Fiscal staff walk senators through reversions, corrections and restored appropriations

Emily Burns of the fiscal office presented technical corrections and reversion adjustments to the committee, asking members to accept changes that reduce FY26 appropriations instead of booking reversions where those appropriations remain active. Burns told the panel the ADS redistricting task force had a $100,000 set‑aside but only spent roughly $30,000; updated vendor activity meant about $70,000 remained and the appropriate action was to reduce the FY26 appropriation rather than revert the full $100,000.

Why it matters: Treating these items as appropriation reductions rather than reversions affects accounting for FY26 versus FY27 and avoids prematurely canceling funds that cover outstanding obligations and contracts.

Fiscal staff also flagged a $650,000 reversion originally booked from the Department of Corrections for FY26 pretrial programs; Burns recommended reducing the FY26 appropriation by that amount instead of reverting it. On the Department of Environmental Conservation’s emissions repair program, the House had reverted remaining funds; the Agency of Natural Resources reported outstanding contracts and said about $200,000 (Burns described it as roughly $200,000–$235,000) should be held to cover administrative costs and active contracts rather than be reverted immediately.

Committee members asked follow‑up questions about contract counts and vendor obligations and requested more information before finalizing the reversion amounts. The panel also discussed retaining or restoring funding for programs including 2‑1‑1, food shelves and primary care case management, and staff said they would flag items and update the spreadsheet to reflect the committee’s direction.

No formal roll call or motion was recorded; staff said they would provide the requested contract information and revised spreadsheets for committee review.