Senate subcommittee reviews Department of Commerce budget; discusses internships, immigration grants, tourism and SIF-funded programs

The Senate appropriations Government Operations Division spent the bulk of the session reviewing the Department of Commerce budget and a set of SIF (special investment fund) and general-fund proposals that would affect workforce recruitment, tourism marketing and several grant programs.

Committee staff described a mix of base-level adjustments, new one-time requests and proposed transfers. Levi, committee fiscal staff, outlined line items including two newly added FTEs in the executive budget (one for the development fund and one procurement officer), temporary salary and operating requests for an internship program, and a request to continue a grant program supporting legal-immigration / global-talent initiatives. Levi summarized IT increases: while the recorded increase in committee materials was $68,000, he said the department’s operating budget includes multiple IT categories with larger totals (IT software about $60,000; IT data processing approximately $483,000; IT communications about $77,000; IT contractual services about $85,000), and the $68,000 figure represented the incremental operating increase.

Office of Legal Immigration / Global Talent: The committee heard a proposal to continue and expand the Office of Legal Immigration (also referred to as the Global Talent Office). Levi said the governor’s package proposed $250,000 in ongoing operating funds (added to the 485,000 base that supports two FTE) and $1,750,000 in one-time grants (split as $250,000 operating and $1,500,000 grants). Committee members asked for clarification about the program’s current use. Katie Ralston Howe, workforce director at Commerce, said the grants support employers and community organizations integrating foreign-born talent and that the department has awarded roughly $300,000 from the current appropriation to date.

Tourism and talent attraction: Sarah Ady Coleman, director of Tourism and Marketing, and Katie Ralston Howe described the relationship between the state’s tourism brands and the Find the Good Life talent-attraction program. The administration proposed $5,000,000 for tourism marketing awareness (SIF) and $5,000,000 for the Find the Good Life initiative. Committee members discussed combining the initiatives into a single marketing strategy, with some members proposing increasing the destination development fund and shifting how funds are allocated. Coleman cautioned that prior reductions in funding for Find the Good Life reduced traffic and that the marketing and workforce pieces “go hand in hand.” Howe said the relocation help-desk and workforce follow-up are the parts of the program that track inquiries and that, without sustained funding, the committee would lose the ability to report results in future biennia.

UAS, weatherization and other grant adjustments: Levi described multiple federal and special-fund adjustments: added federal funds for AmeriCorps and weatherization; a removal of duplicative appropriations for the UAS test site (about $1,000,000 removed from the bill while continuing appropriation authority remains in statute); a mix of increases and decreases in federal grants tied to actual award expectations; and several SIF-funded proposals that appear in other bills (e.g., state radar data pathfinder program, UAV replacement, autonomous agriculture grants, Enhanced Use Lease Grant Program).

Development fund, Lift fund and exemptions: The committee discussed whether to place new SIF money into continuing-appropriation funds (Lift and the development fund) or to appropriate general-fund dollars. Levi and Commerce staff explained that the Lift and development funds have continuing appropriation authority, so transfers from SIF do not require a separate appropriation in section 1 of the bill. The committee also reviewed a set of carry-forward exemptions (section 13 in the green sheets) that would allow unspent prior biennium appropriations to continue into the next biennium; staff estimated about $163,000,000 of the roughly $286,000,000 in listed prior authorizations could remain unspent and would require exemptions if the committee wishes to preserve spending authority.

Native American Business Development Center and discretionary funds: Committee members asked about a previously designated $350,000 for the Native American Business Development Center from the discretionary line in last session’s budget (House Bill 1018). Allison Widmer, Commerce administrative services director, confirmed the prior designation but said she had not seen the amendment proposal that was referenced; she offered to return with detail on how prior discretionary dollars were used. Members discussed the trade-off between leaving discretionary authority flexible and re-allocating specific earmarks.

Process and schedule: Members said they expect to finalize amendments and come back to the full committee soon; the subcommittee emphasized that some SIF items are also part of other bills and will need reconciliation. Several committee members asked for a short summary from Commerce and the development fund showing total money deposited, total spent and remaining balance for the development fund.

What the committee decided: The session recorded discussion and several formal votes on unrelated bills, but most Commerce line-item adjustments were discussed for direction and clarification; staff were asked to provide supplemental summaries and to prepare amendment language for committee consideration later this week.