Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Species Conservation Funds topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Office of Species Conservation asks for modest miscellaneous‑revenue increase as IIJA grants drive spending patterns
Summary
The Office of Species Conservation told the Joint Finance Committee that federal grants (including IIJA funds) produced a large 2023 appropriation that has caused multi‑year spending patterns; the office requested a $30,000 increase to its miscellaneous‑revenue appropriation to pursue non‑federal grants.
The Office of Species Conservation (OSC) told the Joint Finance Committee that federal grant timing has produced a notable variance between appropriations and expenditures and asked for a modest increase to its miscellaneous revenue appropriation to help pursue non‑federal grants.
Janet Jessup summarized the office’s budget and said OSC received a significant federal appropriation in 2023 tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA); much of that funding is intended for trustee and benefit payments and is spent over multiple years. Administrator Mark (first name per transcript: Edmondson) Edmondson and OSC financial officer Amy Latkovich responded to committee questions.
Why it matters: OSC’s federal grant receipts set the ceiling for the office’s appropriation, and timing differences between when federal cash is available and when projects spend the money can create a pattern of apparent “unspent” appropriations. Jessup told the committee that the agency’s trustee and benefit payments in 2024 were overwhelmingly federal funds used for grant‑funded projects.
Requested adjustment: OSC is allocated 16 FTP and reported expending nearly $1.5 million, or about 14% of its appropriation, on personnel in the most recent year. For FY 2026 the office asked for a $30,000 increase in the miscellaneous revenue fund appropriation to enable OSC to pursue and accept non‑federal grants and donations; Jessup said that cash available in the fund forms the actual spending ceiling.
Federal timing and appropriations: Jessup and the administrator explained that agencies are required to list federal grant sources and projected spending in a federal fund inventory. If a federal grant is not spent in the year it is appropriated, the agency may later request a reduction to right‑size the appropriation, which is what occurred after the large IIJA‑era appropriation in 2023.
Ending: Administrator Edmondson thanked staff and the committee for budget support and for the new financial specialist position that OSC received in the prior year. The committee did not take formal votes on the OSC requests during the hearing.
