Senate finance members press for guardrails, liability limits on bill to donate state property to nonprofits

The Senate Finance Committee advanced S.3106 (Cooney), a bill to amend the State Finance Law to allow donation of state personal property to certain nonprofit organizations, after members raised questions about value limits and liability protections.

Chair Liz Krueger convened the Tuesday, May 13 committee meeting and called for discussion after the bill title was read. Senator Brown said he supported the concept but expressed concern that the bill lacked “guardrails” to limit the value of property that could be donated and lacked clear indemnification language. Brown gave the example of a donated vehicle with heavy mileage and asked whether the state would be liable for a catastrophic failure. He also noted a recent Office of the State Comptroller report showing roughly $450,000,000 spent on durable medical equipment during the COVID response and asked whether the statute would allow donation of items such as CPAP machines or ventilators that remain in state warehouses.

Krueger and other members responded that the committee would follow up with the bill sponsor and staff to clarify how the state would control which items could be donated and how liability would be handled. A committee speaker said the bill could allow donation of items such as durable medical equipment to counties or nonprofits, but Krueger said she would confirm the legal details with staff and the sponsor. Committee members agreed to advance the bill to the Senate floor while seeking those clarifications.

Why it matters: The bill would allow the state to redistribute surplus property to nonprofits and local governments, which committee members said could put unused medical equipment into community use. At the same time, members warned that without statutory limits or contractual protections the program could expose taxpayers to risk if high‑value or hazardous items were donated without oversight.

Committee action and next steps: Senator Bailey moved S.3106 and Senator Lewis seconded the motion. The committee recorded a voice vote (ayes; some members recorded as "without recommendation" on the record) and moved the bill to the floor. Committee members requested staff follow up with the sponsor on specific questions about limits on donated items and liability/indemnification provisions; Krueger said she would pursue those clarifications.

The committee did not adopt text amendments on the floor of the Finance Committee; members indicated they would confer with the sponsor and staff about drafting guardrails before the bill proceeds on the Senate floor.

Members quoted (verbatim): "It doesn't seem to be any guardrails on this bill, as far as limitations on value, and also indemnification of liability. That concerns me as well," — Senator Brown.

"But I will follow-up just for you because I understand the question and also on liability. I believe there's some good Samaritan laws that factor into liability when you donate, but I will also double check those." — Chair Liz Krueger.

The committee record shows the sponsor (Senator Cooney) as the bill's author; the sponsor did not offer substantive floor answers in the committee and members asked staff to follow up for specifics.