Lawmakers on a Senate committee advanced a bill to remove gassing, or nitrogen hypoxia, from the list of execution methods allowed under state law. Lawmakers just added that method along with electrocution earlier this year.
Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, a Democrat, brought the bill at the request of a group called Jews Against Gassing. In a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol, the group thanked the committee and urged lawmakers to get the bill to the finish line.
In the House, lawmakers on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee discussed a bill calling for a constitutional convention to begin in late May. It was lawmakers’ first public discussion of the proposal.
An amendment to the bill changed the convention’s end date from July 15 to June 3. But delegates could vote to extend the convention if they need more time. The committee is not expected to vote on the bill until next week.