Sergeant-at-arms office spent part of cafeteria appropriation, used savings to buy an X‑ray machine; committee seeks inventory and FEMA details

Senate staff and the sergeant-at-arms office told the committee that a $100,000 capital appropriation originally intended for cafeteria chairs and tables had not been fully spent and that an X‑ray machine for security was purchased for roughly $47,000 from available funds.

Scott Moore (introduced to the committee as the fiscal contact on the item) said the X‑ray machine cost "a little bit less than $47,000 in total." He explained the original $100,000 appropriation was budgeted for chairs and tables lost in a previous flood and that about $52,000 had already been spent on furnishings, leaving an unexpended balance that the office used to complete the X‑ray purchase.

Sergeant-at-arms staff told the committee they still plan to buy 16 additional cafeteria chairs at roughly $330 each and that they had refinished some tables to save costs. They also said Rooms 10 and 11 lost furniture in the flood and that FEMA reimbursement is being pursued but is not expected to fully cover replacement of all boardroom furnishings; the office will pursue a plan for Rooms 10/11 and likely request funds in the next budget cycle.

Committee members asked about when the X‑ray machine would be used; sergeant-at-arms staff said the machine has not been used this session and will be deployed only when security conditions warrant a single point of entry or when pre-screening is necessary for a specific event.

The committee accepted the explanation and asked staff to provide an inventory of flood losses and the status of any FEMA claim or expected reimbursement.