Panel agrees to carryover obligated workforce funds, trims new RWIP allocation to $5 million

Committee members for the Appropriations - Government Operations Division discussed carryover authority for previously appropriated one-time workforce funds and signaled they would reduce a proposed new allocation for the Regional Workforce Impact Program (RWIP) from $10,000,000 to $5,000,000.

The discussion focused on one-time workforce appropriations from the prior session, which the committee heard totaled about $28,500,000 and included line items such as $24,000,000 for workforce talent attraction, $12,500,000 for workforce investment program grants (also referenced as RWIP), $2,000,000 for technical skills training grants and $2,000,000 for New Americans workforce development and training grants. Committee staff estimated that roughly $12,000,000 of that prior one-time funding would remain unspent at the end of the current biennium and asked for carryover authority so those obligations could be completed.

Why it matters: Carryover authority preserves funding the executive branch says is already committed to ongoing workforce projects; the committee’s decision about how much new money to add affects grant levels available to regional workforce programs and training providers.

Most important facts: A staff member told the committee that the roughly $12,000,000 remaining from last session is already obligated and would be carried forward to complete existing projects. Committee members said that knowledge influenced their decision to reduce a proposed new RWIP allocation from the governor’s proposed $10,000,000 (from the CIF fund) to $5,000,000. Committee members also confirmed the technical skills training grants line of $2,000,000 from the general fund remains in the budget as an ongoing item. The committee said it would ask staff (Levi) to adjust amendment language to reflect those amounts and other changes.

Discussion details and clarifications: Committee members asked whether the $12,000,000 identified as remaining was free to be repurposed for new grants or already obligated. A staff speaker confirmed, “that money is all obligated already,” meaning the carryover request is to continue projects rather than to create new ones. Members discussed whether the presence of the $12,000,000 made it acceptable to reduce the new RWIP appropriation; several said it gave them comfort that workforce activity would remain funded even after the cut, though the transcript shows some members pressed for confirmation that the older funds were indeed obligated.

Other budget items mentioned: The committee agreed to retain a $750,000 amendment associated with Scott Davis (described in the transcript as the “Scott Davis Amendment” for controlled community college grants) and discussed moving another item into discretionary funding, which would reduce Commerce’s discretionary balance from $2,200,000 to roughly $1,600,000. Committee members described entrepreneurship grants as a long-standing separate line item distinct from the one-time workforce package and noted that technical skills training grants appear at the bottom of the one-time funding list as a $2,000,000 general fund item the committee intends to keep.

Process and next steps: Committee leadership asked staff (Levi) to make the adjustments to amendment language and said if the changes could not be completed before session they would come back after session or adopt them Monday morning. One member said the chair had given some leeway to finalize the amendments later.

Ending: Committee members signaled general agreement on the carryover request and the draft funding adjustments and recessed the meeting pending staff updates and possible follow-up on the floor or the following Monday.