House Appropriations votes down motion to advance Senate Bill 45; committee later PI'd the measure

The House Appropriations Committee on an unspecified date voted 4–7 against a motion to advance Senate Bill 45 to the Committee of the Whole, then moved to postpone the measure indefinitely.

Representative Taggart moved to advance the bill with a favorable recommendation; the motion was seconded by Representative Soper. During discussion, Representative Bottoms said she supported bringing the issue into Colorado policy conversations and suggested the Colorado School of Mines would be an appropriate starting place for related work, while adding that operational nuclear activity should come from the private sector when that time arrives. "We're gonna be going nuclear as a state," Bottoms said, adding that the state needs people who understand and care about Colorado.

Representative McCormick asked why the program proposed in the bill needed to go through state government rather than being handled by the Colorado School of Mines on its own. The bill sponsor said proponents had approached Senator Liston to run the bill, that they testified in support and that labor supports the measure.

The committee then conducted a roll-call vote on the motion to advance the bill. Recorded yes votes were Representatives Bottoms, Zoper, Taggart and Titone. Recorded no votes were Base Neckar, Joseph, McCormick, Velasco, Zocai, the Vice Chair and the Chair. The chair announced the motion failed, 4 to 7.

After the failed motion, a committee member moved to postpone Senate Bill 45 indefinitely by reverse roll call; the motion was seconded. Seeing no objections, the chair directed that the bill be PI'd (postponed indefinitely) using a reverse roll call. The meeting concluded and the committee adjourned.

The transcript records the committee’s debate, the roll-call vote and the subsequent PI motion; the committee did not adopt the motion to advance the bill and directed the bill be postponed indefinitely.