JBC Peer Review subcommittee approves funding requests, ARPA grants and a broadband award; voice votes recorded

The Joint Budget Committee peer-review subcommittee approved several spending-authority and appropriation requests and federal-award administrations Monday by voice vote, with no roll-call tallies recorded in the meeting transcript.

The subcommittee approved items B1 through B4—requests from the Department of Health licensing board, Department of Human Services (Developmental Disabilities), DHS central office IT refresh, and the Office of State Procurement—after a single motion to batch items B1–B4. The chair called for the motion and, after a second, members answered “aye” and no opposition was recorded in the transcript.

The panel next approved three American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending-authority requests (C1–C3) including a DHS request to correct budget coding and provide additional grant funds for adult protective services (C1), a carry-forward and additional award for client services (C1 detail), and a $6 million request from National Park College to build an instructional welding and metalworking facility (C3). Those items passed on a single motion and voice vote with no speakers recorded as opposed.

The subcommittee also approved a $13.9 million spending-authority request from the Economic Development Commission to award broadband infrastructure grants to internet service providers and related broadband workforce and education activities; that motion passed by voice vote with no opposition recorded.

On the appropriations side, the committee approved a transfer of $12,000,000 within the Department of Education from the school funding contingency to the declining-enrollment appropriation (E1) after members discussed which schools experienced enrollment drops. The chair requested the agency provide a school-level allocation list to members after the meeting; the Department of Education official said the statewide total was reported and that school-level details were available from the agency.

Other action items approved by motion included a Department of Public Safety appropriation request supported by insurance proceeds and FEMA disaster funds (other business). Several routine items—cash fund appropriations, budget classification transfers, contracts, grants and methods of finance entries—were presented as “review” items and set as reviewed without formal roll-call votes.

Votes recorded in the transcript were by voice; the meeting record does not include roll-call tallies or names attached to individual yes/no votes. Where motions were made and seconded, the transcript records the motion, a second, and a voice vote (ayes), with no opposition identified in the spoken record.

Ending: Agencies whose requests were approved will receive a report of the subcommittee’s actions at the next Joint Vesting Committee (JVC) meeting and, where required, will receive formal authorization if JVC adopts the report.