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Senate public‑health committee adopts rule to allow non‑substantive verbal amendments
Summary
The Arkansas Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee approved a change to its rules permitting clerical, non‑substantive changes to be made verbally in committee, a motion made by Sen. Justin Boyd and approved by voice vote.
Sen. Missy Irvin, chair of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, said the panel adopted a procedural change allowing non‑substantive clerical and drafting corrections to be made verbally during committee consideration.
Sen. Justin Boyd moved to allow verbal corrections for errors such as stray articles or typographical mistakes; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote, with the chair stating, "Ayes have it." The chair said the allowance applies only to drafting or grammatical errors and cautioned that numbering changes could be substantive.
Irvin described her approach to the committee's workload: noncontroversial items would be taken up first, and sponsors of controversial bills should coordinate with the chair to schedule special orders of business so the public has an opportunity to weigh in. She reviewed procedural details including how a bill called up without its sponsor is moved to the bottom of the agenda and the process for moving repeatedly‑called items to a deferred list.
The committee also confirmed its regular meeting schedule (Wednesdays at 10 a.m.) and asked presenters with amendments to notify committee staff in advance.
