Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Consent Calendar Votes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Environment Committee advances four bills on consent calendar to the floor
Summary
The Environment Committee voted to add four bills — on shark finning, spin-off companies for Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station employees, a Lake Mashapaug speed limit, and offshore wind mitigation — to a consent calendar and referred them to the floor. Votes were held open until noon and a public hearing was scheduled for 12 p.m.
The Environment Committee voted Wednesday to place four bills on a consent calendar and refer them to the floor: House Bill 5012 (prohibiting the practice of shark finning), House Bill 5015 (authorizing spin-off companies for employees of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station), Senate Bill 313 (establishing a speed limit for Lake Mashapaug in the town of Union) and Senate Bill 63 (concerning mitigation of wildlife and fisheries impacts from future offshore wind projects).
Committee chair Representative John Michael Parker moved the meeting along through agenda business and called members to vote. “All those in favor, please say aye,” Parker said when the committee first took a voice vote to raise multiple concepts; the chair later asked, “Madam Clerk, please call the roll,” before the roll-call on the consent calendar.
Why it matters: the four measures cover different areas of the committee’s jurisdiction — wildlife protection (HB 5012, SB 63), commercialization of research (HB 5015), and a local public-safety navigation rule (SB 313). All four were placed on the consent calendar so the committee can forward them to the floor with limited further debate unless a member objects.
How the committee acted: the transcript shows each bill was presented and a motion was made to refer it (JF) to the floor. Representative Gresko moved HB 5012 to JF to the floor and Senator Lopes seconded; Representative Gresco (as recorded later in the hearing) led similar motions for HB 5015; Senator Lopes and Representative Reyes are recorded as seconds on other items. Representatives asked no substantive questions on the bills during the session recorded in the transcript. The committee chair directed the clerk to call the roll on the consent calendar and announced that the votes would be held open until noon.
Votes and procedural notes: the committee recorded a roll-call on the consent calendar that includes HB 5012, HB 5015, SB 313 and SB 63 and many members were recorded voting in the affirmative during the roll call. The committee kept the votes open to allow members calling in additional time to respond; the chair stated votes would remain open until noon, when a public hearing is scheduled. The committee also briefly approved, by voice vote, a motion to raise concepts 1 through 11 for future discussion.
Context and next steps: the clerk and staff will carry the consent-calendar referral to the next stage in the legislature. The committee announced a public hearing at 12:00 p.m. on the same day and scheduled its next meeting for Friday, Feb. 28 at 10:00 a.m.
No substantive debate on bill text is recorded in the provided transcript excerpt; the record shows motions, seconds and the roll-call process but not floor debate or committee amendments for these items.
