The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division approved changes to draft bill version 2,009 that tie an expanded pipeline guarantee to a firm deadline and remove biennial funding for the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, the committee chair said before a unanimous roll-call vote.

The committee adopted an amendment requiring an entity to come forward by Dec. 31, 2026 to build a pipeline; if no entity has committed by that date, the bill language will revert the additional guarantee and leave the previously established $60,000,000 figure in place, the sponsor said. "If an entity hasn't come forward to build a pipeline by that date, or, then that, that we would revert back to the other dollar amount then," Representative Bosch said when moving the amendment.

Why it matters: the language changes are intended to make the $40,000,000 increase — which would raise the guaranteed line of credit from $60,000,000 to $100,000,000 — contingent on demonstrated progress on pipeline construction. Committee staff said the contingent-effective-date approach would prevent the law from showing a $100,000,000 guarantee on the books unless the pipeline commitments materialize.

Committee discussion and staff advice

Members debated whether to require a one-time report or ongoing interim updates from the pipeline authority on commitments and costs. "There would be some prudence in receiving regular updates each interim on the status of where that's at," a staff speaker said during the discussion, noting the committee could require either a single report or periodic updates. Another committee member reported a staff message that statutory reporting already exists: "I just got a message ... that they already do report already. There's already law in statute to do the reporting," the committee member said.

Committee members also discussed how to reflect the change in law so the statute would show $60,000,000 unless the contingent conditions were met. A staff speaker explained the contingent-effective-date approach: "If you really want it to be taken out of Century Code... we would do that a little bit differently with some contingent effective dates in the bill... If it didn't move forward by that date, then we would just reflect the $60,000,000." That same staff explanation said the additional $40,000,000 guarantee would not be available until its delayed effective date, shown as July 1, 2027 in the draft language.

The committee also addressed Section 28 of the bill, which pertains to the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority. The draft had already reduced a prior appropriation; committee members agreed to amend the bill so the authority receives no funding in this biennium. A staff member explained that the bill would show those sections as overstruck to remove the funding for loans and related language in this bill version.

Formal action and next steps

A motion to adopt the discussed changes to version 2,009 was moved and seconded. The clerk then conducted a roll-call vote: Chairman Schauble (Yes), Senator Svobog (Aye), Senator Beckettall (Aye), Representative Kempenick (Yes), Representative Bosch (Yes), Representative Munson (Yes). The motion was approved by the committee.

Committee members agreed that the final draft should be reviewed by the chairs on each side and cleared with legislative counsel before signatures. "If we agree to the amendments that's been presented, I would suggest that each of the people that have to sign off, the chairs on each side, they have to sign off, show the language from ledge council to make sure everybody's okay with it," one committee member said. The chair said members would be called back only if there were objections.

The committee did not adopt additional reporting requirements at this meeting; members noted future legislation could impose more detailed reporting if the statutory reports are deemed insufficient.