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State Administration committee advances five agency bills, citing no fiscal impact
Summary
The House State Administration Committee approved five agency bills by voice vote, including adoption of the Federal Uniform Code of Military Justice, National Guard pay-parity changes, a supervisory shift for Veterans Affairs, an automatic return threshold for unclaimed property under $1,000, and an opt-in electronic-communications option.
The House State Administration Committee approved five agency bills during executive action, advancing measures on military justice, National Guard pay parity, Veterans Affairs supervision, unclaimed property returns and electronic communications.
Representative Portillo moved that House Bill 66 do pass. Committee staff Rebecca Power said HB 66, carried by Representative Elverum, "adopts the most recent version of the Federal Uniform Code of Military Justice," and that the Department of Military Affairs indicated there is no fiscal note or fiscal impact. The committee approved the measure by voice vote; Chair Darling said HB 66 "passes, and we'll move on to the floor."
Vice Chair Bertolio moved House Bill 72, which Rebecca Power described as an agency bill from the Department of Military Affairs intended to "create pay parity between National Guard members and state employees who are working together during emergencies." Power said the bill "removes the 15 day limit for National Guard workers" so they would not have to break service to receive the same pay, and staff indicated the change would reduce paperwork and logistics with no fiscal impact. Representative Berne commented, "It's only for the enlisted side. It does not include the officers." The committee approved HB 72 by voice vote.
The committee also approved House Bill 81. Power said HB 81, carried by Representative Bertolio, transfers supervision of the administrator of the Veterans Affairs Division from the Board of Veterans Affairs to the Adjutant General, aligning that supervisory structure with other Department of Military Affairs department heads; staff reported no fiscal impact. Members voiced support and the bill passed by voice vote.
On House Bill 88, the Department of Revenue-sponsored measure, Power said the bill would implement "an automatic return process for unclaimed property that's valued under $1,000," noting the threshold aligns with practices in other states. The committee approved HB 88 by voice vote.
House Bill 91, also from the Department of Revenue and carried by Representative Thain, would allow people to opt into electronic communications for certain matters to create "efficiency and responsiveness," and staff reported that existing programming capabilities mean little to no fiscal impact. The committee approved HB 91 by voice vote and closed executive action on the item.
All five bills were advanced by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded in committee. Chair Darling reviewed the committee's near-term schedule, referencing a MARA presentation and additional bills the committee will consider, urged members to submit amendments promptly to ease staff workload, and adjourned the meeting.
What happens next: Where committee rules and calendars require it, measures that passed executive action will be scheduled for floor consideration or further House action; HB 66 was specifically noted as moving to the floor.
