April 26, 2022
Upon returning from break, the legislature is picking up the pace with four weeks left in the regular legislative session. Omnibus bills are moving through the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees, with several Omnibus bills being combined into even larger bills. The next stop for these Omnibus bills is the House and Senate floors in their respective chambers. After that, they will go to conference committees to iron out the (many) differences.
As a reminder, EDAM’s top priority–a supplemental appropriation for the Redevelopment Grant Program at DEED for 2023 for $5 million – is in the House Jobs Omnibus bill but not the Senate’s. This was not surprising as the Senate Jobs bill had a low total spending target compared to the House’s. The Senate Jobs bill was heard in the Finance Committee on Monday evening and combined with the Commerce Omnibus bill. It will be heard on the Senate floor later this week. On the House side, the Jobs Omnibus bill is being heard in Ways and Means today and will be combined with the Omnibus bills for the Department of Labor and Industry, Climate and Energy, as well as Commerce. It will also be heard on the House floor later this week.
We expect the Conference Committee on the Jobs, Commerce and Labor and Industry Omnibus bill to start early next week. We will coordinate an effort to have various EDAM members contact their legislators on the Conference Committee to advocate for EDAM’s priorities.