Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Revenue topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Joint finance committee accepts EROC revenue report recommending cautious lower revenue estimates
Summary
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee accepted the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee's report by unanimous consent, which recommends lower general fund revenue estimates than the governor for fiscal 2025 and 2026 and urges caution on appropriations above that recommendation.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on the floor accepted the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee's (EROC) revenue assessment by unanimous consent, adopting the committee's more conservative general fund revenue recommendations for the coming two fiscal years.
Senator Kevin Cook, co-chair of EROC, told JFAC the committee had "completed our overall assessment of Governor Little's general fund revenue projections for the fiscal years ended June 2026, and 2027," and described the committee's review of business, tax and financial data and testimony from economists and industry experts.
EROC reported that the governor's recommended general fund revenue projection for fiscal 2025 and 2026 exceeds the committee's median numbers. The committee recommended total general fund revenues available for appropriation of $5,990,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and $6,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. The committee urged caution in making appropriations above those recommendations, citing economic uncertainty tied to Federal Reserve actions and the presidential election.
A motion to accept the EROC report was made and seconded on the floor; Senator Woodward seconded the motion and the committee accepted the report by unanimous consent.
The report was presented as advisory; acceptance places the committee on record with the EROC figures and signals the revenue baseline JFAC staff will use in preliminary budget planning. The committee noted the accepted figures differ from the governor's recommended projections but did not adopt specific appropriation decisions during this session.
The committee's acceptance does not itself appropriate funds; it directs staff to use the committee's recommended revenue baseline as JFAC proceeds to review program maintenance and enhancement budgets in coming hearings.
Looking ahead, JFAC members will use the committee's recommendation when preparing appropriation proposals next week, and members were reminded that final appropriation decisions remain subject to later committee action and votes.
