Committee approves reporting of bill barring municipal IDs as statewide voter ID unless authorized by law

Committee counsel explained that House Bill 5203 would add a subsection prohibiting municipalities from issuing municipal identification cards for use as voter ID in statewide elections if the card is not otherwise authorized by state law.

Counsel said the strike-and-insert amendment cleans up internal code citations and makes no substantive changes to the policy. He noted the bill passed the House with 84 votes and that the measure has a second reference to the Judiciary Committee.

The vice chair moved adoption of the amendment and that HB 5203 be reported to the full Senate with a recommendation to pass as amended, under its original double committee reference first to the Judiciary Committee; the motion was adopted on a voice vote and the bill will be reported.

The transcript does not include further testimony on municipal IDs; the committee record reflects technical edits and a referral to Judiciary as part of standard committee procedure.