Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 begins on July 1st, and House and Senate budget negotiators are actively engaging in conversations to craft a compromise budget proposal. The Conference Committee process involves reconciling countless spending, policy, and technical differences between the two bills; and this year, the process will be further impacted by an uncertain fiscal picture for FY 2024 and a more constrained revenue outlook in FY 2025.

Furthermore, the House and Senate have each proposed an array of surtax-supported priorities across the education and transportation sectors; the total amount of which exceeds the $1.3 billion spending cap set for FY 2025. The final budget sent to the Governor’s desk must live within that cap, requiring either the use of other resources to support certain programs or spending cuts.

This brief previews the major spending and policy differences between the House and Senate budgets, identifies several challenges for timely resolution, and proposes a handful of key principles for achieving a balanced and sustainable budget plan.