Gray Rohrer
House and Senate leaders agreed Monday to spend $42.4 billion in state revenue as part of the 2022-23 fiscal year budget, laying the groundwork for formal budget negotiations between the chambers.
The agreement on top-line budget figures, known as allocations, only reveals the state’s general revenue spending. The total budget, including federal funding and state trust fund spending will likely top $100 billion.
The general revenue figures break down like this:
— Health and Human Services: $14.4 billion.
— PreK-12 Education: $13.5 billion.
— Criminal and Civil Justice: $5.94 billion.
— Higher Education: $5 billion.
— Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment: $1.5 billion.
— Administered Funds: $946.8 million.
— Infrastructure and Tourism: $629.3 million.
— State Administration and Technology: $526.5 million.
No formal conference meetings between the chambers have been scheduled yet. In a memo from Senate President Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican, to his members, he wrote that no budget conference meetings would begin before 9 a.m. or after 8 p.m.
Lawmakers must reach a final budget deal by March 8 to satisfy the 72-hour “cooling period” required by the constitution before voting on the budget to end the 60-day Legislative Session on time.
