Committee rejects substitute for House Bill 271 but votes the underlying bill due pass

The Missouri House Committee on General Laws declined to adopt a committee substitute for House Bill 271 after members said the substitute included provisions from another bill that the committee had not previously heard. After the substitute failed, the committee voted the underlying House Bill 271 "due pass."

Why it matters: Representative Engel and others said the substitute added material (the transcript references "House Bill 7 81" and a "3 40 b program") that had not been vetted in committee, creating hesitation to approve the substitute; the committee nonetheless advanced the underlying bill.

Representative Engel asked for a review of changes and said, "Makes me really hesitant to vote on something that our committee hasn't vetted at all." The sponsor of House Bill 271, identified in the transcript as Representative Cabralo, presented a substitute that the chair said had been distributed and moved for adoption. Representative Engel and others said the committee had not heard testimony on parts of the substitute that were derived from other proposals.

Members voted on the substitute by roll call; the clerk announced that the "noes appear to have it" and that the committee had failed to adopt the substitute. The committee then returned to the underlying motion that House Bill 271 be voted due pass. The committee recorded a vote of 9 yes, 1 no and 1 present; the clerk announced, "By your vote of 9 yes, 1 no, and 1 present, you have voted House Bill 2 71 due pass."

Notes: The transcript records explicit concerns that the substitute included material the committee had not previously heard. The committee did not adopt the contested substitute but did advance the underlying bill by recorded vote.