Judiciary Committee amends rules to make newly assigned bills inactive by default

Senator Tucker raised a procedural motion to change how bills assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee appear on meeting agendas, proposing that newly assigned bills be placed on an inactive agenda by default and moved to the active agenda only after sponsor notification to the chair or staff the day before a meeting.

Tucker said the change would help members and the public prepare for hearings and reduce the burden of preparing for dozens of bills that might not actually be run that day. "I make the motion to put that in the rules for the committee," Tucker said. Other senators discussed practical limits: the chair noted last-minute cancellations can occur and Senator Clark warned that rigid scheduling could hamper getting all bills run before the end of session.

The committee debated the tradeoffs, then moved, seconded (by Senator Hester) and adopted the amended rule by voice vote; the transcript records at least one "No" during the vote but the amendment passed. The chair said staff will distribute the amended rules to members.