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House amends and advances measure changing procedures for constitutional amendments, removing voter threshold language in part
Summary
Lawmakers debated and adopted floor amendments to House Concurrent Resolution 2025 altering the process to propose constitutional amendments; a contentious subfloor amendment and division vote produced a close result.
The House debated House Concurrent Resolution 2025 on whether to change internal legislative procedures governing proposed constitutional amendments. Debate centered on proposed amendments that would alter thresholds and the governor's veto power related to constitutional amendments.
Representative Collin moved the committee recommendation that HCR 2025 do pass as amended. Representative Marquez offered a floor amendment that would require at least 60% of both House and Senate members to approve a proposed constitutional amendment and would remove the requirement that 60% of voters approve the proposed amendment; it also would alter the governor's veto prohibition language. Representative Neil Carter then moved a substitute floor amendment to the Marquez amendment; his subfloor amendment was approved by a recorded standing/division count of 30 ayes to 25 nays.
After adoption of the substitute amendment and subsequent motions, Representative Collin moved that HCR 2025, as amended, receive a due-pass recommendation. The Committee of the Whole reported HCR 2025 do pass as amended. Later on the House floor, a motion by Representative Marquez to amend the Committee of the Whole report with her floor amendment failed on a roll call: 30 nays, 25 ayes (the clerk recorded "by your vote of 30 nays, 25 ayes, you have failed to pass the representative Marquez substitute for a motion"). The House then proceeded with the original committee report and adopted it; the committee report was then adopted and the bills were properly assigned.
The transcript records sustained procedural votes and a close recorded standing/division count on the Neil Carter subfloor amendment. The House adopted the committee's recommendation for HCR 2025 as amended and the bill moved forward in the legislative process.
