Appropriations adds emergency clause, sends $30M potato processing line‑of‑credit bill back to policy

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday approved an amendment adding an emergency clause to House Bill 13‑32 — a $30 million line‑of‑credit proposal to support a potato processing warehouse project in Grand Forks — and then recommended the bill for passage as amended.

Representative Haggard had requested that the bill be amended to include an emergency clause so the funding mechanism would take effect immediately if enacted. Committee discussion focused on procedural steps: committee members noted the bill had already been heard in policy and that the amendment simply adds the emergency clause before returning the bill to the policy committee for final action.

Votes and procedure - Amendment (emergency clause): moved by Senator Dwyer and seconded; amendment passed (committee roll call recorded: amendment passed with majority support). - Motion for do pass as amended on House Bill 13‑32: moved by Senator Dwyer and seconded by Senator Connolly; committee recommended do pass as amended and the bill was returned to policy (committee vote recorded as passage).

Ending: The bill with the emergency clause will return to the policy committee for its next procedural step and be carried by the designated sponsor; appropriators said the motion was primarily procedural to add the emergency clause before policy action.