Finance, Ways and Means subcommittee advances multiple bills, places most measures behind the budget

The Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee met April 14, 2025, and took up 57 bills on its calendar, advancing a number of measures to the full Finance Committee while placing the majority behind the budget for further consideration.

The committee chair opened the session by noting, "we do have 57 bills on the calendar that we're going to take up this morning," and said testimony would be limited to fiscal impact. Most bill sponsors acknowledged that items with fiscal notes would be deferred until the budget is resolved.

Why it matters: the subcommittee is the gatekeeper for how bills with fiscal effects proceed. Sending a bill to "full finance" moves it closer to possible enactment; placing a bill "behind the budget" effectively postpones further action until the budget negotiations clarify available funds.

Votes at a glance

- HB 11-25 (as amended): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes. The bill, described by sponsor Chairman Farmer, included a change to an enactment date to cover an educator's estate; the clerk recorded 12-0 in favor.

- HB 11-28: Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes (posture: moved to full finance).

- HB 4-87: Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 4-91 (opioid abatement settlements): Passed to full Finance, recorded 11 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 13-25 (farmland preservation; $25 million in the budget): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes. Sponsor said the program is voluntary and is included in the budget proposal.

- HB 12-04 (DUI/blood testing/oral fluid testing/sentencing alignment): Passed to full Finance, recorded 11 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 13-73 (school turnaround pilot expanded to 15 schools): Passed to full Finance, recorded 10 ayes, 2 noes.

- HB 9-23 (prohibiting government DEI offices; discussed extensively): Passed to full Finance, recorded 9 ayes, 3 noes. (See separate article for fuller coverage.)

- HB 3-81 (omnibus for Premier Resorts): Passed to full Finance, recorded 8 ayes, 2 noes, 1 present-not-voting.

- HB 6-20 (pilot convenience voting center participation for Hamblin County): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 6-36 (permits municipalities to partner with developers for commercial as well as residential infrastructure): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes (amendment adopted).

- HB 9-77 (retirement bridge adjustments for police and fire): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 7-83 (local regulation and certification standards for some sober-living homes in Hamilton County): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 8-16 (reduces points for driving on a restricted license): Passed to full Finance, recorded 12 ayes, 0 noes.

- HB 9-79 (changes to corporate practice of medicine for certain specialties in communities under 5,000): Passed to full Finance, recorded 11 ayes, 0 noes.

Items placed behind the budget

Committee members repeatedly noted that many bills carry fiscal notes or other budget implications and therefore were placed "behind the budget" for consideration after budget priorities are set. Examples placed behind the budget include HB 6-49 (real estate transfer tax proposal), HB 7-93, HB 12-99, HB 12-32 (fentanyl-related measures), HB 99 (unlawful photography changes), HB 4-86 (assistant public defender positions), HB 1-38 (CTE grant fund), HB 4-01 (special education funding for ages 3–5), and numerous others. Committee members stated the practice is to postpone fiscal items until there is clarity in the budget.

Off notice / taken off calendar

Several bills were taken off notice or rolled to the "heel" as requested by sponsors, including HB 3-72 (off notice), HB 1-113 (taken off notice at sponsor's request), HB 3-33 (off notice) and others.

Procedure and next steps

Chairman Tim Hicks told members that full Finance would reconvene at 11:00 a.m. in House Hearing Room 1 later the same day. The subcommittee recessed and announced it would reconvene at 9:00 a.m. the following day.

What the record shows

The clerk recorded roll-call tallies for several bills (listed above); for other bills the committee formally moved them "behind the budget" without a roll-call tally recorded on the transcript. Where a roll-call was recorded, the clerk's counts above match the committee record.

The committee repeatedly limited testimony at the subcommittee to fiscal impact only and emphasized that policy decisions are made in originating policy committees; this session focused on procedural disposition and fiscal triage of bills on the calendar.