Division of Financial Management frames conservative, structurally balanced budget; proposes $2 billion for school facilities over a decade

Alex Adams, administrator of the Division of Financial Management, presented the governor’s budget to the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, saying the recommendation is built around a lower revenue forecast, increased reserve cushions and targeted proposals for schools, transportation and public safety.

Adams said the administration built the budget around $5.3 billion in general‑fund revenue for the current year and $5.7 billion for the next fiscal year, down from the $5.5 billion target used last year. "We built this year's around a $5,300,000,000 budget," Adams told the committee, adding that revenue has softened after pandemic-era surpluses and successive tax cuts.

The governor’s plan aims to preserve structural balance rather than rely on one‑time fixes, Adams said. The recommendation leaves higher ending balances than recent practice — $314 million for the current fiscal year (a roughly 5.6% cushion) and $265 million for the next year (about 4.5%) — and to restore the budget stabilization ("rainy day") fund toward its statutory cap. Adams said the administration proposes to return $33.5 million to the budget stabilization fund in the next budget year and add $24 million more so the state reaches about 21.2% of general fund revenue in combined reserves, a level staff said is within the 18–23% range Moody’s recommends to weather a recession.

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