Subcommittee advances multi-part HB 883 on vehicle and vessel negligence, removes Crosby section

The Public Safety Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee voted on March 28 to move House Bill 883 favorably as amended, combining several motor-vehicle and vessel negligence measures but excluding the Crosby manslaughter-by-vehicle section. Chair Williams called the roll after debate and announced, "The measure the bill as amended, passes."

HB 883 is a reprint that packages four separate proposals. Committee counsel told members the reprint includes: the Crosby manslaughter-by-vehicle or vessel penalty increase (house bill 977, cross-file SB 364); the Wims section (as amended by the Senate) addressing criminal negligence with vehicles or vessels (house bill 883, cross-file SB 710); Schmidt's boating-related duty-to-remain provisions (house bill 676, cross-file SB 123); and Grammer's transportation-article changes requiring appearance for certain reckless-driving penalties (house bill 361). Counsel said the Crosby cross-file had not moved out of the Senate, while the other sections had Senate action.

Members debated penalties, victim access to court, and whether bundling the bills would jeopardize measures that had already passed the Senate. Chair Williams summarized the Crosby proposal as increasing penalties for manslaughter by vehicle or vessel from 10 to 20 years for a first conviction and from 15 to 30 years for a subsequent conviction, with corresponding increases in fines. The chair also noted a fiscal estimate context: "there were roughly about maybe 23 people who were incarcerated under this particular penalty" in fiscal year 2024, and the committee discussed uncertainty about how many of those were first versus subsequent convictions.

Delegate Wims, the Wims-section sponsor, said he had worked with the Senate for about six months and that the Senate passed the cross-file unanimously, calling that a reason to include his section in the package: "we did get unanimous... in the senate." Delegate Schmidt described her section as targeted to boating incidents and said sponsor amendments primarily clarified what "serious bodily injury" means and cleaned up information-provision language; counsel confirmed the clarifications are on the reprint.

Delegate Grammer's transportation changes would generally require defendants accused of reckless driving to appear in court rather than prepaying fines, while preserving a judicial waiver for good cause; supporters said the change gives victims an opportunity to be heard, and opponents raised practical concerns about how quickly a prepayment could foreclose that process. Senator Carrozza's office was mentioned as having expressed concern that bundling could put some provisions at risk if any one section failed to advance in the Senate.

After discussion, Delegate Taylor moved that the committee forward HB 883 with the Wims, Schmidt and Grammer amendments and "take out the Crosby amendment." The motion was seconded by Delegate Phillips and carried on a roll-call vote; several delegates recorded "Yes," and one member, Delegate Congola, was not present. Chair Williams declared the bill passed out of the subcommittee "as amended."

Next steps: the committee recorded its favorable recommendation on HB 883 as amended and will transmit that posture. The record shows the Crosby section was removed from the package before the subcommittee vote. The chair closed the meeting, saying no additional session was required unless further assignments arose.