House committee amends Senate Bill 2379 to send single certified notice to 'owner on the tax list'

The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee amended and voted to advance Senate Bill 2379 on a voice and roll-call vote, changing the bill so that notice would be addressed to the “owner on the tax list” and directing that a single certified mailing cover multiple sibling parcels with the same listed owner.

The change, adopted as amendment 0.02003, strikes the word "landowner" and inserts "owner on the tax list" on page 1, line 16 of the proposed amendment. Committee members said the revision is intended to avoid sending multiple notices to different parcel identifiers that belong to the same listed owner. Chairman Porter announced the amendment passed on a roll call showing nine yes votes and four no votes; the committee later voted 9–4 to give the bill a due-pass recommendation as amended.

Why it matters: the amendment narrows how mail notice will be distributed for the bill’s intent-to-survey requirement, affecting which individuals or entities receive a certified notice and how many mailings are generated when a single owner holds multiple adjacent or related parcels.

Discussion and clarifications

Representative Hedlund asked what would happen if a recipient refused to accept or acknowledge a certified mailing. A staff member told the committee that, under the bill’s approach, the obligation of the notifying company is met by sending the certified letter and the statute would treat delivery as the trigger; the committee record does not create a separate refusal-acceptance process in the bill text.

Committee members and an unnamed postal employee also described how certified mail is processed: the postal system records a barcode and a date/time stamp and retains a paper trail; if a recipient does not pick up a certified item it is eventually returned and the notice remains on file. The committee heard disagreement about whether the bill should require permission from a landowner rather than only providing notice. Representative Ruby said, “I am gonna oppose this because we're getting away from the permission from the landowner and just doing notice. I think it's a little bit better, but, the intent of the bill was was permission and that's where I would like to see it stay.”

Motions and votes

- Amendment 0.02003 (strike “landowner” and insert “owner on the tax list” on page 1, line 16) - Mover: Representative Heintner (moved to amend) - Second: Representative Olson - Roll-call result: 9 yes, 4 no. Outcome: amendment passes.

- Motion: Due pass on Senate Bill 2379 as amended - Mover: Representative Anderson - Second: Representative Novak - Roll-call result: 9 yes, 4 no. Outcome: do pass as amended; bill carrier: 2379.

What the record does not specify

- The bill text itself (beyond the cited line change) and the final statutory language were not included in the transcript. The transcript records committee discussion about certified mail and delivery mechanics but does not quote a specific statutory citation or provide the full bill text on the record.

Next steps

Chairman Porter indicated the bill will be carried forward by the bill carrier identified on the record as 2379.