House rejects amendment to add recent appropriations into FY2025 budget; H.883 passes on third reading

Representative Donahue of Northfield offered an amendment to H.883 on March 29, 2024, asking the House to insert approximately $25,750,000 in one‑time appropriations from recently passed or advancing bills into the fiscal year 2025 budget to show ‘‘what we have actually voted on’’ and to increase public transparency. Donahue said the change would reflect current appropriations and cited a fiscal memo available to members that estimated longer‑term effects could push the budget $131 million higher in FY2026 if policy provisions are carried forward.

A member of the House Appropriations Committee urged the body to find the amendment unfavorable, saying the current approach makes tracking and preventing double appropriations easier for staff and for subsequent Senate consideration. Committee members cautioned that adding the appropriations into the budget now could create more complexity and risk inadvertently duplicating funding across instruments.

After floor debate on whether transparency or procedural clarity should govern the timing and structure of appropriations, Representative Donahue requested the vote be taken by role. The clerk completed the requested roll‑call vote; the amendment failed, 41 yes to 97 no. The clerk announced the nays had it and declined to amend the bill.

The House proceeded to the third reading of H.883, an act relating to making appropriations for the support of government. The House passed the bill on third reading by voice vote; the presiding officer declared the ayes had it and that the bill passed.

Key procedural details recorded in the debate: Donahue referenced a posted fiscal memo and said the amendment would not change the body’s bottom line this year but would place the intended appropriations in the budget for clarity. The Appropriations Committee warned of staff burden and the risk of double appropriations if the House and Senate both include the amounts in different instruments.

The House recessed for lunch and caucus later in the morning; no subsequent reconsideration of the failed amendment was recorded in the transcript.