This week, the House met to consider action on all bills that had different House and Senate versions. Most committees of conference – including those on the budget and two bills from my committee – were set up in advance, since that action doesn’t need the entire House to approve. On other bills, committee chairmen explained the differences and moved to concur or not. Concurrence sends the bill to the Governor; non-concur means it dies.
HB 177, on children where the state has financial responsibility for treatment, only had a minor wording change and it was concurred on a voice vote.
HB 316, on reimbursement for ambulances, was voted non-concur because last week we had passed SB 245, which dealt with the same topic and incorporated the final agreement between the legislature, ambulances, and insurance companies.
HB 57, on bail standards, had been amended to totally change it from allowing parole for post-secondary education to specifying the crimes or charges which would prevent release on self-recognition. It was not tabled, 153-190, debated, then concurred, 192-153.
HB 218, providing victims of crimes with a free police report, had a minor rewrite, granting access to the investigation report at the discretion of the prosecutor, and was concurred without debate as it met the intent of the bill. HB 416, prohibiting the intentional disposal of yard waste into the surface waters of the state, had some minor editing
to correct a statutory reference, and passed without comment.
HB 468, establishing the crime of unlawful use of unmanned aircraft and increasing the penalties for reckless driving, had the reckless driving penalties from SB 41 added to the drone bill. It was not tabled, 66-279; I voted to table because this bill added the FCC rules for drone operation to our statutes, and these can change without notice – which is unconstitutional! After some debate, we concurred with the bill, 265-83, with me on the short side.
HB 670, on the minimum fine for nuisance dogs, had been amended to clarify that a dog bite victim was still able to sue for damages. It passed on a voice vote, as did HB 778. This bill allowed trainers at the police standards and training council to work details; the Senate amendment added an unrelated condition that a disability retirement needed to be due to physical disability, not mental. (Retirement due to PTSD is covered in a separate section.)
HB 771, on funding for open enrollment schools, was debated on the basic bill – the Senate amendment simply required that a school budget reflect tuition both paid and received. We concurred, 189-160.
HB 532, expanding options for resolving disputes about special education plans, had a minor clarification and passed without debate, as did HB 667, on health education and viewing gestational videos, and HB 677, on use of epinephrine in camps, schools, and higher education, with the Senate amendment creating a dedicated fund for this purpose. HB 752, on procedures for closing a charter school, had some additional requirements about keeping records and transcripts, and a dedicated fund to collect the fees. It was also concurred without debate.
HB 763, school emergency plans for sports injuries, had been amended by the Senate to have a dedicated fund for gifts and donations, rather than an appropriation, and it was concurred quickly. HB 768, removing a last statutory reference to “non-sectarian” schools in dealing with tuition agreements, was debated a bit before being concurred, 192-158.
HB 107, dealing with printed political advertising, was tabled, 296-53, rather than debating. HB 151, on terms for the supervisors of the checklist, had been amended to make it enabling legislation, rather than a mandate, and was concurred without comment. HB 270, preserving electronic storage devices from ballot counting machines; HB 464, on keeping some candidates for office from counting ballots; and HB 626, directing the secretary of state to report on election systems’ vulnerability, all passed quickly and without comment.
HB 566, requiring new landfills to propose a detailed plan for leachate management, had a minor amendment from the Senate and so was concurred quickly, as was HB 658, raising the cap on reimbursements from the oil discharge and disposal cleanup fund.
I spoke on HB 82, relative to occupational regulations, where the Senate amendment added explicit authority for subcommittees of the electricians’ board, and HB 85, temporary licenses for student respiratory therapists, which had been reworded by the Senate. Both passed on voice votes. HB 156, advisory committee on procurement, where the Senate had made it permanent, was non-concurred without argument.
HB 655, fish and game violations, fees and licenses, had been amended to solve a late-arising problem with commercial fishing licenses, and the House committee fully supported it. The rest of the House agreed without argument.
