Appropriations E&E panel advances Commerce Department budget, 7-0, after amendments

Chairman Nathie, chair of the Appropriations — Education and Environment Division, opened the committee’s consideration of Senate Bill 2018, the Commerce Department budget, saying, “Committee, we’re gonna take up Senate Bill 20 18, the Commerce Department budget. We’ve gone through this several different times.”

The committee advanced the bill as amended and recommended a due pass to the full Appropriations Committee by a 7-0 roll-call vote. Two committee amendments were adopted earlier in the meeting: a drone-replacement data-collection amendment passed 6-0 and an amendment tying funding for two children’s science centers to a trigger in the State Investment Fund (SIF) passed 7-0.

Why it matters: The committee’s changes reallocate tens of millions of dollars across multiple Commerce budget lines and add project-specific allocations that affect communities statewide. The children’s science center language makes…