View the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

The budget begins as a bill that the Governor submits in January (or February if at the start of a new term) to the House of Representatives.

The House Ways and Means Committee reviews this budget and then develops its own recommendation.

Once debated, amended and voted on by the full House, it becomes the House budget bill.

At this point, the House passes its bill to the Senate. The Senate Ways & Means Committee reviews that bill and develops its own recommendation.

Once debated, amended and voted on, it becomes the Senate's budget bill.

House and Senate leadership then assign members to a joint "conference committee" to negotiate the differences between the House and Senate bills. Once that work is completed, the conference committee returns its bill to the House for a vote. If the House makes any changes to the bill, it must return the bill to the conference committee to be renegotiated. Once approved by the House, the budget passes to the Senate, which then votes its approval.

From there, the Senate passes the bill to the Governor who has ten days to review and approve it or make vetoes or reductions. The Governor may approve or veto the entire budget or may veto or reduce certain line items or sections but may not add anything.

The House and Senate may vote to override the Governor's vetoes. Overrides require a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

The final budget is also known as the General Appropriations Act or Chapter XX of the Acts of 2025. The final budget consists of the Conference Committee version, minus any vetoes, plus any overrides.