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House Appropriations staff: nearly $3 billion extra revenues; about $2.1 billion available to carry forward
Summary
At a House Appropriations Committee briefing, staff said House Bill 29 shows nearly $3.0 billion more than the current fiscal year appropriation, driven by FY25 leftover revenues, vetoed items and unspent agency funds; roughly $2.1 billion could be carried into the next biennium and staff urged using carryforward for one-time items.
Anne Omen, executive director of the House Appropriations Committee staff, told committee members that House Bill 29 reflects nearly $3.0 billion in additional revenues compared with the current fiscal year appropriation, driven by leftover FY25 resources, vetoed items and unspent agency appropriations.
"What you see in House Bill 29 is almost $3,000,000,000 above that which was included for the current fiscal year," Omen said, identifying roughly $1.75 billion in leftover FY25 revenues (including about $572 million in a general fund surplus), nearly $900 million tied to items Governor Youngkin vetoed and about $258 million in agency appropriations that were not spent.
Omen said a separate reforecast produced a bit over $822 million in additional revenue because collections exceeded last year's forecast; together with the leftover FY25 amounts, the staff estimates about $2.1 billion would be available to carry forward into the next biennium after accounting for the governor's proposed spending and savings.
The staff emphasized that carryforward funds should be used for one-time activities to avoid permanently increasing the budget base. "You never want to spend carry forward monies on ongoing activities," Omen said.
On the biennial outlook, Omen reported about $71.3 billion in general fund resources available for appropriation in the next biennium. That total includes nearly $68.0 billion expected to be collected during the biennium, nearly $2.0 billion in transfers and the estimated $2.1 billion carryforward. The forecast assumes modest growth of just over 3% annually.
Staff also noted tax policy measures embedded in the introduced budget that reduce available resources by about $734 million, the largest single piece being roughly $433 million tied to federal tax conformity decisions. Omen listed additional proposals — including partial deductions for overtime, tips and car loan interest, a move toward market‑based sourcing for corporate income, and a permanent extension of enhanced standard deduction, the enhanced EITC at 20% refundability and the elective PTET — that were assumed in the forecast.
Omen flagged some large, targeted tax and incentive provisions included in the budget text, such as an extension of the data center sales and use tax exemption in the back of the act to 2050 (and in one item to 2055) for companies that make very large capital investments.
On the structural side, staff said HB30, as introduced, would leave roughly $305 million unappropriated at the end of the biennium to maintain out‑year structural integrity but suggested members could consider whether some of that balance might be available for one‑time purposes.
The briefing closed with members asking staff clarifying questions about mid‑session reforecasts, the drivers of individual income tax strength and how much of the additional resources should be reserved for ongoing versus one‑time uses. The committee then moved to departmental presentations on HHR, education and other areas.
