Committee approves amendment to House Bill 50 to include leased state properties in inventory

May 9, 2025 — The Senate Institutions Committee voted to approve an amendment to House Bill 50 that expands the commissioner's required inventory of underutilized property to include state-leased as well as state-owned buildings and lands.

The change was approved by voice/roll-call with a recorded tally of 4 yes, 0 no, 1 absent. The committee chair moved to approve the amendment and directed the bill be reported out of committee for further consideration.

John Gray, Office of Legislative Council, described the change as limited in scope. "It's a very, very small change to H 50," Gray said, explaining the bill previously required the commissioner to "maintain an inventory of all state owned buildings and lands" and the amendment expands that language to capture "state-owned and state-leased properties." Gray said the amendment will give the commissioner of BTS a clearer picture of both owned and leased properties and enable the office to provide an inventory at the start of each session.

Committee members said they had discussed the revision with the relevant commissioner before the meeting. The transcript records that the committee was informed the commissioner "was fine with this." The bill references an existing inventory effort to identify underutilized buildings and lands; Gray noted that the change simply increases the scope of that inventory.

The committee recorded the vote and the chair said the committee would report the bill. No amendments beyond the change to include leased properties were offered during the discussion. The committee also confirmed it would take up other agenda items when it reconvenes.

The committee is scheduled to meet again Tuesday to consider the Capital Complex and other business, where House Bill 50 is expected to proceed through the next steps in the committee process.