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Votes at a glance: six additional bills cleared or debated in committee executive action
Summary
The House State Administration Committee completed executive action on six additional bills: HB248, HB271 (as amended), HB272, HB279, and two earlier bills already covered (HB221, HB207). The following summarizes each bill, the committee action, and key details.
House Bill 248 (Representative Mitchell) — The committee passed HB248, which removes the word "newspaper" from statute language to broaden the allowable formats for obituaries. Ms. Power said the change "allows for all kinds of obituaries." The committee adopted the measure by voice vote and reported it passed to the House floor.
House Bill 271 (Representative Staffman) — Ms. Power told the committee HB271 "adds language to code about what is and is not covered by Governor's executive privilege." Representative Schubert offered an amendment that struck a proposed change in section 3, preserved confidential categories as "includes" rather than converting them to a limited list, and retained current attorney-fees language and the status quo on expiration of exempted material. The committee approved the amendment by voice vote and then passed HB271 as amended by roll call (12 yes, 7 no). The amendment was described by the sponsor as "reasonably friendly."
House Bill 272 (Representative Staffman) — Ms. Power said HB272 would add legislative junket/process language to statute and clarify legislative privilege. Committee staff reported no fiscal note and described the measure as codifying existing practice; members passed the bill (13 yes, 6 no).
House Bill 279 (alignment of boards) — Ms. Power said HB279 updates statutes to align districts for the Board of Regents, Board of Public Education, the Coal Board, and the Hard Rock Mining Impact Board with the state's congressional districts (with a Pondera County exception). The committee passed HB279 by voice vote and reported it to the House floor.
These items concluded the committee's executive action for the day; several bills were passed with little debate beyond staff summaries and a single amendment in HB271.
