House committee places scrap-metal language into Senate shell SB138 and advances it

The Committee on Judiciary voted to make House Bill 23‑49 the House substitute for Senate Bill 1‑38 and passed the substitute favorably out of committee. The chair said the scrap‑metal language, pared down to a single paragraph agreed to by stakeholders and law enforcement, had stalled in the Senate and placing it in SB138 preserves the provision for possible conference committee action.

Rep. Williams moved the substitution, saying committee staff would “put the language from House Bill 23‑49 into Senate Bill 1‑38, making it House Sub for Senate Bill 1‑38.” Rep. Lewis seconded the motion. Rep. Carmichael clarified the intent: the motion would “remove the contents of Senate Bill 1‑38 and replace them with the contents of House Bill 23‑49,” i.e., a standard “gut and go” substitution. The motion passed on an audible vote; committee members then voted to pass the House substitute for SB138 favorably for passage.

Why it matters: supporters told the committee the pared‑down language represented a negotiated compromise among scrap‑metal dealers, law enforcement and other stakeholders. Moving the language into a Senate shell preserves it for later negotiation in conference should the chambers reach different versions.

Action taken: committee adopted the motion to make HB 23‑49 the House substitute for SB 1‑38 and voted to pass the House substitute favorably for passage. Vote tallies were not specified in the committee record; several members asked to have their positions recorded in the minutes.

Committee context: the discussion was procedural and brief, focused on preserving stakeholder work after the Senate did not act, rather than on substantive changes to the scrap‑metal provisions.