Governor-elect; establishment of operating fund.

(1) There is established an operating fund for the use of the Governor-elect during the period dating from the certification of his or her election by the Elections Canvassing Commission to his or her inauguration as Governor. The Governor-elect during this period may allocate the fund to travel, expenses, his or her salary, and the salaries of the Governor-elect’s staff as he or she determines. Such staff may include, but not be limited to, a chief administrative assistant, a legal adviser, a fiscal expert, and a public relations and information adviser. The salary of the Governor-elect and each member of the Governor-elect’s staff during this period shall be determined by the Governor-elect, except that the total expenditures chargeable to the state under this section, including salaries, shall not exceed the amount appropriated to the operating fund. The Executive Office of the Governor shall supply to the Governor-elect suitable forms to provide for the expenditure of the fund and suitable forms to provide for the reporting of all expenditures therefrom. The Chief Financial Officer shall release moneys from this fund upon the request of the Governor-elect properly filed.

(2) The Department of Management Services shall provide for the Governor-elect, the Governor-elect’s staff, and the inauguration staff temporary office facilities in the capitol center for the period extending from the day of the certification of the Governor-elect’s election by the Elections Canvassing Commission to the day of his or her inauguration.

(3) In the event an incumbent Governor is reelected for a second consecutive term the moneys appropriated hereby to the operating fund for the Governor-elect shall revert to the general revenue fund. An incumbent Governor reelected for a second consecutive term shall not be considered a Governor-elect for the purposes of expending the operating fund established in subsection (1).