Finance and Taxation Committee gives House Bill 1388 a due pass to the floor

The House Finance and Taxation Committee voted to give House Bill 1388 a due pass to the House floor during its meeting, advancing an income-tax reduction measure that the bill sponsor said would address the states remaining "marriage penalty."

Representative Doctor moved that the committee "send the bill to the floor as is as a due pass," citing long-standing support for income tax reduction and saying, "we're one of 16 states that actually have the marriage penalty still." Representative Porter seconded the motion.

The clerk read a roll call with multiple members recorded as voting yes; Chairman Hedlund later said, "So we passed it unanimously." The clerk also noted two members were absent during the vote. The transcript of the roll call includes recorded yes votes for Chairman Hedlund, Vice Chair Haggard, Representative Anderson, Representative Dockers, Representative Dressler, Representative Greenheck, Representative Nehring, Representative Porter, Representative Steiner, Representative Toman, Representative Foss and Representative Istas.

Representative Doctor told the committee he would carry the bill to the floor, and Chairman Hedlund acknowledged committee work for the first half of the session and adjourned the meeting. The committee did not take a separate vote on placing the bill on the consent calendar; a motion to do so was discussed but not made before votes were completed.

The meeting transcript does not include the bills full text, fiscal analysis, or committee amendments; those materials were not specified in the recorded discussion and were not discussed on the record in the provided transcript segment.

Votes at a glance: House Bill 1388 Motion: Give HB 1388 a due pass to the floor as is. Mover: Representative Doctor. Second: Representative Porter. Clerk-recorded outcome: Passed (chair announced unanimous passage among members present); clerk noted two absences.

What the transcript shows and does not show: The committee discussion recorded in the provided transcript was limited to the motion and roll call. The sponsor described the bill as an income-tax reduction and said it would address the "marriage penalty," but no bill language, fiscal note, or amendment text appears in the transcript excerpts provided. The clerks roll call and a subsequent chair comment form the record of the committees action in the supplied transcript.