The Senate passed a supplemental operating budget on Friday, and the House passed one on Saturday. The 2021–23 biennial budget adopted last year appropriated $59.067 billion from funds subject to the outlook (NGFO). The Senate-passed budget would increase 2021–23 appropriations to $63.634 billion and the House-passed budget would increase them to $65.308 billion.

Compared to actual 2019–21 NGFO spending, the Senate-passed 2021–23 appropriations (including the supplemental) would be an increase of 23.3% and the House-passed appropriations would be an increase of 26.6%. Adjusted for inflation, those increases would be 14.6% and 17.6%. As I noted here, average biennial growth (adjusted for inflation) from 1993–95 through 2019–21 was 5.2%.

The enacted 2021–23 biennial budget appropriated $7,536 per capita. Per capita spending would increase to $8,119 in the Senate budget and $8,332 in the House budget.

In the Senate on Friday, floor amendments added $50.4 million in NGFO appropriations for 2021–23 (compared to the supplemental approved by the Ways & Means Committee). Additionally, now the Senate budget assumes passage of SB 5309, which would exempt diapers from the sales tax. This is estimated to reduce revenues by $59.8 million in 2021–23 and $75.7 million in 2023–25.

Meanwhile, floor amendments in the House on Saturday reduced NGFO appropriations by $49.2 million (compared to the supplemental approved by the Appropriations Committee). That is mainly due to an amendment that shifted $50.0 million in the Dept. of Health for COVID response from the NGFO to the federal coronavirus state fiscal recovery fund.

Policy level NGFO changes in the Senate-passed budget would total $5.724 billion. (Net of maintenance level reductions, the Senate-passed budget would increase 2021–23 appropriations by $4.568 billion.) Policy level NGFO changes in the House-passed budget would total $7.397 billion. (Net of maintenance level reductions, the House-passed budget would increase 2021–23 appropriations by $6.241 billion.) The chart below compares the policy level changes in the proposals.

In 2023–25, the unrestricted NGFO ending balances would be $179 million in the Senate-passed budget and $220 million in the House-passed budget.

(For more on the proposals, see here.)