Committee advances farm‑support bill after amendment withdrawn; some members dissent

The House Environmental Committee on Thursday voted to report House Bill 586 to the full House after an amendment filed by Representative Sender was withdrawn.

Representative Friel, the bill sponsor, thanked colleagues and said the measure reflects two years of work with stakeholders and is intended to help farmers. "It's a really important piece of legislation that we've been working on for the last 2 years with a lot of work from folks on both sides," Friel said.

Representative Brett Raider told the committee he would vote no in committee because of concerns the amendments that were expected might not be settled and because of a philosophical objection to expanding state involvement. "For me, it's big government versus small government... I'm gonna vote no in the committee, but this is a really important bill that we have to get through," Raider said. He added he expects an amendment or similar language to be adopted on the House floor and that he will vote yes there.

Committee staff called the roll before the chair announced the bill "passes and will be reported to the floor, as reported." The transcript records several members voting no on committee passage, while others voted yes; the transcript does not record full amendment text or the final floor language.

The sponsor said the amendment filed by Representative Sender was withdrawn; the sponsor and others said they expect an agreement on amendment language to be reached on the House floor.

The committee's action forwards the bill for consideration by the full House; the transcript does not specify the bill's substantive provisions or any fiscal impacts.