OMES subcommittee advances Senate Bill 162 to create veterans memorial donation fund; approves OMES budget increases
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Summary
An OMES subcommittee voted to recommend Senate Bill 162, creating a revolving fund to accept donations for statues at the Capitol Veterans Park, and approved recommendations to raise OMES appropriations by $7,276,050 for FY2025 and $22,812,022 for FY2026 (total FY2026: $166,484,514).
An OMES subcommittee meeting approved a recommendation to advance Senate Bill 162, which would create a revolving fund at the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to accept donations for statues at the Veterans Park in front of the planned Capitol Arch. The panel also voted to recommend increases to OMES appropriations: $7,276,050 for fiscal 2025 and $22,812,022 for fiscal 2026, bringing the committee’s recommended FY2026 total to $166,484,514.
Senator Stanley described Senate Bill 162 as “just going to have a revolving fund created at OMES to deposit donations.” She said the donations “would be used to, build or have statues placed at the Veterans Park in front of the new Capitol Arch,” and added, “It's gonna be wonderful.” Stanley also outlined the planned sequence for the first statues: “our first statue is gonna be a Native American warrior, a military person. And the next 1 will be women in the military. And the third 1 will be, honoring our Buffalo Soldiers.”
Committee procedure and votes were brief. The transcript records a motion for a “do pass” recommendation on Senate Bill 162 from Senator Coleman, with a second from Senator Kern; the subcommittee took a voice vote and the chair declared the bill passed by the subcommittee. The committee then moved to “recommend full appropriations” for two budget items: an increase of $7,276,050 in FY2025 and an increase of $22,812,022 in FY2026 to reach total appropriations of $166,484,514 for OMES. Both recommendations were approved by voice vote, and the subcommittee referred the measures to the full appropriations committee.
Senator Stanley emphasized that SB 162 “is just a place to deposit donations, not asking for any money,” indicating the bill would not appropriate state funds but would establish a mechanism to receive private donations for memorial statues. The transcript does not record roll-call tallies or further debate on the budget figures. After completing votes, the subcommittee chair asked for other business and then adjourned the meeting.
Next steps: Senate Bill 162 and the subcommittee’s budget recommendations were forwarded to the full appropriations committee for consideration; the transcript does not specify further scheduling or committee dates.