Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

The State Capitol Committee is responsible for establishing policy regarding space use and historic preservation of the historic buildings on the capitol campus.

The State Capitol Committee membership is changed to the Governor and four legislators as voting members and the Commissioner of Public Lands and the State Historic Preservation Officer as non-voting members.

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 25 members: Representatives Dunshee, Chair; Hunt, Vice Chair; Alexander, Ranking Minority Member; Priest, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Armstrong, Benson, Blake, Bush, Chase, Eickmeyer, Flannigan, Hankins, Hinkle, Kirby, Lantz, Mastin, Morrell, Murray, Newhouse, O'Brien, Orcutt, Schoesler, Simpson, G., Veloria and Woods.

The governance of the capitol campus, and all state facilities in Thurston County, is through the State Capitol Committee, with day-to-day management provided by the Department of General Administration. The State Capitol Committee (SCC) was established by the Legislature in 1921 and replaced the State Capitol Commission created in 1901. The SCC: (1) Approves construction of all state buildings in Thurston County; (2) approves acquisition of real estate for state government in Thurston County; and (3) carries out other duties as specified by the Legislature. The members of the SCC are the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Commissioner of Public Lands (ex officio).

The Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee (CCDAC) advises the State Capitol Committee and the Department of General Administration regarding state capitol facilities and grounds. The CCDAC consists of four legislators, the Secretary of State, two architects, a landscape architect, and an urban planner. Staff resources are provided by the Department of General Administration. The CCDAC originally was created by executive order in 1984, continued through budget provisos, and enacted into statute in 1990.

The Legislative Building Renovation Oversight Committee was created in the 2001-03 Capital Budget to provide advice regarding the rehabilitation of the Legislative Building. It consists of four legislators.

The Department of General Administration provides staff support to the SCC and the CCDAC, and manages the capitol campus facilities and grounds on a day-to-day basis.

The State Capitol Committee is responsible for establishing policy regarding space use and historic preservation of the historic buildings on the capitol campus. The State Capitol Committee membership is changed. The committee is comprised of the Governor and four legislators as voting members and two non-voting members: the Commissioner of Public Lands and the State Historic Preservation Officer. The four legislators are two from the House of Representatives and two from the Senate, one from the two major parties in each house.

The substitute bill does not create a new Legislative Buildings Committee. Instead, a reconstituted State Capitol Committee is responsible for establishing policy regarding space use and historic preservation on the capitol campus. The State Capitol Committee is comprised of the Governor and four legislators as voting members and two non-voting members; the Commissioner of Public Lands and the State Historic Preservation Officer.

Effective Date of Substitute Bill: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

Testimony For: Other states modified their capitol campus governance structure when they renovated their capitol building; Washington should do so as well. The Legislature should be more involved in the management of the capitol campus.