House Judiciary Committee advances multiple bills, including concurrence on House Bill 445

The House Judiciary Committee on April 2 proceeded through a voting list of bills, taking favorable action or concurrence on multiple items before turning to a longer debate on House Bill 13 78.

Key outcomes recorded in the committee transcript excerpt - Senate Bill 81: Committee moved a favorable report on the bill; the motion was adopted. The committee then voted unanimously to concur in the Senate’s amendments to House Bill 4 45 (House Bill 445), making that House bill conform to Senate Bill 81’s language.

- Senate Bill 207: Committee discussion noted that Senate changes had removed a provision that would have required ignition interlocks in certain hit-and-run cases that result in death or bodily injury; the committee voted a straight favorable report on the amended bill.

- Senate Bill 391: Committee adopted a favorable report. Discussion indicated the bill asks the Police Training and Standards Commission to review annually the report published by the Independent Investigations Division in the Office of the Attorney General.

- Senate Bill 360 (subcommittee; defamation/revenge-image provisions): The committee adopted a subcommittee amendment that consolidated civil and criminal definitions (covering real and artificially generated images), and then adopted a favorable report on the bill as amended.

- Senate Bill 400 (transport of children to residential childcare programs): Committee discussion focused on amendments that narrow applicability to transport companies moving children to a residential childcare program, add prospective compensatory damages, set a 10-year statute of limitations for the defined actions, bar parental waiver of a child’s civil right, and clarify that mechanical restraints cannot be used. The transcript shows the subcommittee considered the amendment and a motion for the amendment and a favorable motion were made; the provided excerpt does not include a complete roll-call on final adoption for this bill.

- Senate Bill 421: Offered without amendment; the committee moved a favorable report and adopted it.

- Senate Bill (6 21): The committee adopted a favorable report on the bill as amended; committee discussion indicated the bill now requires agencies to report to the Chief Justice as part of a study and removed a portion that would have created a large fiscal note.

Votes and process notes The transcript records roll-call “yes” and “no” responses for many of the favorable motions, and for the concurrence on House Bill 445 the chair stated the motion was adopted unanimously. For several items the committee recorded the motion and second and then proceeded directly to adoption; the supplied excerpt does not include a full roll-call tally for every single item discussed.

What the committee did not record in the excerpt For some measures (for example, Senate Bill 400) the excerpt documents detailed amendment discussion and that motions were offered, but the transcript excerpt provided here does not contain a complete numeric roll-call for final action.

Why it matters Most items advanced are technical or procedural changes that authorize reporting, clarify definitions, or align House and Senate language. Several measures (for example, Senate Bill 207 and the transport-of-children amendment to Senate Bill 400) alter criminal or civil liability triggers and service-of-process/procedure language and thus may have programmatic or fiscal implications for law enforcement and provider entities.

Provenance This roundup uses committee discussion and recorded motions from the April 2, 2025 House Judiciary Committee session as transcribed in the supplied excerpt.