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Appropriations committee backs library amendment to S.232 after trimming 5% carve‑out from cannabis fund
Summary
Senator Ruth Hardy and agency witnesses described an amendment to S.232 that would add public libraries as eligible recipients of cannabis‑related afterschool funding, require a simpler application for small libraries, and remove a fixed 5% carve‑out; Appropriations reported the amendment favorably after a roll‑call vote.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on March 19 approved (reported favorably) an amendment to S.232, a bill that updates library statutes and proposes directing a share of cannabis‑related afterschool funding to local library programs.
Senator Ruth Hardy (Addison District) explained the amendment as a compromise that would remove a statutory 5% carve‑out of the universal afterschool and summer fund while making public libraries explicitly eligible and allowing the Agency of Education to allocate a portion of the fund to the Department of Libraries for subgrants. "Libraries do a lot of summer and after school programming," Hardy said, arguing many small libraries struggle with lengthy grant applications and that a simpler application and a subgrant pathway would reduce barriers.
Hardy described other technical updates in the bill:…
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