House Finance Committee reports four Senate bills to the House, including admissions-tax expansion and movie-tax-credit extension

The House Finance Committee reported four Senate bills to the full House on recorded roll-call votes during a brief session.

The committee chair opened the meeting, confirmed a quorum and turned to committee counsel to read each bill and its relationship to previously passed House measures. Committee Counsel said the bills are cognates of House measures and described the status of each.

Senate Bill 400, which counsel described as allowing two of the 133 jurisdictions that do not currently have authority to levy an admissions tax to adopt such a tax, was moved and seconded for report. After the clerk opened the roll, the committee approved the report by a recorded vote of 13 to 5.

Senate Bill 591, described during the meeting as a "free filing" tax program for individuals, was moved and seconded and passed unanimously, 19 to 0, on the clerk's recorded roll call.

Senate Bill 612 was introduced as a measure to extend the sunset on the motion picture tax credit. Chair and members moved and seconded its report; the clerk recorded the vote and the bill passed 17 to 2. A brief, unclear line in the transcript earlier in the discussion reads "it has passed this committee 8 to 18 to 3," which does not match any recorded roll call; the committee’s final recorded tally for the motion recorded later in the meeting is 17 to 2.

Senate Bill 649 required a minor, technical amendment described by counsel as "two strikes" and an "additional period on line 142." The chair moved the amendment, it was seconded and the amendment was adopted. The committee then moved and seconded to report the bill as amended; the clerk recorded a unanimous vote of 19 to 0 to report the bill to the House.

The meeting concluded with the chair noting no further business and adjourning the committee.

Direct quotes in the record include Committee Counsel stating, "Senate bill 400 with senator Diggs is identical to house bill 550," and later advising that "Senate bill 649 just needs 2 strikes. Additional period on line 142." The chair also observed during the SB649 amendment, "My most important motion of the session." These quotes are drawn verbatim from the committee record.

Actions at the meeting were procedural reports to the House rather than final enactments; the bills will advance to the House floor for further consideration.

Details not specified in the committee record: the transcript does not identify who moved or seconded each motion by name, and individual member roll-call votes by member name were not provided in the transcript (only final tallies).