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Committee OKs House rule to let sponsors administratively abandon numbered bills
Summary
Representative Thurston told the House Rules Standing Committee the proposed rule would let a sponsor request the chief clerk mark a numbered bill file as abandoned, reducing floor time and administrative burden; the committee voted unanimously to recommend the rule.
Representative Thurston explained that House Rules Resolution 3 would create a process for sponsors to request administrative abandonment of a numbered bill file without using floor time. He said the current process requires locating the bill, moving it to the floor and striking the enacting clause, which creates clerks’ workload and public uncertainty about the bill’s status.
"The problem is we have a process for abandoning a bill file before it's numbered. But once it's numbered ... it has to be in the house. Not in a committee, not in rules committee, it has to be somewhere. It has to be in front of the whole body and then you have to make a motion to strike the enacting clause," Thurston said, describing the current procedure.
Thurston proposed a House-only administrative process: a sponsor could formally request the chief clerk mark the numbered bill as abandoned; if the bill was in the possession of the Senate the chief clerk would request its return. He acknowledged the House could not compel the Senate but described the requested return as the usual practice.
Committee members asked whether a bill could be taken over without a sponsor’s permission; Thurston said the house bill "belongs to the sponsor" and that someone could revive a concept through the floor if necessary. After public comment was closed, Representative Peterson moved the committee favorably recommend the resolution; the motion passed unanimously.
Ending: The committee recommended the House-rule change to allow administrative abandonment, and the resolution will proceed in the legislative process for final consideration.
