Committee reports out two bills on law‑enforcement hiring and face‑coverings with amendments

During its executive session, the House Community Safety Committee voted to report two bills out of committee with due‑pass recommendations.

Engrossed Senate Bill 50 68, as amended by Striking Amendment H‑3‑621.1 (H 3 621.1), was adopted and reported out. The amendment clarified recruitment and eligibility for persons legally authorized to work in the United States, added a process for WSP to provide a standard form and timeline for candidate background checks, and included a health‑and‑safety carve‑out related to weapons and PPE in training and deployment. Staff reported the final roll‑call tally: 6 ayes, 2 nays, 1 excused.

Substitute Senate Bill 5,855 was reported out as amended after adoption of language broadening exceptions for PPE and health‑and‑safety uses of face coverings (Lang 195), while two other proposed amendments (Lang 194 and Lang 193) were not adopted. Staff reported the roll‑call tally for SB 5,855 as 6 ayes, 2 nays, 1 excused, and the committee moved the adopted amendments into a striking amendment before reporting the bill out with a due‑pass‑as‑amended recommendation.

The committee recorded named roll‑call votes on both bills; staff posted the tally and the bills moved forward in the legislative process.