax legislation with the revenue target and long-term budget projections as it proceeds.

Committee leadership and members had no substantive questions following the presentation. Bybee said analysts will continue to update the green sheet as bills cross the rotunda and as the Legislature takes additional budget actions.