Committee advances several bills, adopts multiple amendments and schedules interim study for others

The House Executive Departments and Administration Committee handled multiple executive-session items on Feb. 11 and recorded several roll-call outcomes. Key outcomes: HB 10-24 (investments by the state retirement system in businesses owned by a sitting president or family) and HB 15-85 (restrictions on ESG strategies) were both moved to interim study with unanimous committee roll calls. Several other bills passed the committee with amendments.

Most significant committee actions (selected)

- HB 10-24 — Motion: interim study. Mover: Representative Howard; second: Representative Bridal. Committee vote: 14–0 (interim study). (See clerk roll call.)

- HB 15-85 — Motion: interim study. Mover: Representative Slocci; second: Representative Pearson. Committee vote: 14–0 (interim study). Representatives raised fiduciary and implementation concerns during debate.

- HB 14-69 — Amendment 0615H (replace-all) adopted; committee voted OTPA (ought to pass as amended) on HB 14-69 with amendment 0615H by recorded vote 13–1. The amendment removed an inspection component to avoid a fiscal note, adjusted licensure definitions and renewal cycles, and clarified exemptions.

- HB 14-57 — Amendment 0560H adopted; committee voted OUGHT TO PASS as amended, 10–4. The amendment aligned natural organic reduction procedures with cremation statute language, added provisions for unclaimed remains, and left rulemaking to the funeral board and medical examiner consultation.

- HB 11-09 — Amendment 0620H adopted and committee voted OUGHT TO PASS as amended, 14–0. Amendment adds public employees to the notice provisions and requires written notice to suspended public employees within seven days, subject to collective-bargaining exceptions.

- HB 13-28 — Amendment 0618H adopted and committee voted OUGHT TO PASS as amended, 14–0. The amendment adjusted board composition for alcohol and other drug use professionals and included reciprocity language for related professions.

- HB 15-55 — Amendment 0668H adopted and committee voted OUGHT TO PASS as amended, 14–0. Amendment gives the state fire marshal de novo review authority for certain appeals and authority to approve alternate methods statewide, with appeal to the building code review board allowed.

- HB 15-72 and HB 16-83 — Committee adopted amendments on technical/procedural grounds and moved HB 15-72 to OUGHT TO PASS as amended (fiscal note required regular calendar) and moved HB 16-83 to INTERIM STUDY (14–0) to allow more work on rules/petition components.

Why it matters: The committee moved bills addressing fiduciary responsibilities of the retirement system, licensure and rulemaking, building-code appeals, and oversight of state employee suspension procedures. Several bills were placed on the consent calendar or regular calendar for floor action; others were sent to interim study for further drafting and analysis.

Supporting details and procedure

Motions were made on the floor of the committee and recorded by the clerk with roll-call tallies. Where amendments were replace-all texts, sponsors walked the committee through line-by-line changes before roll calls were taken. Several votes corrected initial tallies during roll-call checks and the final results recorded by the clerk were used here. Several bills adopted amendments that removed inspection or costly provisions to avoid fiscal notes, or folded in provisions from other bills to consolidate statutory language.

What’s next: Bills that passed as "ought to pass" will appear on the House calendar (consent or regular) according to whether a fiscal note applies. Bills moved to interim study will be considered further in work sessions or subsequent committee meetings.

Ending: Committee adjourned after closing the public hearing on HB 16-75 and completing its executive-session work.