Governor’s office asks committee to restore lapsed reappropriations tied to VOCA/CASA grants and seeks small transition cushion

Ariana Waddell, a fiscal analyst, and Will Lawrence, Governor Kelly’s chief of staff, briefed the Committee on General Government Budget on the governor’s office revised budget and asked lawmakers to consider restoring lapsed reappropriations that local service providers rely upon.

Waddell summarized the office’s FY2026 revised estimate (about $62.1 million all funds with roughly $37.7 million in SGF) and noted a global deletion of approximately $2.5 million in reappropriations in the special budget committee mark. She said about $1.7 million of the lapsed amount is tied to grants for domestic violence prevention, child advocacy centers and CASA programs.

Will Lawrence framed the request as largely a timing issue: "Of the $2,500,000 that, was lapsed as reappropriations, Approximately 1,700,000 of that, are funds that are in the governor's grants office related to VOCA, the child advocacy centers, and CASA," he said, adding that most of those funds are already allocated and relied upon by local entities. Lawrence also said the governor’s office is "not requesting any additional FTEs."

Lawrence requested a $50,000 transition cushion to support incoming administration transition activities; staff and the reviser’s office clarified that unspent reappropriations can lapse and that unused transition funds would be subject to lapse rules.

Committee members asked technical questions about lapse mechanics, and Jill Walters of the Revisor of Statutes’ office confirmed the committee’s understanding that if money is not expended it can lapse back to the state but reappropriations can be restored if included in the appropriation act.

Next steps: The committee will consider whether to restore all or part of the lapsed reappropriations and weigh the governor office’s transition request in the work of the appropriations bill.