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Votes at a glance: Ways and Means Committee advances scores of bills to Rules on fiscal cutoff day
Summary
On Feb. 9, 2026, the Senate Ways and Means Committee advanced numerous bills across tax, labor, health, education and environment policy to the Rules Committee or moved them without recommendation; many substitutes and amendments were adopted. This roundup lists key items, outcomes and procedural next steps.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee completed staff briefings and took votes on a large packet of bills during its Feb. 9, 2026 executive session. Below are key outcomes and procedural notes drawn from the committee record.
Key outcomes (selected): - Gubernatorial appointment 9306 (Kristin Fraser to the Board of Tax Appeals) — Committee moved a confirmed recommendation (voice vote). - Substitute Senate Bill 6,147 (grocery establishment closure notice requirements) — Proposed substitute 1 (Conway) adopted; substituted bill received a due-pass recommendation to Rules (voice vote). - Substitute Senate Bill 6,035 (voting services for military, tribal and disabled voters) — Second substitute adopted and received a due-pass recommendation to Rules subject to signatures. - Substitute Senate Bill 6,239 (tort arbitration) — Amendment 4 (Gildan) adopted and rolled into second substitute; second substitute received due-pass recommendation to Rules subject to signatures. - Substitute Senate Bill 6,017 (victim-centered witness protections) — Amendment 6 adopted and rolled into substitute; second substitute received due-pass recommendation to Rules subject to signatures. - Substitute Senate Bill 6,082 (JLARC fraud review for higher-education aid) — Received due-pass recommendation to Rules (voice vote). - Substitute Senate Bill 6,045 (placing agricultural employees under PERC in certain circumstances) — Proposed second substitute adopted and received due-pass recommendation to Rules (voice vote); several senators expressed concern about agricultural impacts. - Substitute Senate Bill 5,974 (law enforcement eligibility/backgrounds for certain posts) — Second substitute received a due-pass recommendation to Rules after amendment adoption; debate included concerns about rural voting and fiscal impacts. - Substitute Senate Bill 5,847 (workers' comp / access to medical care) — Amendment 9 adopted and rolled into substitute; second substitute received due-pass recommendation to Rules. - Substitute bills and amendments passed across Group 2–5 covering property tax relief (SB 6162), property tax exemptions for low-income housing (SB 6256), cannabis excise tax authority (SB 5650), costs relief after the atmospheric river (SB 6343), green fertilizer incentive (SB 5971), single-use bag prohibition with paper-bag fee adjustment (SB 5965), electric transmission authority changes (SB 5466), various education and healthcare funding bills, and others.
How outcomes were recorded: Many items were decided by voice vote; some amendments required roll-call votes (for example, the diapers exemption amendment failed by roll call: 8 ayes, 15 nays, 1 not voting). Where the transcript records a roll call, results are included; otherwise the committee recorded voice votes and the clerk recorded the bills as receiving a due-pass recommendation to Rules subject to signatures.
Next steps: Bills that received due-pass recommendations will be reported to Rules for scheduling; substitute language and any fiscal note updates will be posted to the public bill files. Items moved without recommendation will proceed to Rules with that procedural posture noted.
A complete record of the motions, amendment numbers, sponsors and recorded roll-call votes (where taken) is part of the official committee minutes and the legislative electronic bill book (EBB).
