Committee passes bill after sponsor, Entergy agree on amendment

A legislative committee voted to pass Senate Bill 596 after the bill’s sponsor said she and Entergy reached agreement on an amendment and earlier objections were withdrawn.

Representative Mindy McElendon, House District 10, told the committee she had worked with Entergy “to come up with an amendment that is acceptable,” and said Swepco had “said that they are pulling their objection” while the cooperatives were neutral. McElendon said committee members had agreed to continue working in the interim “to make sure that we are creating the best bill and doing what's best for the ratepayers.”

Members said the amendment had been engrossed in the Senate and voted on the previous night before being returned to the House in its current form. A motion to pass the bill was offered and the committee approved it by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. The sponsor closed remarks and the motion was carried.

Committee members discussed whether any amendment paperwork needed formal adoption; one member noted the Senate changes left “a clean bill this time that everybody agrees on.” Committee staff recorded no public commenters signed to speak on the item.

The transcript records that Entergy supported the amendment, Swepco withdrew its objection and the co-ops took a neutral position. The committee also noted it would continue work in the interim on drafting and technical adjustments to the bill. No formal secondary motions, amendments on the floor, or recorded roll-call votes appear in the transcript.

The bill’s future steps (committee of reference or floor schedule) were not specified in the transcript.