Committee endorses bill to add legislative guardrails for large federal grants

House Bill 342, presented Feb. 13, would create legislative review thresholds and an optional oversight committee for certain federal grants to the state. The Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted unanimously to recommend the bill favorably.

Representative Peterson said the bill fills a gap in oversight by establishing approval limits: agency or governor sign-off on grants up to $5 million, EAC review for $5'$25 million, and legislative approval for grants of $25 million or more. For programs exceeding $100 million, the bill would create a pre-submission review process and an oversight committee to examine complex, multi-year grants.

"This creates a legislative oversight over that process," Peterson said, arguing such review would be used in special circumstances and is discretionary for leadership. Committee members asked whether the bill would create a standing new committee; Peterson said the authority is discretionary and intended for use in exceptional cases where a focused review is warranted. The chair suggested existing monthly committees could be used to review large grant requests to avoid new standing committees.

With no public comment, the committee moved and unanimously approved a favorable recommendation for HB 342. The bill advances with committee support for additional discussion about how oversight would be integrated with existing review bodies.