Finance committee accepts amendment to House Bill 476 at third hearing

The House Finance Committee on third reading accepted a substitute amendment to House Bill 476 after a brief presentation and by unanimous consent.

Chair of the committee called House Bill 476 up for its third hearing and said the committee planned to consider a substitute requested by the bill’s sponsor. "We're gonna hopefully adopt a substitute bill today at the sponsor's request," the Chair said, and urged members and advocates to continue providing feedback as the committee works this week.

Vice Chair Davila moved to amend House Bill 476 with "Amendment 2296," then described the substitute to the committee. "This is a substitute bill. It makes changes based on conversations between the sponsor's office, our offices, and others," Vice Chair Davila said, and directed members to review the updated text on their iPads.

The Chair asked if there were any objections to the amendment. "Hearing no objections, the amendment is accepted," the Chair said, noting the change was entered without a recorded roll-call vote. The Chair also noted there was one piece of submitted written testimony on the bill.

Committee leaders indicated they expect continued work on the bill through the week and said they might schedule a Finance Committee vote next week, likely on Thursday, if members and sponsors can resolve outstanding issues.

With no further business, the Chair closed the third hearing and adjourned the committee.