Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee advances more than two dozen bills to full finance

The Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee met April 17 and voted to advance more than two dozen bills to the full Finance Committee, sending measures on transportation funding, wetlands permitting, criminal-justice procedures and program extensions for further consideration.

The committee moved a large consent calendar and then took up individual bills, approving each by recorded voice vote or roll call and forwarding the measures to full Finance. Several bills received brief floor descriptions from their sponsors; most were approved without extended debate.

Why it matters: the subcommittee's approvals send the measures to the full Finance Committee, where fiscal impacts and final recommendations are reviewed ahead of floor consideration. Several measures would change state programs or funding streams if ultimately enacted.

Among the bills advanced:

House Bill 5 76 (Chairman Doggett): Creates a Board of Professional Bondsmen to be housed under the Department of Commerce and Insurance. The committee adopted an amendment (drafting code 7,254) and moved the bill to full finance by a recorded vote (13 ayes, 0 nos).

House Bill 12 78 (Chairman Hill): As amended, this bill allows certain loan charges (origination, application, appraisal fees and similar costs) to be included in requests to the hurricane interest payment fund so counties may include those costs in applications. The committee adopted a rewrite amendment (drafting code 7,424) and forwarded the bill (12 ayes, 0 nos).

House Bill 40 (Chairman Reedy): Establishes a task/study to evaluate state needs for juvenile detention capacity after local roundtable discussions; the committee advanced the bill (13 ayes, 0 nos).

House Bill 10 89 (Chairman Hicks): As amended, requires mental-health evaluations for people convicted of certain offenses as part of sentencing. The subcommittee adopted an amendment (drafting code 6,500) and advanced the bill (13 ayes, 0 nos).

House Bill 55 (Leader Lambert): A multi-part criminal-justice bill…