State employees would be able to donate twice as much leave time to other state workers, under legislation introduced in the Senate Commerce & Human Resources Committee today at the request of the Otter Administration. Wayne Hammon, acting human resources director for the state, said current law caps such leave donations at 40 hours; his proposed legislation would double the cap to 80 hours. So far this year, 783 state employees have donated leave to 201 who were in need; 134 of the donors gave the maximum amount. Last year, 1,190 state workers donated leave to 364 others, and 268 gave the maximum. One longtime state worker, Carol Youtz, told the committee she favors the move, and would like it to go even further, eliminating the cap entirely. Youtz, who said she's made leave donations, said, "I don't think we should put a cap on people's generosity if they want to help their co-workers." The panel voted unanimously to introduce the bill; it'll be scheduled for a full hearing.