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Senate committee amends House Bill 1197 to add removal rules for county commissioners and restrict precinct reappointments
Summary
The Senate Elections Committee adopted two amendments to House Bill 1197 that add county commissioners to existing removal procedures and limit county chairmen's ability to move precinct committeemen between precincts ahead of caucuses; the amended bill passed the committee unanimously.
The Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday adopted amendments to House Bill 1197 that expand removal procedures for county offices to include county commissioners and add new limits on reappointing precinct committeemen, then passed the amended bill 8-0.
The bill initially carried an amendment from the chair, amendment 3, to add lines in existing code governing removal procedures for county offices. The chair said the change makes the removal procedure for county commissioners consistent with the removal procedures that already apply to other county officers such as auditor, treasurer, recorder, surveyor and assessor. Amendment 3 was adopted by consent.
A second amendment, amendment 5, drew more discussion. The amendment restricts a county chairman's ability to remove a precinct committeeman from one precinct and immediately reappoint that person in a different precinct for the purpose of influencing an upcoming caucus. Under the amendment, if a precinct committeeman is removed by a county chairman, that committeeman cannot be reappointed to a different precinct by that chairman until after the next election at which precinct committeemen are elected, unless the appointee's home precinct becomes available.
Senator Ford asked whether removals under the provision might be for reasons other than repositioning a committeeman before a caucus; Ford said he was concerned removals could be used against committeemen not aligned with a chairman. The bill sponsor, Representative Lawson, replied that appointed precinct committeemen already serve "at the pleasure of the county chair and can be removed at any time," and said this amendment prevents rotating appointees to influence caucuses.
The sponsor also gave an example from local testimony in which a county chairman filled vacant precinct committeeman posts with appointees from a neighboring municipality, allowing outsiders to determine the outcome of a municipal caucus. Representative Lawson said the amendment addresses that scenario.
The committee approved amendment 5 on a roll call, 5-3 (Yes: Schmidt, Johnson, Rogers, Walker, Chair Gaskell; No: Ford, Spencer, Good). Representative Lawson subsequently thanked the committee and interested parties for working on the removal language.
On final consideration the committee passed the amended House Bill 1197, 8-0; Senator Donato was noted as excused for the meeting.
The committee record shows the bill will move forward as amended; no further details about subsequent readings or scheduling were given during the meeting.
