House Committee on Corrections & Institutions members on Feb. 28 examined a revised draft of House Bill 50 that would require state agencies to supply inventories of state-owned buildings and land to the Department of Buildings and General Services (BGS).

The bill, H.50, is intended to create a centralized list of state properties that “might be available” for development or other uses, committee members said. Committee Chair Patricia said the new draft removed the phrase “when requested by the commissioner” and instead would require agencies to prepare and forward inventories to the commissioner of BGS.

The change prompted a substantive discussion about the frequency and timing of the reports. Commissioner Wanda Manoli of the Department of Buildings and General Services told the committee that BGS already collects space and property information annually and incorporates it into what she called the department’s space book. “I would prefer annually because I have to submit this. I have to collect the data,” Manoli said, adding that BGS updates the space book in July of each year as departments move.

Committee members debated terminology and intent—several speakers noted confusion between terms such as “biannual,” “biennial,” and “semiannual.” Chair Patricia and other members asked whether the bill should require BGS to collect the inventory annually and whether the presentation of the compiled inventory should occur at the start of a legislative biennium. Manoli said she would collect the information annually as part of BGS’s existing process and asked the committee to clarify when they wanted the compiled presentation delivered to the Legislature.

Members also asked staff to finalize language and produce a clean draft with a new draft number before any formal vote. Patricia said committee staff should work with John (legislative staff) to edit and proof the bill language and circulate the revised draft to members for review.

Committee staff listed several items they will return with for further detail: planning and reuse funds, the lease on the Redland Garage, the status of cash projects shown on the spreadsheet provided to appropriations, and operational information about the St. Albans garage. No formal vote to adopt the bill language was recorded during the session.

The committee recessed its H.50 discussion with instructions to produce an edited draft and to specify whether the compiled inventory should be presented at the start of the biennium or on an annual schedule. The committee planned to continue markup later the same day, beginning with correction facilities.