When The House is Away, the Senate Will Kill Your Bill
The Senate had just a couple of bills to work on today, one of which was HB2371 COVID vaccine mandates; prohibition (Bolick). The bill (after the adoption of a strike everything amendment in the Senate) repeals last year’s “COVID passport” ban and replaces it with a prohibition on government entities requiring a COVID-19 vaccine for anyone under age 18 without parental consent. The bill would normally have passed on a party-line vote, except that Senators Boyer (R), Mendez (D), Terán (D), and Ugenti-Rita (R) were all absent. With all remaining Senators voting along party lines, the bill did not get the necessary 16 votes, and failed 13-13. A motion to reconsider was made, so the bill could be brought back at a later date.
Student Transportation Bill Headed to Conference
Also on the Senate docket today was SB1630 school buses; student transportation; vehicles (Kerr). The Senate moved to refuse the House admendments and send the bill to conference committee. This means the bill is likely to be further amended. If it is, both the House and Senate will have to approve the amended bill.
The Senate will reconvene tomorrow 5/4 at 10 a.m.
The House will reconvene Thursday 5/5 at 10 a.m.