The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division discussed House Bill 1448, which would create an advanced technology grant program to support emerging technology startups and establish an oversight committee. Committee members debated initial funding levels and whether the program should be a grant or a loan vehicle and agreed to postpone action until the next meeting.

A senator identified in the record as Senator Bart, who introduced the measure in committee, said the bill aims to support cutting‑edge work in fields such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced agricultural technologies. "The bill was to create the fund that would help stand up, emerging technologies, startup companies within the state and and create a a committee, that would oversee the awarding of that grant," the sponsor said.

Committee discussion focused on how much seed funding would be meaningful. Members noted the House removed appropriations and the committee had proposed a $300,000 allocation to cover initial administration and committee setup. One senator said the original bill included a $5,000,000 appropriation in its first version; another questioned whether $300,000 would do more than pay administration and travel costs.

Senators and staff contrasted grant programs with loan or investor funds, noting many startups lack the assets to qualify for loans or attract venture capital at the idea stage. A committee member said existing angel and investment funds sometimes require operational proof of concept and may not help projects that are still at the idea stage, which supporters argued is why grants were proposed.

Members asked for concrete examples of expected project costs and grant sizes to guide appropriation levels; one senator suggested knowing whether a $50,000 grant could meaningfully move a project forward. The committee also raised administrative questions, including whether the fund should be administered by an existing technology park or a new board and whether the appropriation should be routed through OMB or another agency.

After extended discussion, members did not vote. The committee agreed to delay action and resume consideration on Wednesday to determine an appropriate funding amount and next steps.