At a conference committee meeting on Senate Bill 2009, Chairman Thomas and other lawmakers negotiated competing House and Senate budget positions for improvements at the state fairgrounds, including a cap on state funds for a restroom facility and how much of safety and security work the state should fund without a local match.

Chairman Thomas, presiding over the conference committee, proposed a compromise on the restroom project that would cap state funding at $750,000 and require a $1 local match for every $2 of state funds (a 2-to-1 state-to-local ratio). He said engineering and bid estimates provided to the committee ranged from about $900,000 to $1,100,000 for construction of the building, and that a $750,000 cap would “require $1 match for every $2 we put in.”

Representative Martinson and other committee members discussed the House and Senate differences: the House proposal had been $600,000 with a 50% cost share, while the Senate had a larger figure (referred to as $900,000 in committee discussion). Committee members noted that if the building cost exceeded the state cap, the fairgrounds or local sponsor would need to cover overruns.

On safety and security infrastructure, the Senate side said it wants the line item to be fully state-funded and proposed $1 million with no local cost share; members discussed moving $100,000 from a facility enhancements line into safety and security. The House position, as discussed in the committee, would leave $600,000 as a no-match appropriation after moving funds. Committee members agreed to consider those trade-offs and to schedule a follow-up meeting.

The committee also noted agreement to concur on a separate, non-monetary item described as “section 5 repeal” in the budget document; committee members said they had “no issues” and would not oppose that repeal. No formal vote or final conference report was recorded during the meeting; members scheduled further negotiation.

The meeting concluded with the committee setting a time to continue the discussion later the same day or the next morning and then adjourning.