Senate Health and Welfare motion made to place House Bill H138 on committee agenda

Senator Ziderfeld moved to place House Bill H138 on the Senate Health and Welfare Committee agenda for consideration on Monday, March 3. Senator Lenny seconded the motion, and a roll call vote was requested, but the committee took an at-ease recess to consult rules and no final vote was recorded.

Senator Ziderfeld said, "H138 is in proper position of this committee, I'm making a motion to put H138 on the agenda for consideration by this committee on Monday, March 3." After the second, Ziderfeld added, "Okay, this is passed in the House and Medicaid costs have more than tripled. This bill should be heard by the committee. It is too important to be left in a drawer."

Senator Shippey questioned the committee's authority to act on the motion, asking, "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Is this I guess does the Committee have authority to do this? I wasn't sure about that." The chair responded that, absent a parliamentary ruling, the committee could vote on whether to move the item forward. Senator Wintrow asked for a brief recess to consult the rules: "Thank you, Mr. Chair. Could we just go at ease for a moment just so I could consult the rules as far as what the proper motion is and in what order? I just want to make sure I got that clear." The committee went at ease to allow that review.

No roll call or other recorded vote on the motion appears in the transcript. The meeting later was adjourned for the day after the chair arrived; the committee noted a new agenda would be forthcoming. Because the transcript does not show a final vote or formal placement of H138 on a future published agenda, the motion's final disposition is not recorded in the meeting text.

Background: The transcript identifies House Bill H138 by number only; no bill text, sponsor name in the House, or specific provisions were presented to the committee during the recorded discussion. The only substantive rationale provided on the record was the statement that the bill "is passed in the House" and that "Medicaid costs have more than tripled," attributed to Senator Ziderfeld.

Next steps: The record shows the committee recessed to consult rules and then adjourned; the transcript indicates a new agenda would be issued for the following week, but it does not record whether H138 was formally scheduled for consideration on March 3 or another date.