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Governor’s Office of Community Service proposed to move into Labor Department; funding switch would use employment security account to match AmeriCorps grants
Summary
Commissioner Swanson and LFD staff briefed the committee on a proposed relocation of the Governor’s Office of Community Service into the Department of Labor and a funding switch from general fund to the Employment Security Account to sustain AmeriCorps match requirements, contingent on draft legislation LC0463.
Commissioner Sarah Swanson and Legislative Fiscal Division staff told Section A that the Governor’s Office of Community Service (the state’s AmeriCorps program) would be administratively relocated into the Department of Labor and Industry and funded via state special revenue in the Employment Security Account (ESA) if committee and legislative action proceeds.
Swanson said the office currently operated on roughly $488,000 in general fund for the last biennium, and that general fund had been used to secure the federal matches that support AmeriCorps grants. She said moving the office into the department and adding an allowable use to the ESA would permit the ESA to provide that match and reduce reliance on general fund.
LFD analyst Ethan told the committee the executive request shows 2027 biennium appropriations of about $616,000 for the office and that the administration proposes establishing state special revenue authority of approximately $590,000 to cover the federal match. He noted the proposed switch is contingent on draft legislation LC0463.
Why it matters: the change is presented as a budget and administrative move to sustain AmeriCorps match funding without recurring general fund support. The department said the Office of Community Service’s work is a workforce strategy that helps leverage federal grant dollars.
Swanson said, if approved, the governor would sign an executive order shifting the office administratively into the commissioner’s office and the department would administer the program. LFD and agency staff said the proposal will appear as a legislative concept (LC0463) and the committee will see related decision packages in HB2 materials.
Ending: LFD and agency representatives said the request is contingent on the draft legislation and the department offered to provide further details as the bill is refined; no formal action was taken in the hearing.
