Committee adopts amendment, advances bill letting state forester issue certain fire-protection citations

During a work session the House Judiciary Committee adopted the -1 amendment to House Bill 2819 and advanced the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation.

The introduced bill would authorize the state forester, or someone the state forester authorizes, to issue citations for fire-protection violations even if the enforcement officer did not personally witness the violation, provided there are reasonable grounds based on information received, investigation, or witness statements. The -1 amendment redefined “enforcement officer” in the statute to mean the state forester or a person authorized by the state forester.

Vice Chair Wallen moved adoption of the -1 amendment; a roll call was held and the motion passed with all recorded votes in favor. The committee then moved the bill, as amended, to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; that motion also passed on a roll call. Representative Tran volunteered to carry the bill on the floor.

The transcript records roll-call affirmative votes for the amendment and the subsequent motion to advance the bill; no negative or abstaining votes were recorded in the committee transcript excerpt for either question.

The committee closed the work session on HB 2819 after the motions passed and a floor-carrier was volunteered.