Veterans Affairs and Military Committee approves technical amendment to bill 1670 and advances measure

The Veterans Affairs and Military Committee on an unspecified date adopted Amendment No. 1 to bill 1670, a technical correction that replaces text on page 1, and voted to advance the bill out of committee.

Amendment No. 1 was described by the chair as a “technical correction” that deletes the word "act" and inserts the word "protection" on page one of the bill. The committee took the amendment by consent and then proceeded to a roll-call vote on the bill itself; the chair said the bill does not need to be recommitted.

Senator Ford told the committee he had received communications over the weekend saying the American Legion—and possibly the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veterans—were not in favor of bill 1670. "It seems like the American Legion was not in favor of 1670," Ford said during discussion. The chair and sponsor indicated that the committee had discussed the measure the prior week and were satisfied with the amendment as written.

Committee members called for the roll-call vote after the brief discussion. The transcript records multiple members answering "yes" during the roll call, but does not provide a complete, unambiguous tally in the committee record provided.

The committee advanced the bill to the next stage; the chair said any remaining concerns could be addressed on second reading. No formal motion to recommit the bill to another committee was made; the chair explicitly said the bill "does not have to be recommitted."