Subcommittee advances FY27 appropriations bill after three amendments

The Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee voted to advance House Bill 2,631, the fiscal year 2027 appropriations measure, to the full Finance Committee after adopting three amendments.

Chairman Hicks, sponsor of the bill, summarized the package as "The fiscal year 27 budget is a total of $58,300,000,000," and said roughly 51% of that total comes from state appropriations (about $29.9 billion), 34% from federal revenue (about $19.5 billion) and 15% from other resources (about $8.9 billion). Hicks framed the budget as a mix of recurring and nonrecurring resources and noted the state is transitioning from recent record revenues to a "new normal."

The committee adopted three amendments before the final vote: drafting code 17,739 (a member amendment), the administration amendment (drafting code 011111) and a committee/legislative amendment (drafting code 011112). Each amendment was offered, seconded and adopted by voice vote before the final roll call. The clerk reported 11 ayes and 1 no on the final passage; the chair announced that HB 2,631 "goes to full finance."

Hicks detailed major expenditure buckets in the presentation, singling out health and social services and K–12/higher education as the largest categories of spending. He also described nonrecurring resources generated by strong recent investment earnings and federal COVID-related aid. Representative Parkinson questioned specific amendment changes and funding removals; Hicks clarified a referenced "Star Academy" in the amendment is not the same charter school Parkinson had in mind and said he could provide a party-by-party breakdown of funded legislative bills later.

The subcommittee completed its calendar and recessed for five minutes before the full committee convened.