A bill intended to create a federal/state matching program for small businesses received an amendment in Friday’s Senate Economic Development committee.
If made into law, House Bill 2550 would create a two phase matching program for the Small Business Innovation and Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program throughout the state. In an explanation provided by counsel, members reacquainted themselves with the Senate’s version of this bill, Senate Bill 602, and reviewed differences between the two bills
According to counsel, the main difference between the two bills is found within language of the Senate version which requires that entities awarded with a grant receive 75 percent of their funding through the first phase of implementation and the remaining 25 percent in phase two. The House version would simply split funding 50/50 between the two phases.
Another noticeable difference is that the House version establishes that companies can only apply for grants every five years whereas the Senate version has no limitation on the application for grants.
Following counsel’s explanation, the WV Bioscience Association Executive Director, Bryan Brown, came before the committee to discuss specific details of the bill, particularly relating to the extensive application process which must be completed prior to any grant money being award.
According to Brown, surrounding states have created similar matching programs in order to help companies apply for grants, ultimately allowing for more federal money to come into the state. Although the application process can be seen as rigorous, companies are often times provided with incentivized to apply for grants through new technology projects. Brown stated that if passed, the bill could potentially aid in strengthening the state’s tech field.
After consideration from the committee, Sen. Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, motioned to amend language within the House Bill concerning grant applications in order to match the Senate Bill’s rule which allows for unlimited requests.
Sen. Mike Romano, D-Harrison, spoke against Tarr’s amendment and urged the Senator to recede his proposal to prevent the bill from being rejected. Despite Romano’s request, Tarr sustained his request and the amendment was adopted by the committee.
Following adoption of the amendment, members motioned to report the bill, in addition to House Bill 2420, to the full Senate with the recommendation of passage.
