Conference committee reviews Senate funding proposal for commerce programs; senators flag resistance on drones, Grand Farm

The conference committee on Senate Bill 2018 reviewed a Senate proposal for commerce-related funding that would move and reduce several grant lines, including $5,000,000 for tourism marketing, $15,000,000 for tourism destination development grants and a $10,000,000 allocation described as "for the drones," the committee heard.

Chairman Dwyer opened the session by summarizing the proposal: "I'm gonna explain proposal from any, 1 person, but a result of a lot of discussions with, with all of you involved. And so I'll just go through it and, eventually we're gonna have to agree on, some numbers for each of these different programs." He then read through line items that included a $5,000,000 tourism marketing line; a $15,000,000 destination-development grant line; a $1,000,000 removal from a U.S. test site; a $15,000,000 reduction from 20 for the UAS item; and "10,000,000 in there for the drones." He also described a reduction of the development fund and its line of credit and small technical and program grants.

The proposal would transfer three items that earlier had been in the historical society budget into the commerce budget: $500,000 for the Fargo Theater, $250,000 for the Ellendale Opera House and $250,000 for the historic theater in Marmoth, the chairman said. The sheet also shows a $10,000,000 "Lift" item left unchanged, a $5,000,000 regional RWIP program unchanged, and library funding removed from this vehicle.

Senator Beckettall warned about overall fiscal limits, saying, "I think it's important understanding that we're still overspent in the general fund and or overspent in the SIF account ... I'm prepared to act on any of these that are truly needs to the state and not wants at this point. And I do still see a lot of wants in here." His remarks framed later discussion about what items the Senate floor might scrutinize.

Representative Martinson asked specifically about the science centers and the trigger language, asking: "I have a question on the science centers. Now we put it in there with a trigger. What what what is the Senate's objection to that?" Chairman Dwyer replied that the committee could discuss the trigger; he described a trigger mechanism tied to SIF balances and said it was "certainly something that we could discuss and entertain."

Representative Swann Deck (recorded in the transcript as Representative Swann Deck) described the rationale for keeping the science centers tied to a trigger and emphasized tourism and education benefits: "When we look at the science centers and tying it into the tourism aspect, There's looking at a 23,000 square foot facility in Fargo ... it's basically a STEM program where you have children from all over the areas." He said the Fargo project had sought $5,000,000 in state support and had already raised roughly $18,000,000 toward an approximately $40,000,000 project, supported by local corporations.

Committee members also noted changes to the Grand Farm (referred to in one sheet as "Grama Farm"), including language allowing other entities to apply for autonomous agriculture grants; the chairman said the bill likely did not change the underlying language but would allow additional applicants, and mentioned the Great Plains Institute and NDSU as potential applicants.

Members flagged three larger items they expect to draw floor-level scrutiny in the Senate: the drones replacement allocation, an increased Grand Farm allocation and unspecified larger grants. A member observed that smaller grants could be negotiated without significant budget impact. One member noted an upcoming audit of the development fund from separate legislation, saying that audit would invite additional scrutiny of the development fund.

No formal votes were taken during the session. The chairman said the committee would continue discussions and reconvene at 11 a.m.; he then adjourned the meeting.