Senate finance subcommittee advances Department of Natural Resources FY27 budget to full committee

Senator Merrick convened the Senate Finance subcommittee on the Department of Natural Resources at 1:50 p.m. on April 14, 2026, and the panel moved the department's FY27 operating budget to the full Senate Finance Committee by unanimous consent.

Jamie Jones, staff to Senator Merrick, presented the subcommittee's recommendations, reporting a total FY27 package of $213,141,500 across fund types. Jones said that included $74,963,200 in unrestricted general funds, $56,432,300 in designated general funds, $55,855,100 in other funds and $25,890,900 in federal funds. She also told the subcommittee it adopted a one-time increment of $1,956,600 from the vehicle rental tax to fund revenue-generating facilities and infrastructure projects within the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. "The Department of Natural Resources Senate Finance subcommittee submits the following recommendations for the FY 27," Jones said while reading the figures for the record.

The transcript lists recommended staffing as "78 permanent full-time positions" and "13 part-time positions"; one line in the transcript is unclear about an additional numeric entry and is therefore not specified in this report. Jones said the subcommittee held three meetings and that no member amendments were submitted for consideration.

Senator Wilikowski moved to advance the operating budget from subcommittee with the attached Legislative Finance reports and to direct the Legislative Finance Division to make any appropriate conforming or technical changes. Senator Merrick asked whether there was any objection; after hearing none, he announced the subcommittee had moved the department's budget to the full Senate Finance Committee with the attached documents. The meeting was then adjourned at 1:52 p.m.

The next step is consideration of the subcommittee's recommendations by the full Senate Finance Committee; the transcript records no roll-call vote at the subcommittee level, and the motion carried by unanimous consent.