The House returned to session and continued with bills on third reading.
Amendments were offered to Senate Bill 154 on third reading. The bill prohibits instruction on sexual orientation in public schools. The bill requires teachers to inform administrators if a child requests to be called by a different name or pronoun that differs from the child’s biological sex. The administrator is to notify the child’s parent of the request. The adopted committee amendment allows for sexual orientation and gender identity to be discussed as part of the curriculum established in dual enrollment or advanced placement courses. An additional amendment was offered to remove the requirement for teachers to report a child’s name preference. The amendment was rejected. With the Committee Amendment becoming the bill, it heads back to the Senate for concurrence.
Senate Bills 790, 299, and 474 were postponed one day. Senate Bill 748 was advanced to third with the right to amend.
During Senate messages, nine bills completed legislative action on House Bills 2120, 2167, 2411, 2528, 2742, 3373, and 2267 and Senate Bills 449 and 325. House Bill 2880 was sent to a conference committee.
The House rejected the motion to concur with the Senate on House Bill 2267. The bill is a rules bundle for the Department of Revenue for the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, the Insurance Commission, the Lottery Commission, and the Tax Division. The Senate amendment only affected the ABC rules, which could have allowed private clubs to stay open an hour and a half after they stopped selling alcohol. Currently, the businesses can only stay open half an hour later. This was a point of contention for many in the House who felt this could be dangerous and bad actors could cause additional problems. Supporters of the Senate amendment felt the additional hour would allow customers time to sober up before going home or to wait on a cab. Concurrence in the amended bill was rejected.
The House is adjourned until 9 a.m. tomorrow, April 12, 2025.
Committee Meetings, Tomorrow, April 12
- The Rules Committee will meet at 8:45 a.m. in the Speaker’s Conference Room.
