Conference committee adopts most items in House Bills 53 and 55 by voice; no objections recorded

Representative Josephson, chair of the conference committee, called the May 14 meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. and led the committee through a series of motions that adopted multiple appropriations and supplemental operating items tied to House Bill 53 and House Bill 55.

The committee adopted, by voice and with no objections recorded, executive branch‑wide appropriations; debt service appropriations; fund capitalization items; fund transfers; language and other appropriations; and a series of FY 2025 supplemental operating items that the committee handled by page and line ranges in the motion sheets distributed to members earlier in the day. The meeting concluded with an adjournment at 4:13 p.m.

Why it matters: House Bill 53 is the legislature's operating bill for FY 2025 and House Bill 55 addresses mental health funding and related supplemental appropriations. Actions taken by the conference committee resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of those bills in areas the committee is authorized to negotiate; the committee noted it had been granted limited powers of free conference by both chambers.

Most of the meeting consisted of sequential motions to adopt related groups of items. For example, Senator Hoffman moved to adopt "the following items in the executive branch wide appropriations. Items 1 and 2, both items," and, when no member objected, the chair announced the motion carried. Similar motions by Senator Hoffman to adopt debt service items, fund capitalization items, fund transfers, and language and other appropriations were also adopted with no objections. The committee then moved through supplemental operating items in the motion sheets, adopting page ranges for pages 8 through 15 after members raised no objections.

Alexi Painter, director of the Legislative Finance Division, was invited to join the table before the committee began consideration of the motion sheets. The committee chair explained that if an objection arose on any item, the item would be held aside and the committee would continue, then return to the held item later in the session. No objections were recorded during this meeting, and the chair closed each adopted grouping accordingly.

The transcript records the committee adopting grouped items (by page and line ranges) rather than taking individual roll call votes on each line item; motions were adopted by voice with the phrase "Is there any objection? Hearing none, that motion is adopted" or similar, repeated for each group of items. The committee handled supplemental operating items in multiple batches (examples in the motion sheet language included page 8 items 2–11, page 9 items 12–22, page 10 items 23–32, page 11 items 33–41, page 12 items 42–51, page 13 items 52–62, page 14 items 63–72, and page 15 items 73–74, with item 75 left open).

No substantive debate over program specifics, spending levels, or policy changes is recorded in the transcript provided; the meeting focused on procedural adoption of the motion-sheet items. The chair closed the meeting at 4:13 p.m. after a motion to adjourn by Senator Hoffman and no recorded objections.

For readers: this conference meeting resolves certain technical differences between the House and Senate versions of HB 53 (operating) and HB 55 (mental health) within the committee's delegated authority. Items left open or any objections would be noted at future conference meetings or in later committee records if they arise.