Rules Committee grants unanimous consent to allow late substitution for landlord-tenant bill language

The Rules Committee on Jan. 9 granted unanimous consent to let a senator substitute revised language for a landlord-tenant eviction bill after the official drafting deadline, the committee's presiding member said.

The request was raised so that new text — prepared after a task force on landlord-tenant issues started work late and did not finish recommendations — can replace an earlier draft the senator described as containing "some mistakes" and needing clarifications. "She's hoping for a preemptive, waiving of the rule, substituting for, some language that was drafted on time, but not put into the process," Speaker 1 said at the start of the meeting.

The senator who outlined the need for more time said the task force on landlord-tenant matters began its work late last year and was unable to complete recommendations. "We have worked for a number of years on trying to rebalance land or tenant eviction process and balance it better," Speaker 3 said, adding that the chairs of both the House and Senate economic development committees decided to continue the work this biennium so they could produce proposals to present to the legislature.

The meeting included procedural discussion about the drafting deadline system and sponsor rules. A committee member explained that the legislature currently operates with three internal deadlines, a change implemented about six to eight years ago, and that sponsors may be added in a narrow window in January. That procedural explanation was given as context for why the senator sought permission to substitute revised language after the second-week lock on language.

Speaker 1 raised an alternative: doing a strike-and-insert to replace the original text. The senator said she preferred not to use the earlier drafted language because it could confuse and inflame debate given the errors and outstanding clarifications. Committee members then voiced support for letting the senator introduce the corrected language and for allowing time to solicit additional sponsors if needed.

"I think everybody's expressed their votes, so that sounds unanimous to me," Speaker 1 said, and the meeting concluded with that unanimous consent. No roll-call vote was recorded on the record during the brief meeting.

Committee members said they would proceed to edit the revised draft, monitor for post-meeting sponsors and prepare to introduce the corrected language in both the Senate and the House.