MICHIGAN STATE CAPITOL HISTORIC SITE
Senate Bill 665 (Substitute S-1)
Sponsor: Sen. Roger Kahn, M.D.
Senate Bill 666 (without amendment)
Sponsor: Sen. Randy Richardville
House Committee: Transportation and Infrastructure
Senate Committee: Government Operations
Complete to 12-2-13
A SUMMARY OF SENATE BILLS 665 AND 666 AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
Senate Bill 665 would create the "Michigan State Capitol Historic Site Act." The bill would do the following:
· Establish the Michigan State Capitol Historic Site, consisting of the Capitol building and grounds, bounded by Ottawa Street, Allegan Street, Capitol Avenue, and Walnut Street. The site would, with some exceptions, be under the exclusive control of a new State Capitol Commission.
· Create the Michigan State Capitol Commission, which would consist of the Clerk of the House of Representatives; the Secretary of the Senate; two individuals jointly appointed by those two officials with expertise and experience in operations, maintenance, or restoration of historic structures; and one individual appointed by the Governor.
· Require the new commission to operate and manage the State Capitol Historic Site; maintain and restore the Capitol building; maintain and improve the grounds of the historic site; appoint an individual to manage the day-to-day operations of the historic site and employ other staff; enter into contracts for goods and services; make recommendations to the Governor, Senate, and House of Representatives about funding for the site; and carry out other responsibilities as provided by law.
· Create the Michigan State Capitol Historic Site Fund, which the commission could use to carry out its responsibilities. (No specific source of revenue is cited in the bill.)
· Require the commission to establish maintain, and operate parking facilities in the State Capitol area; and allow the commission to establish and collect fees from state employees, state officials, and the general public using parking facilities under commission control. Such fees would be credited to a new Capitol Parking Fund.
· Create the State Capitol Parking Fund, which the commission could use, upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature, only to operate and maintain the State Capitol parking lot.
· Specify that the commission would not have authority and could not exercise control over the internal decisions of the State Senate or House related to the allocation of space in the Capitol building or Capitol building parking lot, including legislative or staff offices. All such decisions would be made according to the rules and practices of the House and Senate.
The bill also contains a statement of legislative findings and declarations.
Senate Bill 666 would amend the Legislative Council Act to specify (1) that the council administrator would, at the direction of the new commission, carry out certain specified human resources functions and technical support functions for the commission; and (2) that the Michigan Capitol Committee would advise and make recommendations to the new commission regarding the operation, maintenance, repair, restoration, and preservation of the Capitol building, as well as recommendations regarding physical changes to the building and grounds, the building master plan, and financial support for changes to the building and grounds.
(The Michigan Capitol Committee consists of four members of the State Senate; four members of the House, and four members from the executive branch.)
The bill would also repeal a section of the act that requires the Legislative Council to maintain and operate parking facilities in the Capitol area, allows the Council to collect parking fees, and requires the fees to be credited to the Legislative Council Parking Fund. Any money in that Fund would be transferred to the proposed State Capitol Parking Fund.
Senate Bill 666 is tie-barred to Senate Bill 665 and to House Bills 5135 and 5134.
House Bill 5135 would make complementary amendments to the Management and Budget Act to reflect the responsibilities of the proposed commission for the new historic site. It also would repeal several sections of that DMB Act that deal with the powers and duties of the Michigan Capitol Park Commission. The functions of that commission were transferred to the director of the Department of Management and budget by an executive order issued by Governor Engler in 2000.
House Bill 5134 would make complementary amendments to the Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Act; it would delete references to the defunct Capitol Park Commission.
The two House bills are tie-barred to Senate Bill 665, meaning they could not take effect unless that bill is also enacted.
The bills would have no significant fiscal impact on the state and no fiscal impact on local units of government.
Chris Couch
Fiscal Analyst: Marilyn Peterson
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.