Senate approves $1.1 million amendment to start State Capitol public buildings fund

Senator Carr urged support for concurrence in House amendments to Senate Bill 119, describing the amendment as adding $1,100,000 to seed a public buildings fund to maintain and renovate the State Capitol. He framed the building as "the people's house" and said the appropriations chairs had identified $1,100,000 to get the fund started.

Senator Davis asked whether anything prevented the School and Public Lands Commissioner from using the existing fund dollars to restore the Capitol now. Carr responded that the public building fund exists in law (created in 05/2002) and that proceeds from sale or lease of public lands are to be deposited there, but he stated his understanding that the dollars were not being used and that the commissioner and staff had testified in support so that the proceeds could be used for renovation.

Other senators added color on monitoring of the fund and cited building maintenance concerns, including a remark about a gas leak in the House chamber that underscored the need for maintenance dollars. The roll call recorded 20 yays, 12 nays and 3 excused; the president declared the motion carried and the amendments concurred in.

Why it matters: The amendment would seed a public buildings fund with $1.1 million to address Capitol maintenance and renovation needs; sponsors said the fund is the appropriate repository for proceeds from public land sales or leases and that the funds had not previously been spent on the Capitol.