Committee of the Whole rises and places Bill 1‑8S in inactive file after members press DPW for records

The committee of the whole agreed to rise and put bill 1‑8S into the inactive file after members said the Department of Public Works (DPW) had not issued an award and had not responded to a protest filed in November 2025.

"The protest was made to the agency and the agency never responded up to now. No response," Speaker Telai told the committee, citing an Office of Public Accountability (OPA) finding and reciting a procurement timeline.

Why it matters: Lawmakers said the missing DPW response and the absence of transcripts impede the committee's ability to complete deliberations. Several senators asked that, if the matter proceeds to a formal committee hearing, witnesses be required to appear and not be limited to five minutes for questioning.

Details: Speaker Telai said the OPA had found the government was delaying the procurement process, and provided dates he said were in the report: RFPs issued March 2025; vendor responses submitted May 23, 2025; DPW selected the highest-ranked offer June 17, 2025; and a contractor lodged a protest in November 2025. Telai said DPW had not issued an award or responded to the protest as of May 2026.

Senator Sidoras Machi told the chair that the committee had a prior motion requiring DPW to furnish meeting minutes and transcripts and said she could not find transcripts in the committee's shared drive. "I don't want to say it's suspicious," she said, "but when we ask for these documents to be furnished, now all of a sudden the administration wants to negotiate with itself after calling us into this hall with so much theatrics."

The chair said the Committee on Rules would continue to request any available documents and confirmed that, as of the committee's recess, only minutes (not transcripts) had been posted to the drive. The chair also said the governor had advised not to proceed on the bill at this time and that, absent the panel and necessary documents, the committee would not continue deliberations in the current special session.

Action taken: The speaker amended the motion to rise and to "take no action" on bill 1‑8S. With no objections from the body, the committee recessed and the bill was placed in the inactive file. Senator Dwayne reported to the full Senate that, after consultations with the governor's office and counsel, the decision was to place bill 1‑8S in the inactive file and to adjourn the special session; the Senate scheduled its regular session for 2:00 p.m.

What was not resolved: The transcript and committee record included repeated requests for DPW transcripts and a prior motion asking DPW to provide transcripts and meeting minutes; committee members said transcripts were not yet available in the shared drive. The record does not include a DPW response to the protest or any testimony from DPW officials during this session, so the procurement questions remain unresolved.

The committee did not hold a roll-call vote; the motion to rise and take no action was adopted by unanimous consent with no formal tally recorded.