Committee overturns stalemate and sends Senate Bill 2039 on agricultural property definition to the floor with a 4-2 do-pass vote

The Finance and Taxation Committee voted 4-2 to give Senate Bill 2039 a do-pass recommendation. The vote followed earlier deadlocked and failed motions on the same bill and a period of procedural discussion about whether to hold the bill pending amendments.

Senator Marsalway moved to reconsider and then to move for a do-pass. Senator Wallin seconded the do-pass motion. After the clerk took the roll, the committee recorded votes as follows: Chairman Weber — aye; Vice Chair Rummel — no; Senator Marsalway — aye; Senator Patton — no; Senator Powers — aye; Senator Wong — aye. The chair declared the bill passed in committee by a 4-2 margin.

Senator Marsalway told the committee he had expected amendments and had voted earlier with that expectation. "I would like to reconsider Senate Bill 2039 because I was under the assumption that we were gonna have amendments on it," Senator Marsalway said during the proceedings.

Chairman Weber volunteered to carry the bill to the floor as the committee’s carrier after the do-pass motion prevailed. Committee members did not detail the specific amendment language during this meeting; earlier in the session the bill had been the subject of three failed committee motions (do-pass, do-not-pass and no recommendation) and at least one tie vote, which left the bill without a recommendation until this renewed vote.

No fiscal note or detailed policy text for the agricultural-property definition was recorded in the committee’s discussion during this meeting; committee members discussed procedural options including holding the bill over for proposed amendments or proceeding with a vote.

The committee adjourned after noting two other bills (Senate Bill 2166 and Senate Bill 2177) remained outstanding and no further action would be taken that day.