Wednesday’s floor day in the Assembly was scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., but action did not
start until nearly 11:00 p.m. following an extended partisan caucus. Prior to the floor session,
Assembly Democrats held a press conference demanding votes on two bills: SB 23, which
extends Medicaid coverage for postpartum women, and SB 264, which expands coverage for
breast cancer screening. They also announced plans to offer an amendment with both bills to
every bill on the day’s calendar.
Republicans recessed early and entered into a partisan caucus that lasted more than five hours.
After the lengthy delay, several members of the Republican caucus — including Rep. Snyder, the
author of the postpartum bill — held a press conference announcing that the bills would be
taken up on the final Assembly floor day (February 19).
Once that issue was addressed, the Assembly convened to take up its agenda. Notably,
members passed bipartisan legislation aimed at addressing the growing illicit use of crypto
kiosks across the state; the bill now heads to the Senate. The Assembly also passed legislation
that previously cleared the Senate earlier this month to incentivize the use of ignition interlock
devices (IIDs) and establish stricter penalties for tampering with an IID.
Below are highlighted bills from the Assembly calendar.
AB-856 Operating While Intoxicated (Spiros, John) Repealing unconstitutional provisions
related to operating while intoxicated. Passed, (Voice Vote).
AB-911 Battery Program Funding (Kitchens, Joel) Funding for a battery collection and recycling
program and making an appropriation. Passed, 97-0.
AB-968 Crypto Kiosks (Snyder, Patrick) Virtual currency kiosks. Sub. 2 adopted, (Voice
Vote). Passed, (Voice Vote).
AB-972 Financial Exploitation (Snyder, Patrick) Financial exploitation of vulnerable
adults. Passed, (Voice Vote).
AB-1001 Grants for EMS (Snyder, Patrick) Funding for grants for community emergency medical
services and falls prevention initiatives and making an appropriation. Passed, 97-0.
SB-248 Ignition Interlocks (Wanggaard, Van) License eligibility and restriction extensions
relating to ignition interlock devices and granting rule- making authority. Passed, (Voice Vote).