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Appropriations committee reviews economic development package with EDIF and ARPA interest items
Summary
Committee reviewed House and Senate positions on an economic development package that included EDIF allocations, broadband funding source shifts, and new resort/convention grants and a cybersecurity center appropriation drawn from ARPA interest and EDIF sources.
The Committee on Appropriations considered an economic development package that grouped a wide range of programs funded from the Economic Development Initiatives Fund (EDIF), ARPA interest and other sources. Members compared House and Senate positions on funding levels and source shifts and asked for clarifications about new items that were not on previously distributed blue sheets.
Key items and positions discussed included: - Rural remote workplaces and KC BioHub: House-modified funding of $1,000,000 each (EDIF for both) for fiscal 2026. - Small business R&D and public broadcasting grants: House positions funding $500,000 EDIF each for 2026. - Build Up Kansas: Senate modified to fund $2,000,000 EDIF for 2026; the House position referenced a floor amendment and deletion in another line item. - Office of Broadband Development: Senate funded $1,100,000 from the State Highway Fund (SHF) rather than EDIF; a committee member questioned whether that change conflicted with other KDOT broadband provisions and prior $5,000,000 appropriations. - Sunflower Summer Program: the House originally included $3,000,000 but the package as proposed to the committee read “do not fund”; members pressed for rationale and were told the package builder believed omitting that line produced a stronger overall offer. - EDIF reappropriations and source shifts: the transcript notes multiple funding-source adjustments, including SEDIF deletions tied to additions to SGF for certain experimental and capital projects. - New or previously unprinted items: senators confirmed two items not on the blue sheets were included on their side: (1) $6,000,000 SGF for Department of Commerce grants to facilitate resorts or convention center rehabilitation (for example, Topeka Expo Center rehabilitation was cited as a use case), and (2) $3,000,000 EDIF to complete a previously appropriated cybersecurity center for excellence.
Committee members asked detailed process questions about the broadband funding-source shift and the removal of certain EDIF items. One member asked for the origin and purpose of the resort/convention grants and cybersecurity appropriation; senators said those items were included on their ARPA-interest bill and had been added to avoid reprinting updated blue sheets.
Why it matters: the package reallocates millions in EDIF and ARPA interest dollars across initiatives that include broadband, community development, industry training, and public-private projects; several changes are new to the package and may receive heightened scrutiny before final agreement.
No formal committee roll-call votes on the package were recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.
