Secretary of State and related agencies outline IT projects, Broadwater Marina work and new ABC warehouse plans

Carl Thornhill, chief of staff for the Secretary of State's office, presented the agency's request to the committee and highlighted several multiyear projects and operational needs.

Thornhill said the office is a net revenue generator (the transcript cited roughly $29 million in general-fund revenue and about $17 million in special funds for FY25) while seeking level operations with restorations for position counts and funding for contractual and IT equipment needs. He described three major ongoing projects: Broadwater Marina restoration on the Gulf Coast (multi-source funding, anticipated completion January 2026); replacement or redevelopment of STAR, a 20-year legacy application that houses public lands, UCC and campaign finance reporting; and converting the Statewide Election Management System (SIIMS) funding that had been capitalized into an annual operating expense so maintenance can continue.

On litigation and special funds, office counsel acknowledged the office had previously accrued litigation expenses exceeding $1 million tied to tidelands-related cases and that legal defense costs for some matters are paid from special funds rather than the general fund. Counsel named Balch & Bingham and Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush as firms engaged on matters that have reached the state Supreme Court and said more invoices and firm-level totals could be provided to the committee on request.

Thornhill also discussed an expected long-term savings via a future move of Capitol Tower staff to 660 North Street, with DFA coordinating tenant moves and renovations. The relocation and a small one-time reappropriation request (the transcript recorded a requested $208,000 for relocation expense that was omitted in the LBR) were flagged for follow-up.

Later in the hearing, agency presenters briefed the committee on the ABC warehouse project and the tag fund. Kelly (identified in the transcript as Kelly Gray Rhodes, an associate commissioner) said the warehouse design-build team is under contract and the project is on track to break ground within the quarter, with a target completion in Q4 2026. The planned facility is roughly 300,000 square feet and expected to house at least 600,000 cases on day one. Funding for the warehouse has come from previously authorized revenue bonds and additional authorization; the presenters estimated a construction budget near $95 million and said some equipment useful-life items may require later adjustments to special-fund authority.

Committee members asked technical questions about conditioning for wine storage and about transportation conditions; presenters said the warehouse will be conditioned to control humidity and upper-range temperatures to protect packaging but that the department has no current plan for conditioned transport from wineries to the warehouse. On throughput, presenters said the new warehouse will increase loading doors (from six to 14) and use more automated equipment to reduce peak-season delays; they estimated that an order could ship within one to two business days under the new operations, markedly faster than current peak-season delays.

On license plate/tag issues, agency staff said they requested $6.4 million in special funds for tag operations while the legislative budget recommendation set $6 million. The additional funds would cover postage increases and commodity-price adjustments in tag manufacturing. Presenters reiterated the tag fund is primarily self-supporting and that any small surplus historically transfers to the general fund.

The committee asked for several follow-ups, including firm-level litigation expense detail, special-fund accounting for the warehouse and tag fund, and a break-down of special-election costs related to redistricting; the agencies agreed to provide additional numbers to the committee staff.