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Committee adopts committee substitute for SB 485 to allow limited procurement exemption for election infrastructure

2485855 · March 4, 2025
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Summary

A committee substitute for SB 485 would grant a limited exemption to the Secretary of State from Purchasing Division procurement requirements for certain election infrastructure security systems; the committee agreed to the language and reported the substitute to the full Senate.

The Senate Committee on Government Organization agreed to a committee substitute for Senate Bill 485 that would give the Secretary of State a limited exemption from standard Purchasing Division procurement procedures for certain election infrastructure security systems and assets.

Committee counsel explained the committee substitute rewords and reformats an exemption included in the introduced bill; the substitute recasts the exceptions listed in subsection C and retains an operative seventh subdivision as the exemption requested by the Secretary of State. Counsel said the committee and chair had agreed on the exemption language.

Counsel deferred to the Secretary of State to explain the operational rationale for the limited exemption, and the committee adopted the substitute language. The vice chair moved that the committee substitute be reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it do pass; the committee approved the motion and the substitute will be reported.

Why it matters: The substitute would let the Secretary of State procure some election-security-related assets outside the standard Purchasing Division bidding process; proponents argued the change addresses operational needs for election infrastructure security procurement.

Process note: The transcript records committee agreement to the substitute and the committee’s motion to report; specific procurement thresholds, asset categories, or dollar amounts were not detailed on the record.