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JFAC analyst: General Fund projections steady; House Bill 40 would cut $253 million in FY26
Summary
Legislative analysts told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee the Legislature is carrying a $463 million balance and the maintenance budget rose about 2.5% year over year. Analysts flagged House Bill 40, an income tax cut, as a projected $253 million reduction in FY2026 revenues.
The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee heard a General Fund update from Legislative Services Division Manager Keith Phibbe, who told lawmakers the committee had adopted a FY2025 revenue projection of $5.99 billion and currently is carrying a balance of about $463 million.
Phibbe said the committee’s maintenance budget totals approximately $5.404 billion — a 2.5% increase over the prior year and roughly $250 million below the governor’s budget recommendation. He also flagged several pending tax-relief bills that would affect revenue targets, singling out House Bill 40: “That would be the income tax cut bill. The projection on that one is a $253,000,000 reduction in fiscal year 2026,” Phibbe said.
Why it matters: Revenue projections and the committee’s maintenance determinations set the baseline for all appropriation decisions. Large tax bills that move through the Legislature will change the committee’s available resources and therefore what new or enhanced programs it can fund.
Committee materials show maintenance-budget totals by agency and a running list of bills expected to affect the General Fund. Phibbe noted some bills already are advancing: House Bill 83 and House Bill 93 were on the House third-reading calendar, and House Bill 40 had moved to the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee. He also pointed to judicial-related bills that may affect committee work, including Senate Bill 1028 (adding judges in judicial districts) and a judicial salary bill recently introduced in the House.
Phibbe told members that a number of line items on the committee’s green sheet still carry asterisks for pending legislative action and that the committee will continue to track bill status and update the green sheet as bills move. He concluded by offering to answer questions as legislators proceed through the budget-setting process.
No formal action or votes on revenue targets took place during the update; the presentation was informational and focused on program maintenance totals, pending tax bills and their projected revenue effects.
