Senator moves to discharge conference for carbon sequestration bill; senators vote to keep earlier permits under old rules

Senator Henskins moved to discharge the conference committee on Senate Bill 36, which concerns carbon sequestration, and explained that the bill should not alter the regulatory status of pipelines already permitted by the Department of Natural Resources before the governor signs a separate measure.

"There were two pipelines that have already been permitted by the Department of Natural Resources," Senator Henskins said. "This bill now is just saying, if you were permitted before the governor signs 244, you stay under the old regulations. That's what it does, and I ask to concur."

The Senate voted to discharge the conference committee on the measure and carried the motion by a recorded vote of 36 ayes and 2 nays. The sponsor said the change was to avoid catching previously permitted projects in new regulations adopted in a separate bill discussed earlier in the session.

Why it matters: The floor action preserves the prior regulatory framework for already permitted carbon sequestration pipelines, according to the sponsor. That limits the immediate reach of any newly enacted rules to projects permitted after the governor signs the separate measure; it does not change existing permits.

The passage was a procedural step (discharge from conference) that clears the bill for further Senate action consistent with the adopted conference report or further negotiation with the House.