Misty Anne Giles, director of administration, told the Section A subcommittee that the Department of Administration’s Architecture and Engineering (A&E) division now administers about $1.45 billion of active infrastructure projects and has a total responsibility of roughly $637.8 million, which together bring the division’s portfolio to about $2.1 billion when recent additions are included.

The A&E division ‘‘administer[s] the long range building program’’ for the state and maintains the statewide facility inventory, Giles said. She described tools the division has developed to increase transparency, including an interactive project map that shows project status — planning, design, construction, warranty or on hold — and that allows users to “drill down and see project by project.”

Giles told the committee the division now also administers the Connect Montana program (ARPA funds awarded via House Bill 632) and has made 61 grants to 17 applicants. On federal broadband funds under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Giles said the state’s BEAD allocation is $628 million and that Montana was ‘‘the first state in the country to open up the portal for applications.’’ She said the division had received 42 BEAD applications to date and was continuing the application and review work while awaiting new federal guidance.

The division requested a rent increase connected with moving into the TRS building; Giles said the relocation allows the state to vacate the Metcalf building and, after renovation of the Cedar Street property for DEQ as part of the Rose initiative, would produce a net lease savings of about $765,000 annually beginning in 2029. She said the budget office manages rent accounting and that lease savings are removed from agency budgets by the budget office as leases come offline.

Committee members asked about how the projected savings would be realized in other agencies’ budgets and when savings would take effect; Giles replied savings would begin when the construction and lease changes were complete and described the budget office process for reallocating rent lines. Russ Catherman, A&E division administrator, clarified that the A&E budget is driven by staffing and operating needs rather than being a fixed percentage of project dollars, and he cited recent market demand as a driver for reduced vacancy savings.

The division said it has 8–18 positions budgeted for its programs and that much of the infrastructure work in recent biennia reflected large increases in capital funding: ‘‘prior to the 2023 biennium, this group only got about $200,000,000 in infrastructure funds and we got almost a $1,000,000,000 in 23 and you’ll see we’re asking for a good bit again in 25,’’ Giles said. She stood for questions after the presentation.

The committee received the A&E briefing and materials; Giles and staff said they would provide links and additional detail on the project map and grants for members to review.