Right-to-contraception bill reported with substitute after sponsor agrees to conform to house version

Senator Carol Foy told the House full Committee on Health and Human Services that SB 596, the senate cognate to House Bill 6 (carried in the House by Delegate Theo Price), includes a few differences developed in conjunction with Planned Parenthood but that she was amenable to conforming to the house version and resolving remaining language in conference.

"In my version, there are a few differences, that we put in the bill, in conjunction with Planned Parenthood," Foy said. A committee member asked to work out one amendment in conference, and members moved to adopt a substitute to conform the senate bill to the house language.

Committee discussion focused on aligning the two versions so the matter can be finalized in conference. The committee voted to report the substitute by a recorded vote of 14 to 6. Chair Rodney Willard said the committee would "work this... to get this right," and members emphasized the bill’s importance to reproductive-health access.

What this does: the substitute places the senate bill into conformity with the house cognate so negotiators can reconcile remaining differences in conference. The transcript records no enactment dates or specific funding changes associated with the bill in committee.

What’s next: sponsors expect to take differences to conference committees for final reconciliation; no final enactment date or implementation detail was set on the committee floor.