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Appropriations staff outline dozens of one‑time commerce grants and transfers including tourism marketing, housing and UAS programs
Summary
Committee staff enumerated one‑time proposals and special‑fund transfers in the Commerce long sheet: tourism marketing, internship funding, radar and UAS grants, housing grants, tourism destination grants, autonomous agriculture, entrepreneurship and workforce program funding among others.
Committee staff walked members through the Commerce one‑time funding section of the long sheet and the recommended bill sections that authorize special fund transfers and one‑time appropriations.
Highlights from the staff presentation included (amounts and funding sources as presented in the long sheet):
- Tourism marketing awareness: $5,000,000 (SIF) recommended as new one‑time funding (staff said this matched last biennium's one‑time amount).
- Operation internship program: staff recounted prior transfers and said Armstrong recommended increasing one‑time operating funding so the program could total $3,000,000 (Green sheets/OMB transfer language referenced).
- State radar data pathfinder and uncrewed aerial vehicle replacement grants: staff tied these to legislation (House Bill 1038 referenced by staff) and said the executive recommendation proposed $26,000,000 from SIF.
- Office of Legal Immigration one‑time request: staff explained the total request included $250,000 ongoing operating and $1,750,000 one‑time (split as $250,000 one‑time operating and $1,500,000 one‑time grants), with prior one‑time operating in 23/25 of $2,000,000.
- Housing-related grants (Armstrong recommendation): $50,000,000 (CIF) for grant expenditures.
- Community and tourism destination development grants: tourism destination development $15,000,000 (CIF); Community Property Improvement/Bridal Workforce Housing (slum and blight) program $5,000,000 (CIF).
- UAS program grants and test‑site funding: $1,000,000 from the general fund for UAS program grants; Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) UAS program $20,000,000 (SIF); Enhanced Use Lease Grant Program/Grand Sky $5,000,000 (CIF).
- Autonomous agriculture (Grama/Grama Farm program) $10,000,000 (staff said previous iterations directed funds to Grama Farm).
- Entrepreneurship grants and vouchers: increase of about $1,300,000 (general fund), raising that line to roughly $2.2 million total.
- Regional Workforce Impact Program (RWIP) grants / workforce programs: $10,000,000 (CIF) recommended; staff said workforce-related grants were separated into a workforce programs line for visibility.
- Technical skills training grants: $2,000,000 (general fund), consistent with prior bienniums.
Staff also described bill sections that would authorize transfers from SIF to other funds (LIFT, Development Fund) and a suggested appropriation section that would authorize Commerce to accept and spend additional federal or other funds in excess of section 1 appropriations without interim emergency commission approval. Staff characterized the carryover/exemption requests as standard practice when programs receive funding in one biennium but will not expend all funds before the end of that biennium.
Why it matters: These one‑time proposals and fund transfers account for the bulk of the Commerce recommended increase over base in the executive recommendation. Committee members asked staff how to interpret percent increases when a large share of the change is one‑time funding or transfers rather than ongoing base increases; staff recommended comparing total appropriations across biennia to get a clearer sense of net change.
Discussion versus decision: The transcript records staff presentation and committee questions; no formal votes or legislative action were recorded in the segment provided.
