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Commerce requests capital fixes and staff for census, seeks $42.5M for state-park repairs
Summary
The Department of Commerce requested a multi-prong set of investments including an $8.3M placeholder for repairs to its 100-year-old building, recurring staff support for 2030 Census work, a Taiwan trade office, and a $42.5M second-year deferred-maintenance request for state parks; tourism leaders said they will ask to raise a purchasing cap to restock park shops ahead of major events.
Director Budd and Commerce staff outlined several strategic budget requests to the Senate Natural Resources and Regulatory Services subcommittee, citing facilities needs, census preparation and tourism opportunities tied to upcoming events.
Budd said the agency is evaluating an estimated $8.3 million needed to repair its century-old building at 900 North Stiles (facade damage and water incursion) and that that work would likely be funded via the Long Range Capital Planning Commission or the Long-Range Capital Fund rather than a standard appropriation. He also urged the committee to support recurring staff and outreach to prepare for the 2030 Census, arguing stronger counts translate into federal dollars for the state.
Commerce said it will stand up a Taiwan regional trade office as required by legislation and estimated an initial cost near $250,000; Budd said carryover funds could cover startup this year but an appropriation will ultimately be necessary. The agency also presented a $135,000 recurring request to establish project-management capacity to coordinate IT modernization and a customer-relationship-management rollout.
Marshall Votz, director of community development, testified that the senior-nutrition enhancement program served approximately 31,000 individuals last year across about 482 centers and that the requested $300,000 recurring would be a 10% increase in that line, with an estimated 5% to 10% boost in people served depending on center capacity and rising food and operations costs.
On tourism, Director Blackburn asked the committee for $42.5 million as year two of an eight-year deferred-maintenance plan for Oklahoma State Parks, emphasizing repair and safety needs rather than new development. She said six park restaurants were closed after a vendor failed to meet payment obligations and that Commerce will issue a new request for proposals; she also said the agency will pursue a legislative change to raise a purchasing exemption cap from $25,000 to $75,000 to help stock gift shops and travel centers with Oklahoma-made goods ahead of major events including the Route 66 Centennial, a 2027 PGA event and 2028 Olympic-related activity.
CFO Leah Teppker McCuse said a third-party facility-condition assessment is underway to quantify asset values and deferred-maintenance priorities and offered to provide the committee the full eight-year list of projects.
