Committee asks BGS to clarify wording after Senate adds “state leased” buildings to inventory bill

A committee member of the Successful Actions and Institutions Committee said on May 27 that Senate Judiciary voted S.109 out of committee with language that incorporates the committee’s courthouse provision and includes inventory and notification provisions, and that Senate amendments now add “state leased” buildings and change reporting language about land.

The change expands the inventory language the committee had drafted to include “state leased buildings and land,” but a committee member raised concern that the capitalization and wording are ambiguous — they could be read to mean state-owned buildings that are leased out rather than leased space the state occupies. “Because ‘State’ is capitalized, does that mean that we own the building and we are leasing it out?” the committee member asked. Jean, a committee member, said the statute should read…