Governor Little’s executive budget emphasizes education, reserves and targeted investments

Division of Financial Management Administrator Laurie Wolf told the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Jan. 8 that the governor's executive budget is a "keeping promises" plan that maintains structural balance while funding targeted priorities including education, transportation, water, workforce training and public safety.

Wolf said the plan projects general fund revenues of about $6.2 billion for fiscal 2026, uses conservative forecasting and leaves healthy ending balances after recommended transfers to reserve accounts. "We did use conservative revenue forecasting," she said, noting the administration proposes transfers to the budget stabilization (about $59 million) and the public education stabilization fund ($50 million) and would leave a large revert reserve roughly $1.4 billion in size.

The governor recommended about $151 million in total enhancements for FY 2026, including $150 million for public K-12 priorities: roughly $83 million toward teacher pay, nearly $30 million for school health insurance and $50 million in a separate revenue adjustment set aside for education choice initiatives that the governor said would require a policy bill.