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Committee debates scope of state tech-exchange and cuts large small-business assistance request to $750,000
Summary
Appropriators questioned whether language in a bill would create a permanent state tech-exchange program and proposed reducing a proposed statewide small-business technical assistance appropriation to $750,000 from a larger amount, citing existing resources and federal uncertainty.
During a conference committee meeting May 6, appropriators examined language establishing a state tech-exchange program and debated a proposal to fund statewide small-business technical assistance. Committee members raised statutory permanence concerns and proposed trimming the funding.
One member said the bill language appearing in H.332 described program details and could unintentionally enshrine the program in statute, making it more permanent than intended. "We don't know if this puts the program in statutory language that, you know, like, creates the program in statute, which seems much more permanent than we're talking about," the member said.
Committee members also discussed a substantial one-time appropriation that had previously supported statewide technical assistance and workforce development work; some members argued that many small-business services already exist through Regional Development Corporations and Small Business Development Centers and that a very large new statewide appropriation was not essential. The committee proposed reducing the statewide amount to $750,000 if funded at all.
Why it matters: members said the program size and whether it is permanent affects future budgets. One member who ran a regional development corporation said the program had been "nice to have" for limited circumstances and that a smaller amount or time-limited funding would be more defensible given federal funding uncertainty.
Discussion and direction: the committee agreed to explore a path forward that would reduce the statewide appropriation and to check whether program language should appear in the education transformation bill rather than the budget. Committee staff said they would consider $750,000 or other reductions and determine whether the language belongs in an education bill rather than the appropriations bill.
Next steps: staff will draft options for a reduced appropriation and review the bill language to ensure it does not unintentionally create a statutory program without further committee review.
