Ways & Means advances S.64 after 7-4 vote; member cites conflicting JFO testimony

The Ways & Means Committee voted 7-4 on Friday to report S.64 favorable for acceptance, advancing the bill to the next legislative stage.

A committee member urged colleagues to ask the House Appropriations Committee to consider amending S.64 so that "if you have health care, it should be health care for anyone and not health care just for people who can afford it," a committee member said during debate. The motion to report the bill favorable was put and the roll call produced an announced tally of 7-4-0 in favor.

The committee’s chair opened the roll call and asked if any member wanted to explain a vote. One committee member explained that they had heard "conflicting testimonies" and said they had received financial testimony that contradicted other testimony from the JFO. "When I hear something from one party, I hear something different from JFO," the member said, adding they "may yet put yes on the floor" after reviewing the material further.

The committee did not record a named mover or seconder in the publicly available transcript; the motion was made on the floor and the chair announced the result as favorable 7-4-0. The transcript does not attribute individual yes/no votes to specific members beyond the roll-call names called during the vote announcement; the committee’s announced tally is the official record in the transcript.

Committee business then moved to scheduling and announcements. The chair said there were no additional bills to vote on that day and noted that staff would be off Monday for Memorial Day. Members were told to expect follow-up emails about future meetings, and the chair referenced an upcoming conference committee on the miscellaneous tax.

The meeting concluded without further action; the committee is expected to proceed with any floor action and related committee reviews in the coming days.