Rules committee approves rule letting House request LSO to create an incorporated-amendments version of heavily amended bills

The House Rules & Procedure Committee voted to sponsor a proposed new House Rule 11-8 that would permit the House, by majority vote of members present, to request that the Legislative Service Office (LSO) prepare a version of a bill with all previously adopted amendments incorporated.

Director Matt Obrecht read the proposed text: "If a bill has been so heavily amended in committee of the whole or second reading that the bill can no longer reasonably be understood, the house may, by a majority vote of the members present, request that the legislative service office create a version of the bill containing all previously adopted amendments. The version of a bill with amendments incorporated under this subsection shall not be an official version of the bill and shall include a disclaimer so stating. All amendments to a bill shall be made to the official version of the bill." The committee asked whether the rule text mistakenly referred to the Senate; staff confirmed an update had been posted and that the text now reads "House."

Members discussed the limits of the new procedure. Representative Harrelson and Representative Hiner raised concerns about sponsors remaining attached to bills that have been substantially altered and the limits of removing a sponsor's name; Obrecht answered that when a bill becomes engrossed a sponsor may request removal of their name but there is no similar opportunity after second-house amendment. Representative Ginn, who served on the select committee that drafted the proposal, said the rule increases public transparency by making the commonly requested amended version available publicly.

After discussion the committee moved and seconded the sponsorship and approved the proposed new rule by voice vote. The committee recorded the motion as carried; no roll-call tally appears in the committee transcript.