House insists on its amendments, appoints conferees for deadline-affected bills

During a brief floor session, the Virginia House of Delegates insisted on its amendments to several Senate bills and appointed conferees to meet with Senate negotiators before the day's legislative deadline, members said.

The action followed a communication read into the record by Clerk Clark, who said the Senate had rejected the House amendments to Senate Bills 118, 129, 542, 661, 725 and 756. "The senate has rejected the house amendments to the following legislation, senate bills 118, 129, 542, 661, 725, and 756," Clark reported.

Delegate Herring moved that the House "insist on its amendments and request committees of conference on the previously reported legislation." The presiding officer put the motion to a voice vote; the motion was agreed to. The House then proceeded to appoint conferees.

The Speaker, through Clerk Clark, named House conferees on several measures. For Senate Bill 609 the Speaker appointed delegates Kreesick, Torian and Austin. For companion House measures the Speaker appointed conferees as follows: for House Bill 30 (the budget bill), delegates Torian, Carr, McQuinn, Kreesick, Austin and Bloxham; for House Bill 145, delegates Kreesick, McClure and Wiley (companion to SB 129); for House Bill 161, delegates Simon Kreesick and Austin (companion to SB 118); for House Bill 642, delegates Kreesick, Herring and Moorfield (companion to SB 542); and for House Bill 1272, delegates Hayes, Kreesick and Kilgore (companion to SB 661).

Clerk Clark later read the House conferees the Speaker had appointed for Senate Bills 118, 129, 542, 661, 725 and 756, citing the delegate panels for each Senate bill and noting the announcements were being made because the measures were affected by the day's deadline. "Those are all of the conferees that need to be announced for the bills affected by today's deadline," Clark said.

Separately, Delegate Herring moved that the House accede to the Senate's request for committees of conference on the listed House bills; that motion also passed by voice vote. The House adjourned and will reconvene the following day at 12:00 p.m., the presiding officer said.

What the House did not do in this session was record a roll-call tally in the transcript; all recorded decisions were taken by voice vote and recorded as agreed to in the proceedings.