Committee advances joint resolution recommending consent for long-range legislative branch capital plan

Senator Sue Vinton introduced Senate Joint Resolution 6, asking the committee to recommend the legislature's consent to a long-range legislative branch capital development plan. Vinton said the plan was led by an independent architectural consulting firm with input from six legislators, legislative professional staff, the chief clerk of the House, the secretary of the Senate, the state's Architecture and Engineering Division, and executive-branch representatives. The plan, she said, was adopted by the Legislative Council in March 2024 and is available on the Legislative Council's meeting materials page.

Committee members pressed for details on costs and next steps. Vinton and Joe Treem, deputy director of the Legislative Fiscal Division and the Legislative Council liaison, said an earlier version of the plan provided comprehensive cost estimates but the version before the committee intentionally omits full pricing so future legislatures are not constrained. Treem described a mid-range plan that prioritizes creating an additional first-floor hearing room with improved public access, consolidating and relocating some staff workspaces (including the legislative audit division) to better aggregate bill drafters and other staff offices, and doing a set of interim basement and bullpen improvements. Treem said the mid-range improvements are in design and expected to go to bid during the interim with implementation anticipated before the 2027 session.

Testifying as an informational witness, Russ Katherman of the Architecture and Engineering Division said he was satisfied with the information-gathering and evaluation process. Committee members asked about historical preservation; Vinton said preserving the building's historical character is a top priority for any work.

The committee also heard that there is a legislative branch capital projects account that holds funds for potential future longer-term improvements; witnesses referred in testimony to "12 and a half" in relation to that account but did not specify units (the record does not specify whether that reference was to millions or another denomination). Treem said the 2023 Legislature appropriated funds to support planning and some improvements and that the long-range plan is intended to provide a framework for prioritizing future appropriations.

In executive action, Vice Chair Emerich moved that SJ 6 do pass; the motion was seconded and the committee approved it by voice vote. The chair noted proxy "aye" votes for absent members. The committee closed the hearing and advanced SJ 6 with a do-pass recommendation.