House Rules Committee clears technical and procedural measures, puts them on consent

The House Rules Standing Committee on Feb. 12 approved a set of technical and procedural measures and recommended they be placed on the consent calendar. The committee acted unanimously on each measure. The items include statutory cleanups, changes to appropriations-subcommittee names, House-rule clarifications about committee handouts and technical corrections, and a House procedures amendment that adds ‘saunter’ as an option alongside recess.

Key actions

- House Bill 394 (first substitute), “Statutory intent amendments”: Sponsor presentation described the bill as a technical cleanup to remove or convert statutory intent language into operational statute where appropriate. Representative Burton moved adoption of the first substitute and later moved that the committee favorably pass the first substitute; both motions passed unanimously. The committee then recommended the bill for the consent calendar.

- House Bill 459 (first substitute), “Appropriations Subcommittee Amendments”: Representative Peterson presented changes to rename several appropriations subcommittees (for example, changing the Business, Economic Development and Labor Appropriations…