JBC approves transfer from bond assistance fund, moves to remove bond program and preserve help desk funding short term

The Joint Budget Committee voted to transfer the bulk of the Bond Assistance Program cash fund to the general fund and asked staff to draft legislation to remove the bond-assistance component from SB 22 163 while preserving help-desk services in the procurement equity office.

JBC staff Julia Bova told the committee that SB 22 163 set aside $2 million for a bond assistance program intended to help historically underutilized businesses obtain bonds and win state contracts. According to the department’s cash-flow report, the fund held about $1.9 million for 2627 but had issued only one bond since creation; annual expenditures averaged about $110,000. Bova recommended transferring $1.6 million to the general fund while leaving a smaller balance to preserve help-desk services that respond to inquiries from small businesses.

Lawmakers raised concerns about whether the program was the most efficient use of the fund — one senator observed that issuing a single bond at a high administrative cost suggested the program design was ineffective. Vice Chair Bridges moved to draft legislation to remove the bond piece, clear out the cash fund, and appropriate money for help-desk staff; the motion to draft legislation and the subsequent transfer were recorded as passing 6–0.

The committee asked staff and the procurement equity office to coordinate with OEDIT and other agencies to consider a unified approach for small-business procurement assistance in the coming year. Staff noted that eliminating the bond component would require statutory change.