House sends Senate-substituted bills back to conference over sentencing, registry and drone changes

The House voted to refuse adoption of the Senate substitutes for House Bills 2637 and 3155 and requested the Senate recede or, failing that, to grant a conference committee. The motion was made by the Webster County representative and approved after debate.

During discussion, the sponsor said the Senate substitute contained technical and substantive changes to language in SB 888 and related sentencing measures: the term 'offense' was changed to 'conviction,' the age reference moved from 17 to 18 in some places, 'sanction' was replaced with 'recommendation,' and 'petition' had been altered to 'motion.' Members questioned whether those changes created effective-date gaps for offenses and whether the Senate additions on sex-offender registry and drone-control provisions were consistent with the House intent.

A member who questioned the sponsor described the sex-offender registry statutes as a "dumpster fire" in need of overhaul; the sponsor said attempts were made in the package to streamline and fix inconsistencies. The debate also noted that the Senate had folded in a drone bill aimed at high-profile events (for example, restricting unauthorized drones over stadiums) and language that could give law enforcement certain authorities over drones during events.

After members' inquiries, the sponsor said amendments were intended to coordinate effective dates and to address drafting issues; the House approved the motion to send the matter to conference so members from both chambers can reconcile the differences.