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8D28FAE7437ABA068725895800521324 Hearing Summary




PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For APPROVAL OF THE OLLS BUDGET FOR FY 2023-24

JOINT COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ON LEGAL SERVICES
Date Feb 16, 2023      
Location Old State Library



Approval of the OLLS Budget for FY 2023-24 - Committee Discussion Only


07:56:30 AM  
Sharon Eubanks, Director
of the OLLS, introduced the budget proposal for the OLLS and the Office
of Legislative Workplace Relations (OLWR) 2023-24 fiscal year
07:57:15 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained how she will present the budget starting with the overall figures
and then going into specifics for the different offices
07:58:36 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
discussed the OLLS budget going through each line item in four categories,
starting with the personal services category
08:02:17 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
described the office's operating expenses category
08:05:21 AM  
Representative Soper
asked a question about the software update and whether the update includes
WordPerfect
08:05:36 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained that the software update is an update to the system the office
uses to publish the statutes and work with the publisher Lexis Nexus, not
an update from WordPerfect
08:06:51 AM  
Representative Weissman
spoke on SGML as the predecessor to HTML and XML and explained the XDOME
project and what it entails
08:08:19 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained one more line item in the operating costs regarding a survey
for competitive salaries
08:09:30 AM  
Senator Gardner asked
about the professional services line item and asked if it includes retention
of counsel
08:09:56 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained that the budget for retention of counsel remains the same as
previous years
08:10:21 AM  
Sharon Eubanks, director
of the OLLS, explained that the budget for retention of counsel has been
adequate remaining the same for the last few years and that anytime they
have exceeded the budget for that item the office comes back to the committee
for more funding or absorbs it in its own budget

08:11:35 AM  
Representative Dickson
asked about how the staff survey happened last year
08:11:49 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained that the survey is a market review of salaries to see if the
office is competitive in the market and that the previous year budget included
actual salary increases not the survey
08:13:07 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
went over the staff travel expenses category in the budget

08:15:23 AM  
Representative Dickson
asked how many employees typically go to the conferences mentioned
08:15:31 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained that when the event is out of state, not many employees go, and
the amount is determined by how many the budget allows
08:16:18 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
went over the expenses for the Colorado Commission on uniform state laws
operations category of the budget

08:17:50 AM  
Senator Moreno asked
about staffing levels in the OLLS and if there are any vacancies
08:18:24 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
explained that the office filled 14 of 17 vacancies

08:19:52 AM  
Sharon Eubanks, director
of the OLLS, noted that the office tried to fill the three remaining vacancies
but decided to wait until the next year

08:20:41 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
went over the budget for the OLWR

08:22:37 AM  
Senator Gardner asked
about the investigation line item and whether the office has enough history
to know how many investigations the office typically has

08:23:19 AM  
Ben FitzSimons, directory
of the OLWR, explained that the office has not had to ever hire any third
party investigators thus far
08:23:52 AM  
Senator Gardner asked
if the office has a list of outside counsel

08:24:10 AM  
Ben FitzSimons, director
of the OLWR, explained that he does have a list of outside counsel that
he regularly updates
08:24:37 AM  
Christy Chase, OLLS,
expressed her thanks for the committee's attention and asked if the committee
has any questions
08:25:14 AM  
Representative Weissman
commented that he hopes to create a professional environment in the office
where employees decide to stay for years



08:26:50 AM
Motion I move to approve the OLLS and OLWR 2023-24 budget and allow the OLLS to make budget modifications based on possible JBC changes to common policies or under direction of the executive committee
Moved Soper
Seconded
Dickson Yes
Gardner Yes
Mabrey Yes
Moreno Yes
Roberts Yes
Taggart Yes
Van Winkle Yes
Weissman Yes
Soper Yes
Gonzales Yes
YES: 10   NO: 0   EXC: 0   ABS:  0   FINAL ACTION:  PASS