Committee hears Department of Administration technical-update bill; amendment adopted and bill laid over

Senate File 2417, the Department of Administrationtechnical policy bill, was presented Thursday to the Minnesota Senate State and Local Government Committee, where the committee adopted an A-1 amendment and laid the bill over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill.

The bill, introduced by Senator Jeong, makes multiple technical changes to administration statutes, including updating Minnesota law to conform to federal changes to the Assistive Technology Act, adjusting the due date for the general services revolving fund rate report, consolidating fleet fuel-use reporting, clarifying construction project notice requirements to the Legislature, removing an unfunded requirement to maintain a model exterior lighting ordinance, and exempting the Office of Ombuds for Long Term Care from state markings on its vehicles.

Julie Bridal, legislative director for the Department of Administration, told the committee the Assistive Technology Act updates align state statute with federal changes and that the STAR program (System of Technology to Achieve Results) helps Minnesotans with disabilities access assistive technology. Bridal said the bill would move the general services revolving fund rate report due date from July 1 to Sept. 15 to allow additional time to coordinate with Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB).

Bridal also described a proposal to combine two similar reports on fleet goals to reduce fossil fuel use into the Office of Enterprise Sustainabilitydashboard, which is updated annually online. On construction notices, Bridal said the change would clarify that projects exempt from the recommendation requirement must still notify the Legislature that they are ready to begin work.

Bridal said funding was never provided to support a model exterior lighting ordinance and that existing examples from local communities and other organizations make the state-maintained model unnecessary. She also said the Office of Ombuds for Long Term Care requested to be exempted from state markings on its vehicles to better perform investigations.

Senator Jeong moved the A-1 amendment; the committee adopted it by voice vote. With no further questions from committee members or online attendees, the committee laid Senate File 2417, as amended, over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill.

The committee did not take a final committee-passage vote on the underlying bill; it was held over for potential inclusion in the omnibus process.