The conference committee on Senate Bill 2004 considered funding and staffing changes for the Ethics Commission on April 29, including a proposed full‑time education position, a salary increase the sponsor described as "458,000," and $50,000 for an IT project. Committee members asked Legislative Council to supply exact dollar language for a formal vote later in the day, but the transcript shows no formal recorded vote on those items.

Senator Davison outlined the package and said the proposed salary increase — described in the meeting as "458,000" — would reflect higher duties for the position. He also said the committee had provided $50,000 for an information-technology project to let the commission build systems and return with a plan or solution after two years.

Representative Clauser said the FTE issue had frustrated him because a similar FTE was added in a 2024 conference committee amendment and subsequently removed in the House; he asked why the same request had returned. Representative Clauser said staff had redistributed duties among existing employees and that adding an additional FTE was being revisited because current staff were spending time on education at the expense of case resolution. Representative Hansen said the commission is facing a "record number of complaints" in early 2025, creating pressure to rebalance proactive education and reactive complaint work; the transcript does not provide an exact complaint count.

Committee members disagreed about whether the House or Senate position should prevail on adding the FTE. Several members asked for more time to review prior conference records and the job description; the chairman said the group would continue work before the afternoon session. Legislative Council was asked to clarify exact dollar amounts so the committee could vote later in the day.