Government Oversight Committee advances multiple bills, holds votes open until noon

The Government Oversight Committee on Feb. 25 moved several bills toward the Senate floor and placed multiple items on a consent calendar, but the panel left final votes open until the start of the Senate session at noon.

The meeting, convened as a hybrid session and streamed online, opened with the committee taking a motion to draft Proposed Bill 5,574, “an act implementing the recommendations of the CREATE project report.” Chair (unnamed) called for a motion; Representative Gucker moved to draft the bill. Senator Sampson, a member of the committee, said he was “excited about this bill” after testimony at an informational hearing and singled out digitization and procurement card (p-card) issues as topics he hoped would be addressed. Following brief discussion, committee members approved a voice vote and the chair said votes would be held open until noon for any members participating remotely to register or change their votes.

The committee then handled several bills as joint favorable (J-F) to the floor and placed them on consent calendar No. 1. Those items included Senate Bill 973, which would allow reduced fees for disclosure of police body-worn camera and dashcam records under the Freedom of Information Act; House Bill 6883 (substitute language LCO 5412), narrowed to prohibit disclosure of certain residential addresses only for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault; House Bill 6882, implementing recommendations of the Freedom of Information Commission; House Bill 6931, addressing conflicts of interest tied to an employer other than the state under the state code of ethics; House Bill 6073, requiring periodic review of existing state agency regulations; and Senate Bill 1296, clarifying statements of financial interest under the state code of ethics.

Committee members described the bills as long-running items that have circulated in prior sessions. Senator Sampson said he had seen versions of the ethics-related bills before and voiced support for the current language as striking “the right balance.” The committee added several items to the consent calendar by unanimous voice or without objection after members proposed the consent placement and no members objected.

On House Bill 6883, the committee adopted substitute language LCO 5412. Senator Sampson explained the substitute removes the portion of the bill that would have prohibited disclosure of certain residential addresses generally and leaves only the protections for domestic violence and sexual-assault victims (the transcript referenced changes in “sections 3 through 11”). The chair asked for and received a motion to add the substitute to the consent calendar.

Clerk Robert Clark (referred to in the meeting as Mr. Clark) called a roll call for consent calendar No. 1. Several members verbally recorded “yes” votes during the roll call, and a member participating remotely later confirmed by phone that he was “yes” on all consent items except one bill held for future consideration (Senate Bill 1209). The chair repeatedly reminded members that votes would remain open until the Senate session began at noon for any late registrations.

The committee recessed with the chair thanking members and noting the next meeting would be March 4.

Votes at a glance: the committee placed the following bills on consent calendar No. 1 and called a roll call with votes held open until noon: Proposed Bill 5,574 (move to draft), SB 973, HB 6883 (substitute LCO 5412), HB 6882, HB 6931, HB 6073, and SB 1296. Final tallies were not completed in the transcript; the clerk and chair stated votes would remain open until the start of the Senate session at noon.