Law & Justice Committee advances two dozen bills, sends several to rules and Ways & Means

The Senate Law & Justice Committee on Jan. 23 moved a string of bills — covering topics from sentencing mitigation to firearm dealer regulation — out of committee with due-pass recommendations or referrals to other committees.

The committee adopted amendments on several measures during an extended executive session and issued due-pass recommendations for bills that will now move to the Rules Committee or, for fiscal items, the Ways and Means Committee.

Committee Chair Dhingra opened the executive session and asked for motions on each bill. For example, Chair Dhingra moved adoption of Amendment Alpha to Senate Bill 5133 and later moved that the amended bill "receive a due pass recommendation and be sent to the rules committee." The committee likewise moved proposed substitutes and final passage recommendations for bills including Senate Bill 5105, Senate Bill 5071 (proposed substitute Charlie), Senate Bill 5122, Senate Bill 5093, and others.

Nut graf: The package of actions sends a set of criminal-justice and regulatory bills to the next stages of the legislative process. The committee’s due-pass recommendations do not enact policy; they forward measures for further floor consideration or for fiscal review by Ways and Means.

What the committee did

- Senate Bill 5133 (sent to Rules, subject to signatures): The committee adopted Amendment Alpha, then rolled the amendment into a proposed substitute and gave a due-pass recommendation to send the bill to the Rules Committee (transcript: "I move adoption of Amendment Alpha.";…