Senate Government Operations sets hearings next week on education, advertising, elections and ethics bills

The Senate Committee on Government Operations on March 20 outlined hearings and witnesses for next week on several bills, placing early education, state advertising standards and an ethics commission measure among the priorities.

Speaker 2, a member of the committee, opened the meeting and reviewed the intended agenda items, saying the panel hoped to hear the commissioner of the Department of Buildings and General Services, Juana Manolis, at a later date and that Beth Bastigy would appear this afternoon for a confirmation hearing. The committee agreed to take testimony and schedule follow-ups on multiple bills over the coming week.

The most prominent items the committee flagged for hearings were S.119, an early education bill; S.84, described as the state contracting standards for advertising; and H.1, an ethics commission bill. Committee members also discussed H.474 (a miscellaneous elections bill), H.10 (a Berry City charter bill), SS111 (language access and emergency response), a house “flood omnibus” vehicle referenced as a possible legislative vehicle, and S.81 (a bill prohibiting municipal regulation of hygienic face masks).

On S.119 (early education), Speaker 2 said they had been in contact with representatives of Let’s Grow Kids and expressed concern about program costs for providers and pay rates. Speaker 2 said they had “a little bit more of a conversation with some of the folks from Let’s Grow Kids” and wanted to keep an open mind about the bill’s fiscal implications.

On S.84 (state advertising standards), committee members said the house had acted on its version and that the committee expected an H bill as well; they planned to take that up next Thursday and hoped to hear from Wanda Benoli and other stakeholders.

H.474, the miscellaneous elections bill, was discussed as having cleared the house government committee but encountering issues on the floor; the committee noted the bill had been postponed on the floor and listed a March 25 posting date in committee schedules. H.10 (Berry City charter) was described as likely noncontroversial and a candidate for prompt consideration when the text is available.

Committee members said H.1 (the ethics commission bill) would be on the agenda and that they expected witnesses including Jillian (or Carolyn) Brown Anderson and Merrill Bent to testify; the committee discussed how the ethics commission currently funnels complaints to the appropriate legislative panels and noted parts of the house version had been altered (the house removed a provision that would have brought senators and representatives under commission jurisdiction, as discussed during the meeting).

The committee set tentative hearing sequencing and confirmed a short recess during the meeting; Speaker 2 noted specific times for upcoming appearances, saying Beth would be scheduled at 2:30 p.m. and Ashlyn at 3 p.m. The meeting paused for a planned 25-minute break to allow members and staff to prepare for the next items.

Next steps: the committee will reconvene after the break to finalize witness lists and take testimony on the items scheduled for the following days. Specific bill language and final hearing dates are pending formal assignment and the arrival of house-originated companion bills.