House Business and Labor Committee advances labor, lobbying and consumer bills; extends micro‑kitchen prep window

The House Business and Labor Committee advanced multiple bills in a final session Thursday, adopting changes to how public‑sector labor organizations are defined, tightening lobbying disclosure rules, expanding the permitted preparation window for microenterprise home kitchens to 72 hours, clarifying when loans qualify as title loans, and moving a one‑year rate‑adjustment measure for autism service providers.

The committee approved a fourth substitute of Senate Bill 327, which narrows and refines definitions tied to public‑sector labor organizations and clarifies that private contractors performing internal agency functions are not swept into the labor‑organization definition. Sponsor Senator Brammer said the measure mostly preserves language enacted earlier this session and aims to “refine some definitions that existed in House Bill 267.” The committee later passed SB 327 with a recorded vote, 11–2; Representatives Wynne and Matthews voted no.

Committee members also cleared Senate Bill 291, a set of lobbying amendments that requires lobbyists to disclose ownership interests in non‑publicly traded entities they represent. The sponsor told the committee the bill was intended to treat contingency‑style arrangements more transparently: “When you have an ownership interest in an entity and that entity would benefit from the lobbying effort, it acts almost as if a contingency has occurred,” the sponsor said. The committee adopted a first substitute as amended and gave SB 291 a favorable recommendation.

On food‑business rules, the committee advanced Senate Bill 315, which would…