Capital Development Committee asks staff to draft omnibus bill to clarify capital statutes and procedures

The Capital Development Committee voted 6-0 to request that legislative counsel draft a bill combining multiple technical changes to capital statutes and committee procedures. Committee staff presented a memorandum that listed several proposed changes; members voted to have staff draft legislation that would be returned for committee review.

Matt Bishop of Legislative Council staff introduced the package and said the proposals are largely minor, procedural fixes intended to reduce annual confusion and administrative burden. On encumbrance timing, Bishop suggested establishing a fixed date in statute by which capital funds must be encumbered (he offered “such as November 1” as an example) to prevent uncertainty caused by the variable date of long-bill signings.

Beau Pogue, also with Legislative Council staff, proposed changing the treasurer’s report due date from Sept. 1 to March 1 so the report better aligns with higher-education audit timing: “So the information is a little bit stale, I guess, by the time September 1 rolls around,” Pogue said. The staff memo also proposed aligning two-year cash-need projections with current practice, converting encumbrance waivers into time-limited extensions so the committee has another review opportunity, and moving an OSPV priority-update deadline from Jan. 1 to Jan. 2 to avoid a holiday conflict.

Nina Forbes, Legislative Council staff, described several additional proposals: simplify the chair/vice-chair election schedule to hold elections at the first December meeting each year; allow the Department of Transportation flexibility to omit an annual capital submittal (change statutory “shall” to “may”); expand CDC discretion to waive the Art in Public Places requirement in consultation with the program; and clarify how supplemental appropriations extend spending authority through the remainder of the fiscal year plus two additional fiscal years.

Committee members discussed implementation approach — whether to package all proposals in one omnibus draft or split them — and staff suggested a single draft would be efficient but the committee could remove any items it chose. Representative Lindsey, Senator Heinrichsen and other members raised process concerns about timely appointment of new committee members after elections; staff said the draft could include a provision to encourage earlier appointment (for example, changing “may be designated” to “shall be designated”) or allow provisional appointment subject to final certification.

Senator Malika moved the clerk’s motion that the committee request legislation drafting on the topics in the staff memorandum. Matt Bishop called the roll; the motion passed 6-0. The committee will review the draft language at a later meeting before deciding whether to introduce the proposals as committee legislation.