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Committee hears bill to limit non-interim committees’ ability to file legislation
Summary
Representative Bill Mercer introduced House Bill 546 to restrict the authority to file committee-sponsored bills to interim legislative committees; committee members questioned whether the change would affect the Criminal Justice Oversight Council and similar bodies. No vote was taken.
Representative Bill Mercer opened a Legislative Administration Committee hearing on House Bill 546, saying the bill would reserve the authority to file committee-sponsored legislation to interim committees rather than ad hoc councils or working groups.
"So this is a really simple bill," Representative Bill Mercer said, explaining that the bill would reverse recent authority that allowed the Criminal Justice Oversight Council to recommend and advance legislation. He said the change is aimed at preserving institutional perspective that larger interim committees provide.
Mercer told the committee that the bill does not alter the Criminal Justice Oversight Council’s membership and that the council’s composition is described in the bill text (he cited the bill’s language, which he said begins on page 1, line 16 and runs through page 2, line 7). He said he was unaware of other appointed bodies with similar committee-bill authority.
Committee members asked whether the bill would affect other entities. Vice Chair Walsh asked whether groups beyond the Criminal Justice Oversight Council would be affected; Mercer replied he was not aware of other bodies currently holding that authority and that the provision drew his attention because the CJOC had recommended a number of bills in the current session.
Representative (name not specified in transcript) asked whether the change would affect the composition of the oversight council; Mercer said the bill would not change how the council is composed. The transcript records that no proponents or informational witnesses appeared for the bill.
The committee did not vote on House Bill 546 at the hearing. The chair closed the hearing and announced a short recess before returning for executive action on three other measures.
