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Senate adopts rule clarifying how bills may be rereferred to committees
Summary
Senate moved SR6, a rules resolution clarifying that bills already referred to a standing committee may be rereferred by the presiding officer, by motion of the floor, or following committee report. The motion to suspend rules and place SR6 on the second-reading calendar passed on the floor.
The Utah Senate on Feb. 1 adopted a rules-resolution motion to clarify procedures for rereferring legislation among committees.
Senator Waddup (sponsor) told colleagues SR6 codifies current practice by permitting a bill that has been referred to a standing committee to be rereferred by the presiding officer, a motion on the floor, or after a committee reports it back. “I think it's clarifying what many have thought was procedure and policy already,” Waddup said.
Senator Davis asked for detail about the mechanics of moving a bill from one committee to another; the sponsor replied there are three mechanisms: presiding officer referral, motion on the floor, or committee report. The Senate voted to suspend the rules to take up SR6 and then placed it on the second-reading calendar; the motion to suspend the rules passed and the motion to read was carried.
Effect: SR6 formalizes options for procedural reassignment of bills and is intended to reduce confusion about when a committee reassignment requires a return to the rules committee.
What happens next: SR6 was placed on the second-reading calendar for further consideration or final action as the body proceeds through the legislative day.
