Committee reviews Commerce budget; agrees to keep key workforce and grant funding, rejects lone safety-council amendment

The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on March 28 reviewed the Department of Commerce budget, discussing restored and new funding for workforce programs, tourism marketing, grants for UAS and agriculture projects, and carryover authority for federal energy and weatherization funds.

Committee members said the budget largely follows the senate version on ongoing costs while the house and the committee negotiated one-time funding lines. "If we restore this, you could fill that FTE relatively soon," said Katie Ralston Howe, workforce director for the Department of Commerce, referring to a workforce FTE the Senate had removed. Ralston Howe said the division has need for the position to support talent-attraction and related work.

The session matters because it sets state spending priorities for economic development and workforce programs that rely on both state and federal funds. Committee members discussed restoring one-time and ongoing appropriations for several programs the governor and the senate previously proposed, and they flagged carryover authority for large federal spending the department received last session.

Most immediate agreements included keeping one-time Operation Intern funding at the senate level and restoring separate lines for tourism marketing and the "Good Life" workforce/retention program…