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Committee advances bill to lower local match for park grants in distressed counties
Summary
The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee voted to advance House Bill 125, which reduces the local match requirement for the Local Parks Recreation Grant Program from 50% to 25% for counties designated as at-risk or distressed.
The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee voted to advance House Bill 125, which would reduce the local match requirement for the Local Parks Recreation Grant Program from a 50% local share to 25% for counties classified as "at risk" or "distressed." Representative Haston, the bill sponsor, described the change during the committee meeting and responded to questions before the committee voted.
"Currently, the match requirement, for the local parks recreation grant program is 50% state, 50% local. This bill simply decreases the local match requirement for at risk and distressed counties to 25%," Representative Haston said. The clerk announced the recorded vote as 15 ayes and no nays; the measure was advanced to the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee.
The bill's stated change affects only counties that meet the "at risk" or "distressed" classification; the transcript did not specify how many counties would qualify, which agency makes those designations, or any change to the size of grants. The motion and second were recorded but the transcript did not name the mover or the seconder. There were no amendments discussed on the floor during the committee's consideration as recorded in the transcript.
Committee members did not record extended debate on the measure; after Representative Haston's presentation the chair called for questions, none were sustained, and the committee proceeded to a vote. The committee meeting also included routine items such as roll call, an invocation and a short informational reading about Johnsonville State Historic Park prior to taking up the calendar item. No additional funding sources, implementation details, or effective dates for HB 125 were specified in the committee record provided.
The bill will next be considered by the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee. If enacted, HB 125 would lower the required local match to 25% for qualifying counties under the Local Parks Recreation Grant Program; other counties would remain subject to the existing match requirement as described in the committee discussion (50% state, 50% local).
