Committees Vote Favorably on Bills Ahead of Deadlines

Read the Full Digest Here: March 16, 2026 Digest

This past week, two (2) important bills passed the House or Senate, and six (6) more bills were voted out of committee to the House and Senate floors. Two more bills appeared on voting lists and are expected to be reported out in the coming week.

Criminal Justice

SB 162 - Criminal Procedure - Motion to Reduce Duration of Sentence - Repeal of Sentencing Date Limitation – Favorable Report by Judicial Proceedings

HB 178 - Criminal Procedure - Expungement - No Finding and Case Terminated Without Finding – Favorable Report by Judiciary

HB 108 and SB 61 - Division of Correction - Release Preparation Program – Favorable with Amendments Report by House Government, Labor and Elections and Senate Judicial Proceedings

HB 310 - Correctional Services - Restrictive Housing - Individuals With Developmental or Intellectual Disabilities – Favorable with Amendments by Judiciary

HB 1309 - Commission to Review and Assess Racial Disparities in the State Criminal Justice System – Establishment – awaiting a vote in House Judiciary

Climate Change

HB 437 - Transportation - Major Highway Capacity Expansion Projects and Impact Assessments (Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2026) – passed the House 93-39.

Gun Violence Prevention

SB 775 - Public Safety - Gun Buyback Programs - Destruction of Firearms - passed the Senate 45-0. 

SB 334 - Criminal Law - Firearm Crimes - Machine Gun Convertible Pistols – Favorable with Amendments Report by Judicial Proceedings

Health Care

SB 626 - Certificates of Birth, Licenses, and Identification Cards - Sex Designation (Birth Certificate Modernization Act) – awaiting a vote in Senate Finance and Judicial Proceedings

Committee voting sessions are usually scheduled as the Committee Chair deems them ready, and little public notice is provided.  We are constantly scanning the official meeting schedules for voting sessions and monitoring House and Senate sessions for any verbal announcements.  While we cannot guarantee advance notice to our readers, we are constantly updating our Current Status of Priority Legislation table with any new information.

Time to Bring Remaining Priority Bills to a Committee Vote

At this point in the session, there are no more committee hearings for UULM-MD's priority measures, and all our efforts are focused on getting bills to a vote by committees and passed by their house of origin. At the end of last week begins, committees passed out seven (7) more priority bills favorably. 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17 is the Committee Reporting Courtesy Date, the date by which each chamber’s committees are supposed to report their own bills to the floor.  The following Monday, March 23, is the Opposite Chamber Crossover Date, meaning that each Chamber must send to the other Chamber those bills it intends to pass favorably.  Bills that miss this deadline are subject to being referred to the other chamber’s Rules Committee, rather than going directly to a standing committee for consideration. 

These dates on the legislative calendar are significant for those priority bills that have not yet come out of committee in the chamber of origin.  Now is the time to contact your lawmakers on the relevant committees seeking a (favorable) vote.  Some of these bills have appeared on committee work session or voting lists (without a vote), indicating that some action is expected. However, we need to press lawmakers to vote them to the floor of the House or Senate. 

Keep an eye out for alerts from our Issue Leads asking you to contact your lawmakers who sit on specific committees!  This is the best time to reach out to your representatives and make an impact on their vote.

By The Issues: Actions on uulmd.org/take-action

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