House Courts Committee advances dozens of bills, refers several to appropriations
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Summary
The House Courts Committee and its subcommittees reported multiple uncontested blocks and advanced contested measures on criminal and civil law, referring key bills affecting bail, court fees, juvenile protections and data access to the Appropriations Committee.
The House Courts Committee met in a full session and through its criminal and civil subcommittees to consider a broad slate of bills, reporting numerous uncontested blocks and advancing several contested measures to the next stages.
The committee’s criminal subcommittee recommended an uncontested block of bills unanimously, reporting that block by a roll of 20–0. The transmitted items included bills authorizing additional judgeships (HB443) and measures expanding victim privacy in hate-crime appellate opinions (HB459). The subcommittee also adopted a substitute on HB191 to clarify that a minor who was a victim of human trafficking at the time of an offense would not be subject to arrest or prosecution for qualifying defenses under the substitute.
Two bills were recommended for referral to Appropriations from the criminal docket. HB127, which revises bail-hearing procedures and requires each circuit’s chief judge to file a plan by Nov. 1, 2026, to implement counsel-access provisions before a delayed effective date, and HB885, which creates a court-date reminder program administered through the executive secretary of the Supreme Court and allows defendants to opt out, were both reported and sent to Appropriations.
Several contested criminal bills were also reported. HB43, which would abolish the common-law crime of suicide and requires the Bureau of Insurance to study insurance impacts and submit recommendations by Nov. 1, 2026, reported as amended by a vote of 14–6. HB172 (jury ascertainment of punishment and related juror questioning), HB357 (bail determination factors), and HB933 (reducing willful failure-to-appear from a felony to a misdemeanor and requiring courts to weigh mitigating factors) were among other measures reported with recorded roll tallies.
On the civil side, Chair Simon reported an uncontested block of civil bills approved 21–0. Those measures ranged from administrative items (standardized small‑asset affidavit forms) to changes in paternity establishment, recording fees for multipurpose deeds, and revisions to the Uniform Power of Attorney Act. The civil subcommittee reported several contested family- and guardianship-related measures, including HB775 (foster-care reasonable-efforts definitions and regulatory direction), which the committee reported with substitute and referred to Appropriations.
Other notable civil measures reported included HB601 (financial-institution obligations to exempt protected account balances from garnishment, reported as amended) and HB1100 (limits on treasurer wage liens to 25% of disposable earnings with specified exceptions).
The committee also approved a procedural motion to carry four bills into 2027 (HB364, HB421, HB604 and HB863).
The committee’s actions leave multiple bills to be considered in Appropriations or on the House floor; many measures returned with substitute language or line amendments intended to clarify application, effective dates and implementation steps.