Committee members raised concerns about a Department of Public Safety request for a gang database that appears on the cash‑funded list. Several legislators said a $1.6 million price tag seemed high and that the department should demonstrate competitive pricing before the committee recommends funding.

Samantha Falco, Legislative Council staff, said she had spoken with Joel Malika from the Department of Public Safety and that the department believed it had identified cheaper vendor options but could not provide a confirmed price before the committee's prioritization deadline. "They have currently found cheaper vendors, but it'll take a few days past the fifteenth for when they can confirm a price, and they believe it should be lower," Falco said.

One committee member pushed back on the indefinite timeline. "I don't like that answer really," the Chair said. "I mean, you can't tell me that you have cheaper prices and not be able to tell us what that range is because I'm not gonna give $1,600,000 for this very opaque response." Later, Representative Marchman said she would not approve the request as submitted and recommended the department return next year with a confirmed lower bid if that is the case.

Committee members agreed they could add a footnote to their recommendation to the Joint Budget Committee that would not endorse the $1.6 million request unless DPS provides verified lower‑cost options. The transcript shows staff reporting a potential alternative price around $250,000, but committee members framed that as a preliminary figure and said they would expect confirmed numbers before recommending full funding.

The committee continued prioritization work on other cash‑funded projects after recording the exchange; no formal vote on the gangs database request appears in the transcript.