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Senate panel approves Legislative Council amendments; $4M chamber accessibility work deferred
Summary
The committee voted to amend and give a "do pass" recommendation to Senate Bill 2,001, the Legislative Assembly/Legislative Council budget bill, removing roughly $4 million in one-time chamber accessibility funding and adding studies and IT upgrades.
The Appropriations - Government Operations Division approved amendments to Senate Bill 2,001, the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council budget, on a roll call vote that the clerk recorded as affirmative.
Senator Sheila Sickler moved the amendment and Senator Eberly seconded. The committee then voted in favor; the chair said the motion carried and that Senator Sickler would carry the legislative assembly and council budget forward.
Amendments remove roughly $4,000,000 of one-time money originally listed for chamber accessibility upgrades and preserve legislative intent to continue studying accessibility options. Emily Thompson, legal division director for legislative counsel, testified the $4,000,000 represented the cost of the most expensive accessibility option the architects modeled. "They simply built enough into their recommendation to include in the budget to cover what would essentially be the most expensive option, and that was, the roughly $4,000,000," Thompson said. The committee kept legislative intent language that accessibility work continue under study.
Other changes in the amendments included a reduction of $651,000 associated with phasing in 25 new FTE positions more realistically; additions of $225,000 for a study of the impacts of legislative term limits; and $325,000 for a study of advanced nuclear energy. The committee also retained standard transfer authority language allowing transfers between line items upon request of the legislative management chair or the legislative council director.
The amendments include funding for lighting upgrades, digital document certification, and an upgrade to the legislative drafting system (the "legend" drafting system). Committee members noted the remaining roughly $4.4 million on the one-time page covers those items rather than full chamber reconstruction for accessibility.
On the roll call to amend and recommend a do pass on SB 2,001, the clerk recorded affirmative votes from the senators present and the chair said the motion carried.
