Committee hears how vetoes affect school maintenance, university projects and disaster funds

Lacey Sanders told the committee the governor vetoed an approximately $25,000,000 appropriation to the Major Maintenance Grant Fund that the legislature had included to address K–12 deferred maintenance. Sanders said low lapsing appropriations this year reduced the amount that would have flowed through the proposed waterfall into the maintenance grant fund and that the administration retained funds sufficient to address the top three projects but vetoed a portion intended to expand repairs.

On university maintenance, Sanders said the budget retained $6,750,000 and vetoed about $3,250,000 of a legislatively added $10,000,000 increase. She said deferred maintenance remains an administration priority but revenue availability limited retained amounts.

Sanders also described vetoes tied to disaster and fire suppression funding. She said a $10,300,000 veto affected the disaster relief fund (the fund retained about $13,000,000) and that the administration reduced a deposit to the fire suppression fund by $26,000,000 (retaining approximately $47,500,000). The administration has proposed a $40,000,000 supplemental for FY27 and is preparing 5‑ and 10‑year averages for committee review to support the supplemental request. "The urgency... is to get it before the end of the year," Sanders said of supplemental timing, but she also said the administration can short‑term borrow internally to meet immediate obligations and later account for entries when a supplemental passes.

The committee asked for detailed back‑up of lapsing appropriations and an accounting of fund sources that did not materialize for the major maintenance program. Senators stressed the importance of a clear supplemental, the administration working with the minority, and a transparent calculation of any proposed averages used to size funding for disasters and fire suppression.