Note: This year IFF rated maintenance bills according to a more refined system. This is an enhancement bill, and will be rated as a standalone bill. IFF will only consider enhancement line items in these ratings. This means that FTP reductions passed in maintenance legislation will not be evaluated here, among other things.

Bill Description: Senate Bill 1405 is consolidation of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission, defunding the agency and transferring money in preparation for roll up as directed by H503. Consolidation gains will be rated in the new agency budget.

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Does this budget incur any wasteful spending among discretionary funds, including new line items? Conversely, does this budget contain any provisions that serve to reduce spending where possible (i.e. base reductions, debt reconciliation, etc.)?

This legislation authorizes a transfer of $3,535,000 in General Funds and $477,700 in Dedicated Funds to the Department of Water Resources to close out operations of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission as an independent entity. 

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This legislation also includes onetime supplementals for FY26. These are for CREP payment increases ($87,100 DF) and for the transfer of unspent grant balances ($300,000 GF) to the Water Quality Program for Agriculture (WQPA) to help close out the Commission.

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