"Under this notion of being proactive, you are creating a great deal of (other) problems," he said. "We could not require someone to pay a filing fee, not enforce a civil judgment, not order someone to jail, not order someone to prison, not order a county to pay for (a poor person's trial attorney) or take someone into foster care."

All those actions take some kind of funding by the state or a local government, and HJR17 says courts can't order a state or local government to spend money on something, Schwermer said.

Hughes said the bill has been public for some time and neither Schwermer nor any other court officials brought up any concerns.

Hughes said he'd gladly take his amendment to the CRC and work with the judicial branch to accommodate their concerns — but asked that his bill go forward for consideration this year.

But several committee members said there was little time to consider all the broad-ranging consequences of HJR17; the committee then voted the bill to interim study.

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