Among the six bills the committee reviewed Wednesday, three were from the Senate.
Senate Bill 17 relates to sex offender probation eligibility. The committee had little discussion on the bill before it passed with a unanimous vote to be sent to the House.
Senate Bill 119 relates to specifying documents not subject to discovery in certain proceedings. This bill passed the House and Senate last year but was vetoed by the governor. In his veto note, the governor noted he rejected the bill because of policy reasons and that it puts patients at a disadvantage. The committee passed the bill, which next heads to the House.
Senate Bill 272 concerns the Commission on Special Investigations. The bill requires that any action taken by the commission requires a vote by a quorum of the members appointed as opposed to the current requirement of a “majority.” A new section of the bill states it would be a felony to impersonate a commission member or staff. The penalty is the same as for making a false statement except for the fine, which is up to $5,000.
The bill adds a new section, which allows the commission to award duty weapons to certain retiring members and provides for the disposal for surplus weapons.
House Bill 2547 is related to election prohibition zones. This bill has an amendment that would change the election prohibition zone from 300 feet to 100 feet. The bill passed the committee and will be reported to the House.
House Bill 2600 amends state code relating to publication of sample ballots. Currently, counties do not interpret the current statures in place so there is no uniform understanding. This bill would help clarify this for the counties and was passed by the committee to be reported to the House.
House Bill 2602 describes the inclusion possession of known stolen property in the offense of receiving or transferring stolen property. This would add the language “possession” and would allow the same charges for theft to be applied to those who own the property and know it is stolen. Some delegates showed concern about the ability to show proof of someone knowing whether or not they possessed stolen property on purpose, but prosecutors who sit on the committee showed strong support of the bill and advocated that it would help more than harm their practice.
The bill was passed and is to be reported to the House.
The committee also had House Bill 2579 on their agenda but removed it to be reviewed at a later date.
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