Committee of Conference agrees to remove extra effective-date extension for parking garage oversight panels in HB 118

Conferees convening as the Committee of Conference agreed to amend House Bill 118 to remove an extra-year effective-date extension for two oversight entities, including the joint legislative parking garage oversight committee and an unnamed oversight commission. The amendment was accepted by the conferees by voice consent.

The change stems from information supplied to the conferees that the legislative parking garage study committee has completed its work and does not require an extension. A conferee said the committee "has finished its work and can be repealed on passage with the rest." The group moved the technical amendment to align the bill’s effective dates with that finding.

The discussion focused on the line in the original bill that listed two commissions or committees to be removed on January 1. Senators and representatives noted that the senate had added bodies (including a housing-related commission and a deaf and hard-of-hearing commission) and relocated their references within the draft, which affected the bill’s numbering and the placement of the effective-date language. After confirming that the parking garage oversight committee’s work had concluded, conferees agreed to remove the extra-year language.

A voice vote was taken on the amendment; conferees answered "Aye" and the amendment was accepted by consent. No formal roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. Conferees remarked informally that the change was "nice and easy." The Committee of Conference proceeded to other items after the agreement.