House committee reviews DE1 amendment to children and families omnibus, schedules markup for next day

The Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee on April 6 conducted a detailed walkthrough of the DE1 amendment to House File 2436, the committee's children and families omnibus budget bill, presenting fiscal spreadsheets and agency priorities while reserving formal action for a markup session tomorrow.

House fiscal analyst Mr. Berg led the committee through the official spreadsheet, telling members the current version, dated 04/06/2025 at 08:58 p.m., shows a net expenditure change of $25,000,000 in the first biennium and a negative $15,000,000 in the second biennium that together balance to the target provided by the Ways and Means Committee. "If you look down on lines 9 and 10, or 10 and 11, it shows you the total spend at our target and that the difference between that spend and our target is 0," Mr. Berg said during the walkthrough.

The DE1 includes a mix of policy and finance changes across the newly created Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and several related offices. Major funding and policy items highlighted by Mr. Berg and House research staff include: a 1-time, $6,000,000 appropriation for early childhood education scholarships; a $50,000,000…