Joint Judiciary committee adopts multiple interim studies, schedules Aug. 28 Cummins Unit visit

Madam Chair convened a joint meeting of the House and Senate Judiciary committees and led the floor in the adoption of a series of interim study requests and routine housekeeping measures.

The committee approved a motion to authorize the chairmen of both the House and Senate Judiciary committees to approve special offense expenses, then proceeded to consider interim studies one-by-one. Representative Boyd’s Fresh Start Act interim study (2019-10), which would study automatic removal of certain criminal records, was adopted and assigned to the House Corrections and Criminal Law Subcommittee after the sponsor asked that it proceed in his absence. Representative Collins asked the committee to adopt his Bail Data and Transparency interim study (2019-27), saying briefly, "Just in brief, this is a bill I filed this past term. Figured it could merit some additional discussion, and I'd appreciate the adoption." The committee adopted that study and also assigned it to the corrections and criminal law subcommittee.

Representative Petty described interim study 2019-304, styled in the record as "Sarah’s law," as "something I've been working really hard with and I on and I would like to just look further into it and, try to do the right thing for kids," and the committee adopted the project and sent it to the same subcommittee for further work. Representative Dodson introduced an amended proposal (2019-402) to explore whether banking institutions might use small-claims divisions without counsel; the committee adopted the study and assigned it to the House Courts and Civil Law Subcommittee. Several other interim studies by Senator Clark were adopted by voice vote; Representative Collins moved the adoption of interim studies attributed to Senator Bonds, which the committee also approved.

Two items proposed by Representative Lowry/Lowery — the Parent-Child Interstate Relocation Act (2019-604) and an amendment concerning custody (2019-605) — were deferred because the sponsor had not contacted the chair. Representative Smith moved to place two of Representative Lowery’s interim study proposals into an interim study committee; that motion was approved and those items were assigned to the House Courts and Civil Law Subcommittee.

Madam Chair reminded members that the next joint meeting with state agencies and the ALC subcommittee on penal institutions will take place Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Cummins Unit; the chair noted there are dress requirements for the site visit and that a short program will be presented by former Representative Charlotte Douglas. The meeting adjourned after the announcements.

Votes at a glance: all motions described in the committee record were approved by voice vote. Notable interim studies adopted and their initial assignments include: Fresh Start Act (2019-10) — House Corrections & Criminal Law Subcommittee; Automatic-records removal (2019-019) — House Corrections & Criminal Law Subcommittee; Bail Data and Transparency (2019-027) — Corrections & Criminal Law Subcommittee; Sarah’s law (2019-304) — Corrections & Criminal Law Subcommittee; Banking/small-claims study (2019-402) — House Courts & Civil Law Subcommittee; Representative Lowery’s two ISPs (2019-64 and 2019-65) — House Courts & Civil Law Subcommittee; Senator Clark’s listed studies — assignments as read into the record. Several items were withdrawn or deferred: interim study 2019-11 (Representative Richardson) was withdrawn; interim studies 2019-604 and 2019-605 (Representative Lowry/Lowery) were deferred pending sponsor contact.

The committee recorded routine business — sign-in sheets, subcommittee membership for courts and civil law, and scheduling — and adjourned.