Finance, Ways and Means advances $59.7 billion FY26 appropriations bill

Chairman Hicks presented the Appropriations Act, House Bill 14-09, to the Finance, Ways and Means Committee on April 2025 and the committee approved the bill as amended, sending it to calendar and rules by voice vote with a recorded tally of 27 ayes and 0 nays.

The bill sets total appropriations for fiscal year 2025–26 at $59,700,000,000. Chairman Hicks said the budget is funded roughly 50% from state appropriations (about $29.7 billion), 35% from federal funds (about $20.8 billion) and 15% from other sources (about $9.2 billion). “This is the Appropriations Act House Bill 14 o 9,” Hicks said while walking through the major elements.

Why it matters: The bill programs recurring and nonrecurring revenues and allocates multi-hundred‑million dollar packages for disaster relief, education, health, transportation and economic development that will shape state operations and local projects for the coming fiscal year.

Major fiscal assumptions and revenue notes

Hicks told members the budget assumes modest general fund growth in FY26—about 2%—equal to roughly $376.7 million in recurring state revenue. He said recent practice has used recurring dollars for one‑time projects,…