The conference committee on Senate Bill 2020 spent its session reviewing funding adjustments affecting the state's branch research centers and the Extension Service, including proposed general-fund support for grape and wine research positions and a new extension carbon specialist.

Representative Fisher, presenting the House changes, said "there's about 7 different entities here," and walked members through a package of line-item restorations and targeted additions to branch research and extension budgets. The House proposal shifts some positions from grant- or gift-funded pay to general fund support and restores a portion of the base budget reductions applied earlier in the process.

Why it matters: the items discussed would change what has been largely soft-funded research in smaller programs into positions paid from recurring state dollars, restore part of prior cuts to the extension base, and authorize spending of locally raised and SIF funds for research equipment and deferred maintenance.

Key discussion points and details

- Grape and wine positions: Committee members discussed adding funding for grama/grape and wine research positions at branch research stations. Fisher said the proposal includes $400,000 covering two positions (described in the materials as $200,000 per position) to move staff presently supported by grants to general-fund pay so those specialists are not dependent on soft money.

- Operating funds for branch centers: The House package includes $280,000 in operating funds intended to be distributed across seven branch research centers (about $40,000 per center for the biennium) to help cover rising costs such as vehicle, input, and repair expenses.

- Carbon specialist FTE for Extension: The committee discussed adding one FTE for an Extension carbon specialist (ranked a top priority in the Extension Service priorities) to provide research-based information to counties and residents about carbon capture and related cropping practices.

- Base-budget restoration: Staff clarified the House partially restored budget reductions. Dr. Laurie Lardy noted the Extension budget experienced an approximately 4.7% reduction earlier and the House restored $619,621 to partially reverse that cut; the Experiment Station budget had a separate 3% reduction and partial restoration.

- Special/local funds and equipment: Committee staff explained a $1,000,000 authorization in the bill represents local ("other") funds the centers raise (for example, seed sales, livestock sales and similar revenues) to be spent on research equipment. An additional $500,000 for deferred maintenance was identified as SIF funding (noted in the materials as coming from SIF).

- Nesson Valley Irrigation Research site: Committee members questioned whether the House changed a Senate increase for the Nesson Valley site. One member said the Senate put in an additional $400,000 to bring the total to $2.1 million and authorized private fundraising; staff reported the appropriation and the exemption language for the Nesson Valley site did not change between the Senate and House versions and that the amounts appropriated remained the same, with the exemption located in section 11 and the appropriation in sections 1 and 2 of the bill.

What the committee directed and what remains open

- Staff follow-up: Multiple legislators asked staff to provide clearer disbursement detail for the agricultural department's prior contributions to the grape and wine work and to confirm whether and where the Senate's additional $400,000 for the Nesson Valley project appears in the House text. A staff member agreed to "dig into that."

- No recorded final action: The transcript records discussion and requests for follow-up; no formal motions or votes on final passage or specific amendments were recorded during the session. The committee chair said the group would continue the discussion at a later meeting.

Ending

Committee members agreed to resume consideration after staff provided the requested itemized fund and appropriation clarifications, including the breakdown of special/local funds, the source and use of the $1,000,000 research equipment authorization, the status of the proposed Nesson Valley amounts, and the precise treatment of the grape and wine positions in the Department of Agriculture versus Experiment Station budgets.