MICHIGAN STATE CAPITOL HISTORIC SITE
House Bill 5134
Sponsor: Rep. Sam Singh
House Bill 5135
Sponsor: Rep. Jim Stamas
Committee: Transportation and Infrastructure
Complete to 11-11-13
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5134 AS INTRODUCED 11-5-13 AND HOUSE BILL 5135 AS INTRODUCED 11-6-13
House Bills 5134 and 5135 are part of a package of legislation that would establish a Michigan State Capitol Historic Site, which would be under the exclusive control of a new State Capitol Commission. Senate Bill 665 is the main bill in the package and would establish the historic site and the commission. The two House bills are tie-barred to Senate Bill 665, meaning they could not take effect unless that bill is also enacted. Senate Bill 665 is in the Senate Government Operations Committee.
Under Senate Bill 665, the historic site would consist of the State Capitol building and its grounds, bounded by Ottawa Street, Allegan Street, Capitol Avenue, and Walnut Street. The commission 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 the capitol architect. The governor would appoint the capitol architect.
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 Capitol Park Commission.
A related bill, 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.)
[Note: Senate Bill 665, as introduced, would also create a State Capitol Historic Site Fund to provide revenue for the new Capitol Historic Site Commission's responsibilities, although no specific source of revenue is cited. In addition, under the bill the commission would operate parking facilities in the state capitol area and could collect a fee from state employees, state officials, and the general public using parking facilities under the control of the commission. A parking fund would be created as a repository for the fees, with that revenue to be used to maintain the state capitol parking lot.]
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bills would have no significant fiscal impact on the Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.
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.