House suspends Rule 41 and discharges energy committee, moving multiple energy bills to second reading and then to Government Operations

The majority floor leader moved repeatedly to suspend House Rule 41 and discharge the Committee on Energy from further consideration of multiple energy-related bills. The motions to suspend the rule and to discharge were approved on voice votes, and the listed bills were placed on the order of second reading.

Bills discharged from the Committee on Energy on the floor included House Bill 4361, House Bill 4363, House Bill 4486, House Bill 4526, House Bill 4590 and House Bill 4709. After the floor actions discharging committees and placing the bills on second reading, House leadership later moved to refer several of those bills to the Committee on Government Operations. The House approved the referrals by voice vote.

During the discharge and referral sequence, Minority Floor Leader Fitzgerald raised a quorum point. At one point the presiding officer announced there was a lack of quorum. After the quorum note the House proceeded with motions and directed the listed bills to the Committee on Government Operations for further consideration. The transcript records the motions to suspend Rule 41, the adoption of those motions, committee discharges and subsequent referral votes, but does not include debate on the bills’ substantive provisions on the floor during those motions.

The motions to suspend Rule 41 and the committee discharges are procedural moves that change where bills are considered next and accelerate their placement on the calendar; the bills were then placed on second reading or forwarded to Government Operations per the recorded motions.