Representative Rick Ladd, chair of the House Education Funding Committee, opened the panel with an orientation that reviewed how hearings, executive sessions and votes will be conducted this biennium. The committee will focus on funding-related education policy, including career-technical education, special education aid, building aid and higher education funding.

Ladd said the committee was created because “we had so many bills last year” and the split will allow members to “really explore and research” funding-related topics. He emphasized that hearings do not require a quorum but that executive sessions and formal votes do. “If you’re not here when it’s put, the motion’s put, then you’re not going to be able to vote. That’s in our rules,” Ladd said.

The orientation covered logistics for witnesses and sponsors, time limits for testimony, handling of amendments, and how the committee will manage overflow hearings and rooms. Ladd said the prime sponsor of a bill is entitled to more time than other witnesses and that the committee may limit public testimony to two or three minutes per person depending on crowd size. He also explained that if a sponsor or cosponsor is absent, the chair may appoint a committee member to introduce the bill to the record.

Ladd discussed a number of other procedural points intended to keep hearings orderly: members should not engage in running debates with witnesses, technical questions of outside experts must be directed to the chair before being asked, and electronic communications that enable outside coaching during testimony are not permitted. He said committee reports (the committee “blurb”) should accurately reflect what was said in committee and will be reviewed by the chair before submission to the clerk and speaker.

Pam Brown, who the chair identified as the committee clerk, was noted as receiving training to manage records and roll calls. Ladd said the clerk’s readiness is important before votes: “I will look at her and if she’s ready, then I will say the motion … and we’ll go through that when we get into more exec session stuff.”

Members asked clarifying questions about who may ask questions during hearings, whether cosponsors who do not testify may ask questions, and the committee’s policy about amendments brought by non-committee members. Ladd said cosponsors who are present on the committee may be allowed to ask questions at the chair’s discretion; amendments from outside the House must be introduced by a committee member before the committee can act on them.

Ladd also reviewed conduct and safety matters: a security plan for the building, procedures if a governor or chief justice testifies, guidance on coat racks and personal items, and a reminder that weapons or unsecured firearms are a safety risk. He said the committee will be mindful of parents with very young children and will try to expedite their testimony when possible.

The chair closed the orientation by noting the committee’s workload and the need to use subcommittees and work sessions to dig into complex funding issues. “We’re gonna have to hustle,” he said, given overlapping committee assignments and the March 6 early-bill reporting date for financial bills. The committee recessed and later took up presentations from the university and community college systems.