House State, Civic, Military, & Veterans Affairs

Thursday, February 19, 2026·1h 42m·▶ Watch / Listen

The committee killed HB 1149, which would have required legislative witnesses to testify under oath, after a divided debate over chilling effects, felony penalties, and drafting flaws; the committee then advanced HB 1023 — a fix to a 2024 disability-access law for party caucuses — on a 10-1 vote after adopting two amendments.

Key Actions

·HB 1149 – Legislative Committee Testimony Required OathFailed

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Controversies

Chilling effect and political weaponization of the oath requirement (HB 1149)

AML Winter argued the bill would only chill people 'that have the thought of coming here and telling untruths,' while Representative Carter countered that 'if a individual has an enemy or has someone who is, who feels differently about them, this is a way to stop that individual from coming and testifying' — warning it could be used to 'attack your political enemies' even if charges ultimately did not stick.

+ 4 more controversies

Notable Quotes

“Now, will it dissuade some people from coming to testify at the Capitol? I'm not going to say it won't, but I think it'll dissuade the people that shouldn't be coming to testify at the Capitol.”
AML Winter — AML Winter was defending HB 1149's oath requirement against concerns that it would chill legitimate public testimony before legislative committees.

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Votes

HB 1149 as amended to Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendationFailed

Yes (7)Kenny Nguyen, Naquetta Ricks, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford, Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Meg Froelich

No (4)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Lisa Feret, Stephanie Luck

HB 1023 as amended to Committee of the Whole with favorable recommendationPassed

Yes (10)Scott Bottoms, Brandi Bradley, Michael Carter, Cecelia Espenoza, Lisa Feret, Stephanie Luck, Naquetta Ricks, Chad Clifford, Jenny Willford, Kenny Nguyen

No (1)Meg Froelich

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TranscriptPreview

Carter. The all righty. The House State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee will come to order. Ms. King, please call the roll. Representatives. Bottoms. Here. Bradley. Excused. Carter. Espinosa. Here. Ray. Here. Rolick. Here. Luck. Joyfully present. Win. Joyfully present as well. Ricks. Present. Clifford. Just regular. Present. Madam Chair. Present. All right, we have two bills on the agenda today. House Bill 1149 with Assistant Minority Leader Winter and then House Bill 1023 with Representative Locke. So we'll get things started with you, sir. Please tell us about your bill. Good morning, members, and thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate you all once again. This is a bill born out of my three years here at the legislature, and I think I'm trying to bring what I consider another good governance bill to you all. The bill's, in my opinion, very simple. It's to ensure transparency and honesty throughout the testimony process. It requires a person or an institution of the state when they come in and they testify in front of us that they're held under oath. I think that that's ultra important. I mean, I think that it needs to be true and accurate testimony. We…

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