Natural Resources committee reviews draft H.319 changes to preserve federal references, tweak paint EPR and fee timing

Committee members and staff reviewed multiple technical and policy provisions in a new draft of H.319, focusing on a provision designed to prevent state programs from being left without enforceable standards if certain federal regulations are repealed, and on refinements to the recovered household hazardous products and paint EPR language.

The committee heard that the bill "provides that any federal regulation incorporated by reference into an ANR rule as of 01/01/2025 shall continue with that as an agency rule until 01/01/2028 when the agency rules next amended, whichever is sooner," and that ANR would be required to post incorporated federal regulations on its website, Michael Grama, committee counsel, said. Grama added that section text clarifies ANR "shall provide notices that incorporated federal regulations, like posting them on the ANR website" so they remain available if federal versions are repealed.

Committee members discussed the legal mechanics and timelines for that preservation language and whether an alternative date should be chosen. A committee member asked, "Why did you pick 01/01/1928 as the end date?" (transcript) and counsel clarified the date could be amended by the Legislature later and that it was not proposed by ANR. Several members cautioned that federal agencies attempting rapid repeals would likely rely on the Administrative Procedure Act "good cause" exception and that any executive-branch repeals could be litigated; counsel noted he "expect[s] that to be litigated as soon as 1 of the agencies tries to do that."

On EPR and product definitions, counsel outlined edits to recovered household hazardous products and the paint provisions: one technical change proposed replacing instances of "paint related products" with "paint products," and stakeholders asked to exclude industrial or OEM products from the definition of "coating-related products." Counsel explained industrial products "are handled most likely as universal waste or hazardous waste" and would be dealt with by those programs.

Members also reviewed editorial and timing clarifications elsewhere in the draft, including a reporting deadline adjustment for a treasurer's report (noted as moving from 2026 to 2027 in the draft), a proposal to change statutory wording from "before" to "of" (and the resulting ambiguity), and a $250,000 fiscal-year 2026 appropriation item to contract for a packaging needs assessment located in a different bill discussed later in the meeting.

Committee staff and members emphasized that the section preserving incorporated federal rules is intended as a contingency while noting the Administrative Procedure Act complicates immediate federal repeals. No formal motions or votes on H.319 language occurred during this session.

Members asked staff to confirm the treasurer/report timing language and to circulate a revised draft that resolves the "before/after/of" ambiguity noted in the discussion. Counsel agreed to follow up with agency partners and advocates on the paint definition language and the date chosen for the preservation provision.