Legislative Coordinating Council approves interim committees, moves data center to AWS, authorizes printing and reposts CTO salary

The Legislative Coordinating Council approved a series of administrative measures at its meeting, authorizing interim committee days on telecommunications and pharmacy benefit topics, granting subpoena authority to a House select oversight committee, approving migration of the legislative data center to Amazon Web Services, authorizing printing of permanent journals, and approving the reposting of the legislative chief technology officer position at a higher salary.

On interim committees and special studies, the council considered two requests: a House request for four days to examine telecommunications statutes and the Video Competition Act, and a separate request for study of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and the federal 340B program. After debate and substitute motions, the council approved one two-day interim committee on utilities and telecommunications and also approved one-day allocations for PBM and 340B study (the final arrangement left chairs to be designated by the speaker). The council also authorized one additional day for the House select committee on government oversight and granted that committee authority to issue subpoenas under K.S.A. 46-1004(c)(1); the oversight authorization was moved by Speaker Hawkins and seconded by Representative Croft and carried on voice vote.

On a request from Unified School District 220 (Ashland), the council accepted the district's notice of intention to dispose of a school building. Under the statute the council has 45 days while the legislature is out of session to disallow disposal; by adopting the motion the council allowed the district to proceed with disposition.

The council approved printing 150 sets of the permanent Senate and House journals at $80 per set, per the reviser's office recommendation; proceeds are deposited in the state general fund.

On information technology, the council approved moving the legislative data center to Amazon Web Services. Tom Day, director of legislative services, presented cost estimates: replacing on-site hardware would cost between roughly $650,000 and $1,500,000 including installation, while an AWS migration was estimated at $176,000 to $245,000 for setup and initial operations. Day also said the current cooling system in the building's subbasement will likely need replacement at an estimated additional cost of about $90,000. The council authorized the LCC chair to sign necessary paperwork to proceed with the cloud migration.

Members received an update on the CALOS bill-drafting modernization project: production deployment did not occur on June 30 as planned because required functionality remained incomplete. The reviser's office and IT staff continue testing builds; the steering committee and vendor are working toward a session-ready system before Oct. 1, 2025, with a targeted milestone of Sept. 2 for significant progress.

Finally, the council approved reposting the legislative chief technology officer position with an increased salary cap. The position had been posted at $140,000; the council authorized reposting at up to $210,000 (to be negotiated by the president and the speaker or by the subcommittee), with the aim of attracting more or higher-qualified applicants.

Votes at a glance

- Interim committees (utilities & telecommunications; PBM and 340B studies): motions to allocate days and chairs were passed after substitute motions and division votes; final arrangement: two days for utilities & telecommunications, one day for PBM study, one day for 340B study; mover: Speaker Hawkins (substitute motion by Senator Blasey); outcome: approved.

- House select committee on government oversight: motion to authorize as an investigating committee with compulsory powers (subpoena authority under K.S.A. 46-1004(c)(1)); mover: Speaker Hawkins; second: Representative Croft; outcome: approved.

- USD 220 (Ashland) notice of intent to dispose of building: mover: Speaker (unnamed in transcript for motion); second: Senator Sykes; outcome: approved.

- Printing of permanent journals: authorize printing 150 sets at $80 per set; mover: Speaker Hawkins; second: Representative Croft; outcome: approved.

- Legislative data center migration to Amazon Web Services: mover: Speaker Hawkins; second: Senator Schallenberger; outcome: approved; estimated AWS setup cost $176,000'$245,000; on-site replacement estimated $650,000'$1,500,000; cooling replacement estimated ~$90,000.

- CALOS bill-drafting system: informational update only; production deployment delayed; vendor and reviser staff continue testing toward Sept. 2 milestone and session readiness before Oct. 1, 2025.

- Legislative CTO reposting: motion to repost position at up to $210,000 (previously posted at $140,000); mover: Senator Blasey; second: Representative Croft; outcome: approved.