Brief⁽¹⁾

The bill would amend the statute that governs allocation of space in the Capitol building. As introduced, the substantive change to existing law would be assignment of the Secretary of State to the Capitol on a temporary rather than permanent basis. The bill would also make a technical amendment to the statute by deleting the Supreme Court and the Attorney General from the list of entities housed in the Capitol. Those agencies have been housed in the Kansas Judicial Center for many years.

As amended by the House Appropriations Committee, the bill would assign Rooms 240-N and 241-N to the Secretary of State permanently, to be used by the Secretary of State and other state officials for ceremonial purposes. As amended, the bill would also require a plan of renovation, space assignment and use, and the cost estimates for such plan be included in legislation introduced at the beginning of the 1999 Legislative Session.

Background

The bill was introduced by the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) which has statutory authority to assign space and facilities in the Capitol building. As introduced by the LCC, the amendment is consistent with current plans for the Secretary of State to move from the Capitol to the Memorial Building when renovation of that facility is completed. The Attorney General will also be housed in the Memorial Building. The Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs was told that the Memorial Building will be ready for occupancy in the fall of 1999.

The House Appropriations Committee amended the bill to reflect the changes noted above. The Secretary of State took no position on this bill.

The fiscal note, prepared by the Division of the Budget, states that the bill will not have any fiscal impact.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext-bill.html.