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Appropriators caution against piecemeal use of pilot funds; debate MTAP and municipal stabilization allocations
Summary
The conference committee debated several uses of the state's pilot fund — including $1 million for municipal stabilization and a proposal for municipal technical assistance (MTAP) — and members urged establishment of guidelines before committing pilot dollars piecemeal.
Appropriations conference committee members raised concerns about using pilot funds in a piecemeal fashion and urged establishing a protocol for how the pilot fund will be used.
Speaker 2 and other members noted the committee had shifted a $1 million pilot sum into municipal stabilization and used pilot resources for multiple transportation and local-assistance items. The committee discussed a Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) proposal that had drawn differing views across committees: the House commerce committee recommended removing MTAP funding while other stakeholders, including some municipal representatives, had voiced support for technical assistance.
Members said they had agreed to move certain pilot dollars to municipal stabilization and buyouts but cautioned that allocating smaller pilot sums to multiple programs without agreed criteria sets a precedent. "Starting to use it piecemeal to me is a little bit worrisome without having established some sort of a protocol or guidelines for how we're gonna use the pilot fund," Speaker 2 said. The conference committee also noted a decision to increase the percentage of pilot fund money returned to communities from 70% to 75% in one bill, and members asked for a fuller discussion about pilot fund policy before committing additional uses.
No formal vote to reallocate pilot funds is recorded in the transcript; staff were asked to provide a clearer accounting of pilot allocations and to consult with municipal stakeholders where appropriate before final language is adopted.
