House Appropriations Committee reviews general fund operating statement

The House Appropriations Committee reviewed the state general fund operating statement on April 2, 2026, with Emily Burn of the Joint Fiscal Office explaining how the document shows fund-level "sources and uses" and the role revenue forecasts play in determining available budget resources. The meeting opened just after 11 a.m.; members noted the House floor would consider the capital bill later the same day.

Burn told the committee that an operating statement is prepared for a fund, not for an agency, and that it reports authorized appropriations (what the Legislature has approved to be spent) against the revenue and other sources available to that fund. "It's sort of like an income statement, but it's not an income statement," she said, adding the statement groups items as sources, uses and transfers so members can see how policy decisions and forecasts affect the fund balance.

Why it matters: the operating statement is a forward-looking tool used by the Joint Fiscal Office and committee members to assess whether the budget as drafted remains balanced under the latest revenue assumptions and to identify transfers or contingencies that will be needed at closeout. Burn emphasized that the "current law revenue" line reflects the consensus revenue forecast adopted by the Emergency Board and that a new forecast (usually in July) is the primary lever that can change upper-line source numbers.

Key takeaways from the presentation: the committee examined how tax-law changes and forecast updates were incorporated (Burn noted the miscellaneous tax bill reduced projected receipts by about $4 million in one line), how certain small programs reverted unspent dollars to the general fund (Burn cited a reversion related to an emissions repair program of about 598 as stated in the presentation), and how ARPA-related swaps produced one‑time accounting entries in FY25 that will not repeat.

Members also reviewed the difference between base (ongoing) appropriations and one‑time items; Burn said the operating statement should reconcile to the public web report and that much of recent year‑over‑year growth in appropriations reflected standard payroll and base spending rather than new program bills. The presentation showed prior‑year carryforward assumptions (for example, the committee discussed an earlier carryforward figure cited at 257 million) and how portions of carryforward and contingent decisions were routed to the education fund in recent actions.

On reserves and statutory distributions, Burn walked the committee through the general fund stabilization reserve (set at 5% of prior‑year appropriations), rainy day fund transfers at closeout, and statutory allocations that send remaining surplus at closeout to retirement funds (historically described as 50% rainy day, 25% teachers' retirement and 25% state employee pension in the presentation).

Budget impact and contingency: committee materials showed the House operating numbers reduced the previously projected unallocated operating surplus of about $71 million to roughly $0.1 million for FY27 after accounting for tax-law changes and contingent items. Burn and members noted that small committee additions (for example an added $50,000 earmark discussed in the meeting) can alter the bottom-line unallocated amount quickly and that a future revenue downgrade would trigger a statutory recision process.

Clarifications raised during the meeting included questions about ARPA accounting, transfers to new funds (the committee discussed a roughly $500,000 transfer to a police‑radio fund), and whether the committee had adjusted the Agency of Education's FY27 budget. Committee members clarified that the committee did not change the Agency of Education's FY27 budget during the budget-adjustment process and that earlier $700,000 references related to a budget‑adjustment discussion rather than a cut to the FY27 education budget.

Next steps: the committee closed its review with members asking JFO to provide written explanations and backup for ARPA swaps and other items that required reconciliation with finance and management. The House floor was scheduled for 1 p.m. the same day, and the committee planned follow-up briefings on special funds and reserves in coming weeks.