After a bit of a delay with the House at ease, the House reconvened and Speaker Scott Bedke announced that there were procedural questions about the earlier voice vote to not concur in the Senate amendments to HB 312. So Sen. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, again moved to not concur in the amendments. This time, there was a roll-call vote; the motion passed, 65-4, with just Reps. McCrostie, Rusche, Rubel and Smith dissenting.

Bedke then described what’s ahead in petitioning the Senate for a conference committee, to “see if they can iron out the differences between the two bodies.” He said each house would appoint three members, one from the minority and two from the majority. For a proposal to carry, it would need a majority of each house’s delegation, so at least two senators and at least two representatives. “This is something we don’t always do, but it is something that we’ve done several times in the past. And it seems to be a good path forward on this impasse between the two bodies,” Bedke said.

With that, the House went at ease. House Majority Leader Mike Moyle told House members, “I would assume it will take us an hour and a half, maybe two hours, so I encourage you to stay close.”