JBC adopts updated Advanced Industries transfer, directs excess above $2.5M to Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund

The Joint Budget Committee voted 6-0 on March 27 to adopt staff revisions to the Advanced Industries (Advanced Industries program / Bioscience Income Tax withholding) fiscal-year transfer and to direct staff to treat any general fund remaining above $2,500,000 above the reserve requirement as a placeholder to be transferred to the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund in future legislation.

The action followed an update from Mitch Burmeister, JBC staff analyst, who told the committee the department’s estimate for the current fiscal year started at “about 6,400,000” but had “actually gone up to about 11,000,000. So, that would be an increase of about $4,600,000 that could be transferred to the general fund if the committee wants to update those numbers in the transfer bill.” Burmeister also noted an additional roughly $60,000 increase in the 2025–26 forecast and asked the committee to authorize adjustments to numbers and the transfer date in the existing transfers bill.

Craig Harper, Joint Budget Committee staff, explained the budget mechanics: “The main difference here is that if you transferred it to a destination like the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund, then it would not show up as excess above the reserve in the general fund overviews. If you do not make that transfer, then it will show up as an additional amount available above the reserve for appropriation.” Harper added that moving funds to Controlled Maintenance would make them available for that purpose but would require separate committee or General Assembly action to draw the money back out.

Committee members debated options for the unexpected revenue. One suggestion raised was to send funds to the Primary Care Fund; a member argued that would likely mean the money gets spent quickly for health-care priorities. Senator Kirkmeyer urged caution about prematurely allocating money during budget week, saying, “So I’m thinking maybe we should just take a more conservative approach… maybe we should just put it above the reserve for now and figure this out when we get through budget week and we’re in our conference committee.” The vice chair said she preferred the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund as a “thoughtful approach” and moved that course of action.

The committee approved two separate motions. First, the committee adopted the staff recommendation in Mr. Burmeister’s March 27 memo to update the Advanced Industries FY 2024–25 transfer amount as presented and to change the timing of the FY 2025–26 transfer date from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026; that motion passed 6-0. Second, the committee directed JBC staff to reflect a placeholder in the committee’s overviews and drafts that any general fund remaining available more than $2,500,000 above the reserve requirement at the end of balancing should be shown as an amount assumed to be transferred to the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund in future legislation; that motion also passed 6-0.

Members asked staff to continue reconciling departmental data before final long-bill print. Burmeister and other staff warned the committee that numbers were continuing to move while analysts and departments reconcile feeds; Burmeister said the general-fund available amount had increased by about $670,000 since the previous day’s calculations. Representative Jagger alerted the committee to a flagged possible $3,600,000 double count that staff said they were verifying.

The committee noted the procedural constraints: a statutory transfer to Controlled Maintenance is a transfer and thus requires the appropriate votes, and moving money into Controlled Maintenance removes it from the general fund “above the reserve” line until future action restores it.

Votes at a glance: both motions related to the Advanced Industries transfer passed by roll-call tally of six yes, zero no.

Looking ahead, staff will (1) update the transfers bill to reflect the corrected Advanced Industries numbers and adjust the FY 2025–26 transfer date to 06/30/2026 and (2) include a balancing placeholder in committee overviews for amounts above $2.5 million to be transferred to the Controlled Maintenance Trust Fund in subsequent legislation.