Committee adopts amendment to allow local officials with conflicts to vote on budgets after public disclosure
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Summary
The Senate Rules Committee adopted the dash-1 amendment to Senate Bill 983, allowing public officials to vote on local budgets that include compensation or benefits affecting themselves or relatives after publicly announcing the conflict.
The Senate Committee on Rules adopted the dash-1 amendment to Senate Bill 983, a measure that would allow a public official to vote on the adoption of a local budget that includes compensation or benefits to the public official or a relative provided the official publicly announces the nature of the conflict of interest.
Committee staff summarized the measure and the dash-1 amendment, which adds an emergency clause. The staff statement noted the amendment has no fiscal impact and no revenue impact. Vice Chair Bonham moved adoption of the dash-1 amendment and the committee adopted it by roll call. Committee members described the bill as a narrowly tailored change to allow boards and commissions to proceed with budget votes when the conflict is publicly disclosed and recorded.
Senator comments during the work session emphasized the bill’s utility for local boards and commissions that must sometimes adopt budgets that affect board compensation while meeting tight timelines in local budget cycles. The committee moved the amended bill to the floor with a positive recommendation. No further implementation details were set in committee.