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Rules counsel flags SCOTUS review of age-verification law and a drafting error in HB 2673; committee passes mass motion for many measures
Summary
Rules counsel told the committee the U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case that could affect House Bill 2112’s constitutional standard and flagged a drafting error in the committee amendment to House Bill 2673; the committee then approved a mass motion recommending many measures constitutional by an 8-0 vote.
Committee legal counsel updated members on two measures before the Rules Committee and then the committee approved a mass motion recommending many measures constitutional and in proper form.
On House Bill 2112, counsel said the bill would regulate commercial publishing and distribution of material harmful to minors by requiring certain online entities to implement an age verification method. Counsel told members the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in a case from Texas about a similar law and that the Court’s decision this summer could affect which constitutional standard applies to HB 2112. "So we will likely know sometime this summer exactly how this bill will fare," Mr. Holder said, explaining the pending Supreme Court review could determine whether strict scrutiny or a lesser standard applies.
Regarding House Bill 2673, counsel identified a form issue with the committee amendment (not with the bill as passed out of committee): the amendment appears to have been drafted referencing an incorrect version of the statute the bill amends, which would prevent correct engrossment. Counsel recommended adopting a substitute floor amendment that references the correct version of the underlying statute when the measure reaches the floor.
After those updates, the vice chair moved a mass motion covering a long list of bills, concurrent memorials and concurrent resolutions. Counsel said the committee had reviewed the measures subject to the mass motion and believed they were constitutional and in proper form, subject to the comments on HB 2112 and the HB 2673 committee amendment. The committee voted 8-0 to recommend the measures in the mass motion as constitutional and in proper form.
The mass motion included dozens of House bills and multiple house concurrent memorials and resolutions identified on the record (the list was read into the record during the hearing). Counsel noted that HB 2673 needs a drafting fix for the amendment so it can be properly engrossed; HB 2112’s fate may depend on forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court guidance.
