House Corrections and Institutions Committee requests conference committee on capital bill amendment

The House Corrections and Institutions Committee voted Tuesday, May 6, to not concur with the Senate's proposed amendment to the capital bill and requested that a conference committee be appointed.

Committee chair said the committee held the meeting after the Senate-passed version of the capital bill was messaged to the House and was the same version earlier presented by the committee's legal counsel, the Joint Fiscal Office and the chair of the Senate Institutions Committee. "We have 3 choices to make: We can concur the senate proposal of amendment. We can concur with further proposal of amendment ... or we cannot concur with a senate proposal of amendment and request that a conference committee be appointed," the chair said.

After a motion and second to not concur and seek a conference committee, the committee conducted a straw vote and reported a tally of 10 yes, 0 no and 1 abstention. The chair said she will make the motion on the House floor when the item is called.

The meeting began about 10:00 a.m. and the committee framed the item as a procedural choice among three options rather than adopting changes to the bill on the spot. No additional amendments or formal legislative language were adopted during the committee meeting, and no individual members were named as the mover or seconder in the recorded audio.

The committee referenced the Joint Fiscal Office and the chair of the Senate Institutions Committee as the sources that had presented the same Senate-passed version to the House committee. The action taken is a request for a conference committee; the ultimate resolution of differences between the House and Senate versions will be determined by that conference process or by subsequent floor action.