Committee suspends work on alcohol bill until next week as caucuses meet; members discuss how to postpone further

The House Government Operations & Military Affairs committee on Feb. 5 suspended consideration of a pending alcohol bill because both parties were scheduled to meet in caucus at 11:15. The chair said the committee would defer the alcohol bill until next week and that the morning’s work would be limited to the straw poll on Act 588 unless floor activity required reconvening.

Representative Hangen asked how the committee could get the bill postponed again on Tuesday. A committee member responded that the bill was slated for the Monday notice calendar and the action calendar on Tuesday; the chair and staff said they would communicate with the speaker’s office and clerk’s office about requesting additional postponement. Representative Hangen asked whether a particular member would be present on Tuesday to request the postponement on the floor.

The committee agreed to reconvene in the committee room at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday to continue reviewing testimony. No formal postponement motion or recorded roll-call vote was made in committee during this meeting; the suspension was an administrative scheduling decision by the chair/staff.