Senate refers a batch of House and Senate files to standing committees

The presiding officer announced that, pursuant to Rule 38, the Senate referred a set of House and Senate files to standing committees during the session. House File 978 and House File 995 were referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services; House File 986 was referred to the Committee on Commerce; House File 1010 was referred to the Committee on Education; House File 1015 was referred to the Committee on Transportation; and Senate File 586 and House File 1036 were referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

The referral was read aloud by the presiding officer, who stated the procedural authority as "Pursuant to Rule 38." The transcript does not record debate or votes on any of the bills at this sitting; the referrals move the listed measures to the next stage of committee consideration. The transcript does not provide bill sponsors, bill summaries, or committee hearing dates for the referred files.

Why it matters: Committee referrals determine which standing committee will review, amend, and schedule hearings for a bill. Referral assigns primary responsibility for initial vetting and public testimony; the committees named will determine whether each bill advances to floor consideration.

What the record shows: The referral announcement appears in the transcript under the presiding officer's routine business; no roll-call votes, motion texts beyond the referral statement, or bill descriptions were included in the recorded segment. Next procedural steps for each bill (committee hearings, amendments, or sponsor statements) are not specified in the transcript.