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Committee conditions trust‑land appropriation on pending bills and spreads cost across public land funds
Summary
The committee approved a $420,000 appropriation for trust land management but added a footnote tying the appropriation’s effectiveness to the outcome of two pending bills (Senate File 68 and Senate File 81) and directed proportional charging across public land income funds if the appropriation takes effect.
The Joint Appropriations Committee considered a $420,000 request for Trust Land Management (Agency 060, Unit 0102) and adopted language intended to avoid duplicative or unnecessary appropriations if two pending bills become law.
Budget staff told the committee there are two competing bills — Senate File 68 (a temporary tax exemption sponsored by the Joint Revenue Interim Committee) and Senate File 81 (a temporary tax exemption sponsored by the Joint Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources committee). If either bill passes with an effective date of Jan. 1, 2025, the committee was advised the appropriation would be moot.
The committee approved two related steps: adding a footnote to make the appropriation ineffective if either Senate File 68 or Senate File 81 is enacted, and a motion to distribute the appropriation proportionally across the state’s public land income/permanent funds (13 funds) based on lease revenue rather than charging it to the general fund. Budget staff said proportional distribution is preferable because one fund is small and another large; proportional assignment follows the pattern of lease revenue receipts.
A motion to proportionally distribute the $420,000 across public land income funds passed on a roll call of 11 ayes with one member recorded as excused.
