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Committee advances bill to shield local governments when assisting energy facility reviews
Summary
Substitute Senate Bill 5,317, which would limit liability for local governments that assist energy facility reviews conducted by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, was reported out of committee with a due-pass recommendation after the panel adopted a striking amendment.
Substitute Senate Bill 5,317, which would limit liability for local governments that assist energy facility reviews conducted by the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, was reported out of committee Wednesday with a due-pass recommendation after the panel adopted a striking amendment.
Meg Wheat Fadden, staff to the committee, explained the bill’s effect: “Senate Bill 5,317 specifies that cities and counties entering into agreements with the energy facility site evaluation council for providing technical assistance, conducting application plan application or plan review, or conducting inspections for an energy facility are considered to be in compliance with all other state or and local laws which may be in conflict. And additionally, any such actions are not subject to appeal under the state environmental policy act or the land use petition act.”
Committee members adopted striking amendment H-19608.1 to make conforming statutory citations before voting to advance the bill. Vice Chair Hunt moved adoption of the striking amendment; the amendment was approved by voice vote and then the committee advanced the substitute bill as amended. A staff member announced the final recorded tally as “20 ayes, 1 excused.”
The bill’s supporters said the measure reduces legal risk for municipalities and counties that choose to provide technical assistance to EFSEC, which supporters said could allow more local input into EFSEC reviews without exposing local governments to new liability.
Representative Dye urged approval, telling the committee that the proposal “takes away some of the risk from our local municipalities and counties in order to offer technical assistance and support to the FSEC without risk of those liabilities,” and that it “opens up a pathway so that local communities have more input and say into the FSAC process without the risks that would be inherent should they offer that without these protections.”
Committee discussion focused on the bill’s legal mechanics and the need to ensure statutory citations complied with constitutional drafting requirements; that was the rationale given for adopting the striking amendment. The transcript records that Representative Fitzgibbon was excused for the vote.
The committee’s action is procedural: the committee reported the substitute bill with a due-pass recommendation to the next stage of the legislative process. The committee did not adopt policy changes beyond the language contained in the substitute and the adopted conforming amendment, and no further implementation details or fiscal impacts were specified during the hearing.
