HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1132

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                      State Government

Title:  An act relating to the capitol furnishings preservation committee.

Brief Description:  Establishing the capitol furnishings preservation committee.

Sponsors:  Representatives Romero, Skinner, Lantz, Hankins, Ogden, Radcliff, Mitchell and Lambert.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

State Government: 1/29/99, 2/10/99 [DPS].

           Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

$A committee is created to retain, restore, and recover historic furnishings of the state capitol campus.

$Specifies authority to solicit donations and grants, and spend money for a limited purpose from an account created for that purpose.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  Signed by 8 members: Representatives McMorris, Republican Co-Chair; Romero, Democratic Co-Chair; Campbell, Republican Vice Chair; Miloscia, Democratic Vice Chair; Dunshee; Haigh; Lambert and Schmidt, D.

Staff: Scott MacColl (786-7106).

Background:

Historic furnishings on the capitol campus are currently subject to the Department of General Administration surplus procedures.

These procedures allow for the sale of surplus property to state elected officials if an item is valued lower than resale, declared surplus of a personal nature, and depicts or represents the office in which they have served, then elected officials may purchase such items after leaving office.

Summary of Substitute Bill:

The Capitol Furnishings Preservation Committee is established to recover, preserve and prevent future loss of historic furnishings.  The committee is also to review and advise future remodeling and restoration projects pertaining to historic furniture. 

The Capitol Furnishings Preservation Committee has authority to decide whether Capitol campus furnishings over 50 years old are surplus or historic items.  Historic furnishings are defined to include furniture, fixtures and artwork over 50 years old.

Committee membership is made up of legislators, representatives of statewide offices, the state historical society, and private citizens.

The Capitol Furnishings Preservation Committee account is created to allow for donations and grants to be accepted, and allows for limited expenditures to finance the purchase and preservation of historic furnishings.

Committee members are authorized to solicit donations of Capitol furnishings, donations and grants, with explicit exemption from the public disclosure laws for this purpose. 

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill:

The substitute bill: 1) clarifies the committee's authority to solicit donations, grants, and monies for the purposes detailed in the original bill.  A fund is created to allow limited spending of donated monies for preservation or restoration of historic furnishings; and 2) expressly exempts committee members from public disclosure laws, to allow committee members to solicit, explicitly for the committee, both monetary donations and donations of historic furnishings.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: (Original Bill) Washington state capitol campus is rich in state history, and General Administration supports the effort to preserve history.  General Administration cares for public areas, but not for personal items.  This is inconsistent, and the committee would fix the inconsistency.  The 75-year anniversary of the legislative building is in 2002-2003, and this committee ties in well.  This is a valuable project, and there is a need to get all old furnishings that have been lost, back.  Eugene Prince should be designated as a private citizen on the committee because of his length of service in the Legislature, as should Sid Snyder.  Under former Governor Dixie Lee Ray, oriental rugs from the Governor's mansion were sold, and they have since been purchased and donated back to the state for historical purposes.

Testimony Against: None

Testified: (Original Bill) Mary Grace Jennings, Department of General Administration; Dave Nicandri, Washington State Historical Society; and Ralph Munro, Secretary of State.