Committee hears bill to route vending commissions to Blind Enterprise Program account

Representative Valerie Moore opened the hearing on House Bill 161, which would create a vending machine account in the state special revenue fund to collect commissions from non‑blind vendors operating on federal and state properties and appropriate the funds to the Department of Public Health and Human Services’ Blind Enterprise Program (BEP). “House bill 161 would create a vending machine account in the state special revenue fund for the collection of a percentage of this income from the non blind vendors that are operating here,” Moore said.

Chanda Hermanson, Division Administrator for Disability Employment and Transitions at DPHHS, testified the bill addresses a gap that emerged when the BEP contract was brought in‑house. She told the committee the Randolph‑Sheppard Act (federal law establishing priorities for blind vendors on federal property) undergirds the program and that commissions historically went through a contractor; now the checks route directly to the state but there is no dedicated special revenue account to collect and distribute them. Hermanson said the funds would support equipment, supplies, training and startup costs for blind vendors.

Representative Buttry questioned where prior proceeds had been routed. Hermanson said the funds had been routed to a donation account upon bringing the contract in‑house in September and that there was no intent to divert the money from the BEP. Representative Buttry noted the fiscal note showed $1,300,992 in the prior year that had been routed to the general fund; the bill would direct those kinds of receipts to the BEP account.

No opponents or informational witnesses testified. Representative Moore closed by asking the committee for a due‑pass report.