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House committee lowers quorum threshold for Small Business Regulatory Review Board
Summary
The House Committee on Economic Development voted to pass SB 1343 with amendments to base quorum on active seats and clarify appointment language, after brief testimony from the board chair about difficulty filling vacancies.
The House Committee on Economic Development on March 14 amended and passed SB 1343 to change how the Small Business Regulatory Review Board calculates quorum and to clarify appointment language.
Jonathan Schick, chair of the Small Business Regulatory Review Board, testified in support of the measure, saying the board has “been difficult to fill all of the seats” and that making quorum depend on active seats would let the board “more effectively conduct our business.”
The committee amended the bill to replace the phrase “currently serving on the board” with “appointed and confirmed to serve on the board,” to remove a conditional clause, and to add minimum-seat language so the quorum calculation is clearer. Chair Iligan said the committee’s intent is to ensure the board can continue to function even when vacancies exist.
At decision-making, the committee recommended passage with the chair’s amendments; Chair Iligan and the vice chair recorded aye votes and the chair’s recommendation was adopted.
The change will alter the board’s internal voting threshold by tying quorum to active seats rather than the statutory total, a procedural change the board said will reduce delays caused by unfilled positions. No additional substantive policy changes to the board’s duties were made during the committee action.
The committee did not record a roll-call of all members present in the transcript; the committee report adopted the chair’s amended recommendation and the measure was passed out of committee with amendments.
