House committee hears bill to update publication rules and meeting frequency for Joint Committee on Legislative Research

At a public hearing of the House Budget Committee, Representative Kupps presented Senate Bill 1470 on behalf of Senator Burnsketter, saying the measure would align statute with current practice by making the revised statutes freely accessible online, allowing physical republications to be sold and deposited into a statutory revision fund, and changing the joint committees minimum meeting requirement.

"It's a very simple bill," Representative Kupps told the committee, summarizing the measure as a cleanup of statutory language reflecting staffing and operational changes since 2015. He said the bill would make the official code available in a web-based format at no cost to the General Assembly, judicial entities and certain law-enforcement bodies, while allowing those who want an official printed set to pay for it; proceeds would flow to the statutory revision fund rather than general revenue.

The bill also would change the joint committees meeting mandate from "shall regularly meet at least once every three months" to a minimum of twice a year and extend the deadline to appoint a chair after the General Assembly convenes from 10 to 30 days. Proponents said the change reflects how the committee currently operates and avoids requiring members to travel and meet when there is no substantive business.

Committee members questioned several practical and fiscal details. Representative Lewis asked whether the free access referenced a complete republication or only on-line supplements; Kupps and staff clarified that full access to the codified statutes would remain available in the web format while printed full republications would still be purchased as needed. Representative Steinmeier and others pressed whether reducing the statutory meeting minimum would create an appearance of weakened accountability; supporters said chairs retain authority to call special meetings whenever business requires it.

Matt Morris, director of the Joint Committee on Legislative Research and Revision, testified for informational purposes. "We net about $8,300 a year," Morris said of the current revision fund, and he warned the funds balance could be insufficient if a full general republication were required. Morris said the committee maintains historical hard-copy sets and that several provisions in statute no longer matched current practice because appropriations and printing practices had changed over the past decade.

Assistant Director Sandy Lukanoff told the committee a 2016 contract for 2,500 full sets of the revised statutes ran about $270,000, with roughly $35,000 in shipping. She said the bills proposed sweep threshold language (which compares the unexpended balance to the cost of a general republication) could imply a higher cap than current practice and that the fiscal note appeared to have been prepared using supplement rather than full-republication assumptions.

Committee members pressed staff on whether other statutes require hard-copy availability at particular locations; staff said they had not identified additional statutory cross-references beyond the provisions the bill seeks to update. The discussion included a brief exchange about whether virtual meetings should be explicitly authorized; members noted the value of in-person oversight but acknowledged remote meetings can be appropriate in emergencies.

No formal action or vote occurred. Chairman Deaton said he expected to work with the sponsor and staff on a House committee substitute to reconcile a few outstanding issues and closed the hearing.

The committee did not take a recorded vote; the bill will be revised and may return for further consideration.