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Senate Judiciary advances H.2 on 3-2 vote, keeps two‑year provision and no reporting requirement
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 to advance H.2 as received from the House, retaining a two‑year provision and no reporting requirement after debate about whether House Judiciary would accept committee amendments.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 to advance H.2 as passed by the House, keeping the bill's original two-year provision and a requirement for no report.
Committee members debated whether to rework the bill and discussed outreach to House members. One senator said the House Judiciary Committee was unlikely to accept the Senate's proposed amendments, and members weighed meeting legislative deadlines against seeking broader consensus.
The bill was described during the session as "the bill as passed by the House" and discussed in the form the Senate received it: the original version with a two-year provision and no reporting requirement. A committee member said they had spoken with Representative Malone and had heard from Representative Logue that House Judiciary would likely disagree with the Senate's proposed changes. Another committee member expressed frustration, saying the committee was being "held hostage by a poorly run House committee" and argued the Senate has a duty to amend bills to reflect policy the chamber supports. A different senator said they had previously opposed a two-year term and would oppose returning to the two-year version.
Senators also referenced the committee's earlier vote on the matter, saying the committee had supported a prior version by 4-1. After limited additional discussion the committee proceeded to a roll-call style check: Senator Norris voted yes; Senator Vygotsky voted no; Senator Baruth voted no; Senator Meadows voted yes; Senator Hashim voted yes. The tally was three in favor and two opposed, and members arranged for someone to take the bill "upstairs" to the next step in the chamber process.
No formal mover or seconder was recorded in the transcript. Committee discussion focused on process questions, whether the House would accept amendments and on the policy choice between a one-year and a two-year provision; one senator explicitly said they would have supported a one-year version but opposed reverting to two years. The transcript does not specify next procedural steps beyond carrying the bill to the next chamber stage.
Votes at a glance H.2 — Advanced by Senate Judiciary committee as received from the House (original version with two-year provision, no reporting requirement): Yes'Sen. Norris, Sen. Meadows, Sen. Hashim; No'Sen. Vygotsky, Sen. Baruth; outcome: advanced (3-2).
