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Senate clears a slate of bills on consent, grants procedural waivers
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Summary
On March 5 the Senate approved a package of bills on third reading by largely unanimous consent, including measures on education, housing and tax credits, granted referral waivers to meet deadlines, and scheduled a Ways and Means hearing for the afternoon.
The Senate convened and on Thursday, March 5, passed a group of bills on third reading by unanimous or near‑unanimous votes and approved procedural waivers to meet referral deadlines.
Members handled the consent calendar quickly: the clerk announced the third‑reading passage of multiple bills, most by a 24‑vote affirmative tally. Bills approved on third reading included a measure relating to education (SB 896 SD2), bills affecting housing and revolving funds (including SB 2060 SD2 and SB 2069 SD2), constitutional amendment proposals to change retirement ages for judges and to clarify the vote standard for legislative constitutional amendments (SB 2152 SD2 and SB 2315 SD2), and bills on sports tourism and the motion picture/digital media film production income tax credit (SB 2577 SD2 and SB 2580 SD2). The clerk recorded largely unanimous support; where no votes were recorded, the clerk noted the dissenting members by name.
Why it matters: these third‑reading passings move multiple policy items and proposed constitutional amendments forward in the legislative process. Several measures concern housing and budgetary funds that affect state programs, while proposed constitutional amendments will require later steps before becoming effective.
What passed (votes at a glance): - SB 896 SD2 (relating to education) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2060 SD2 (relating to the rental housing revolving fund) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2152 SD2 (proposing amendment to article 6, section 3, to increase mandatory retirement age for justices and judges) — clerk announced 23 ayes, 1 no; passed third reading. - SB 2315 SD2 (proposing amendment to article 17, section 3, to set the voter‑approval standard for legislative constitutional amendments) — clerk announced 21 ayes, 3 nos; passed third reading. - SB 2544 SD2 (relating to housing) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2577 SD2 (relating to sports tourism) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2580 SD2 (relating to the motion picture, digital media, and film production income tax credit) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2069 SD2 (relating to the dwelling unit revolving fund) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2342 SD2 (relating to housing) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 2861 SD2 (relating to the office of wellness and resilience) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading. - SB 3123 SD1 (relating to private support of education) — clerk announced 24 ayes; passed third reading.
Procedural actions and scheduling: a senator moved to adopt a set of standing committee reports (numbers 27‑94 through 28‑23 and 28‑75 through 28‑76); another senator seconded and, with no objections, the motion carried. The Senate granted a Rule 46 waiver requested to refer SB 2339 SD1 to the Committee on Ways and Means to meet the single‑referral deadline and set one‑day notice for third reading. The Senate also granted a waiver under Senate Rule 21 to hold a hearing on SB 3125 (proposed SD1) and the Ways and Means Committee scheduled a public hearing for Thursday, March 5, at 12 noon in Conference Room 211. The clerk announced the filing deadline for standing committee reports on Senate bills for second reading as 6 p.m. that day.
Procedure note: vote tallies and recorded no votes were announced by the clerk; the Senate relied on unanimous‑consent procedures for the consent calendar, and individual waivers were granted on the floor to meet single‑referral and notice deadlines.
What’s next: the Senate adjourned to reconvene at 11:30 a.m. the following day; bills that passed third reading will proceed according to constitutional and legislative procedures for enactment or further action as applicable.
