Commission considers smaller 'account vs. fund' bill to harmonize statutory terminology

One commissioner described an "alternate bill" intended to harmonize inconsistent statutory terminology for state special-revenue accounts and funds. The speaker said earlier drafting produced a 507‑page bill that amended 528 statutes; after rethinking the approach the alternate proposal reduced the scope to about 129 pages and would amend roughly 165 statutes. "The goal of the bill is that if a member of the public or a legislator goes and references a statute...it would be confusing," the speaker said, arguing consistency will make statutes easier to read and reduce errors.

The presenter said the alternate bill preserves existing statutory structure and aims primarily to standardize terminology rather than alter substantive authority or funding intent. He or she said public posting of an LFD list of accounts could be an alternative to embedding the list in statute. Commissioners asked staff to produce bill drafts for the subcommittee and the full commission to review ahead of the June pre-introduction schedule.