HB 117, on substitution of biological products in filling prescriptions, had a definition of “biosimilar” added by the Senate, and the House agreed. HB 358, religious exemptions from immunizations, had a minor change to the form, and was concurred, 194-153.
HB 634, on the council on autism spectrum disorders, had been a simple repeal of the council, as many parents had requested; the Senate simply changed a few appointees on the council. After some debate, we voted to non-concur, 193-155.
At this time the Senate sent a request for a committee of conference on SB 210, on bullying and cyberbullying, since our amendment had added open enrollment at every school. We agreed on a voice vote.
HB 296, adding possibilities for building permits on private roads, had an amendment to add an appeals process. It was agreed on a voice vote. HB 309, making electronic rents optional, had an amendment to clarify the penalties, and concurrence was by voice vote.
HB 342, on the approval process for new construction, was debated at length. The Senate amendment had added a section on the approval process for clean energy districts, but that wasn’t even mentioned. The issue was that this allowed building without meeting the zoning requirements for frontages or lot size, if the area (within 1000 ft of the property in question) is of that density. The opponents seemed convinced that every town would need to have software updates to calculate the density, whereas the bill states the property owner has that responsibility. As I understand it, the goal is that if you own land surrounded by tiny, grandfathered lots with houses on them, you shouldn’t need to meet the current acreage or street frontage requirements. I voted to concur on this bill, but the tally was 154-195, and non-concur passed on a voice vote.
HB 382, repealing the requirement that car loans have periodic payments that are substantially equal, passed without comment. HB 457, which forbade zoning restrictions on unrelated people living together, was debated rather heatedly, again on the basic bill rather than the minor Senate amendment. The opponents saw fraternities in every neighborhood and congregate living drug houses next door; supporters saw unrelated roommates, unmarried couples, and non-family caretakers living together. We finally concurred, 179-170.
HB 369, on sexual assault prosecutions and the duty of sex offenders to register and report their addresses, had been amended to fix a loophole in the sex offender reporting requirement, and it passed without comment.
HB 123, on carbon sequestration and taxes, had been amended by the Senate to delete the new tax on timber used for carbon sequestration, and add a study commission on the topic. This bill was debated and concurred, 268-74; much of the resistance to this bill went away with the tax.
HB 124, allowing a municipal forest committee or conservation commission offer a surplus to the town’s fund balance, had a minor amendment and was concurred without comment, as was HB 200, on the procedure to override a local tax cap, 176-156. HB 228, guaranteeing the author of a petitioned warrant article a voice at town meeting, and HB 374, on local budget laws, both had clarifying amendments and were concurred without comment.
HB 554, which had been about placement of political signs on municipal property, had been amended to only deal with state property, and we non-concurred with this change since there’s already a Senate bill on that issue.
HB 25, the capital budget, had minimal changes – the Senate just added $5 million for clean water projects, which also leveraged more Federal funds. We agreed with a voice vote.
HB 189, on the state energy strategy, and HB 504, on state energy policy, both had minor amendments and we concurred on voice votes. HB 672, to allow off grid energy generators, also had a clarifying amendment, but was debated over the original concept before passing, 185-151.
HB 682, cleaning up statutory references to wind energy, was concurred without discussion. HB 680, directing the state to withdraw from the regional electric grid organization, was debated at some length, with the oppositions insisting that the state was not a member of the organization, so withdrawal was impossible. Supporters pointed out that we are influenced by our neighbors’ energy policy, so separating from the organization makes sense. It passed, 188-155.
HB 696, resolving which taxes apply to electrical generating facilities, had a minor amendment to allow for established in lieu of taxes agreements, and was concurred without debate.
HB 163, on dedicated funds, HB 591, hours for keno gaming, and HB 650, more cleanup about dedicated funds, all passed on voice votes without debate.
All in all, a rather dull day, with most of the debates being objections to the original bills (largely passed on a partisan basis) rather than any Senate changes. More significant Senate changes went to committee of conference, and we’ll deal with those on June 26.
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