Senate Appropriations approves Legacy Fund website, shifts funding sources and rejects doula study bill

The Senate Appropriations Committee met and took action on multiple House bills affecting the Legacy Fund, maternal-health study authority and several one-time funding sources.

The committee voted to give House Bill 1319 a “do pass” recommendation to create a simplified Legacy Fund disclosure website. Senator Connolly moved the due-pass motion, seconded by Senator Meyer; the committee approved the motion and the clerk recorded the motion as passed (16 yes). The fiscal note in the bill estimates one-time costs of $476,000 for initial development and $55,000 in biennial maintenance funded from other funds; witnesses said that range reflects contracting for an external developer and phased implementation.

Why it matters: supporters said a dedicated site would make Legacy Fund investments, earnings and allocations easier for citizens to find than the current, dispersed records. Jody Smith, interim executive director of the Retirement Investment Office, told the committee the estimate is a range: “The low end was around 280,000. The upper end was the $4.76 that you see in your…