SB 353 and SB 354 Update

The Legislature is back in full-swing after transmittal break. And the excitement we expected in the first half of the session has now begun… Republicans voted against the medicaid expansion, Democrats and moderate Republicans banded together to move the “Dark Money” bill forward, and the question of how to fund infrastructure improvements continues.

Rick Ripley’s Bills (SB 353 and SB 354) have both passed the Senate and have hearings scheduled for March 25th. These bills would reallocate money from the Coal Trust to fund infrastructure projects. These bills could provide a partial solution to a funding mix that all can agree to.

We are also watching a debate in Appropriations sparked by a recent maneuver by DNRC to bypass legislative approval for a building/leasing project.  The process used by DNRC could provide new and more expedient contracting methods for future projects, but several legislators see the move as unseemly and are threatening to close the loophole in the existing law and may threaten the existing project.  A similar issue arose several years ago when the Department of Corrections entered into a lease agreement without legislative approval.  The Legislature at that time denied the lease, and ended up costing the state a large sum of money, and got no new space out of the deal.  We’ll be watching this debate closely.