The Appropriations - Education and Environment Division on Tuesday voted to lower the state’s proposed commitment for a university research‑park project from $20 million to $15 million and then voted to forward the amended bill to the next stage.

Sponsor and rationale
Supporters said the appropriation would seed a public–private research partnership focused on applied robotics, agriculture and defense‑adjacent work in an existing facility; sponsors described the funding as a down payment to attract private investment and to create a revenue‑producing research capacity rather than a new building.

Committee action
Senator Schively moved to change the bill’s requested funding from $20 million to $15 million. The motion was seconded, debated briefly and approved on a committee roll call. The committee then moved and passed the bill as amended. Committee members said the reduction reflected caution about adding large new state commitments while preserving enough money to help the project be viable and to attract private partners.

Next steps
Senator Thomas agreed to carry the bill forward; the amended measure will now go to the full Senate and any required policy committees. Committee members noted that further review of the project details will be needed as the bill progresses through the process.