A Senate committee on Tuesday tabled Senate Bill 391, which proposed changes to civil-penalty assessments under the Air Quality Control Act. The bill’s sponsor said the measure would require regulators to consider whether an emitter self-reported, took remedial actions, or experienced a mechanical mishap before assessing civil penalties and would prohibit setting penalties based on a permittee’s ability to pay.

Opponents, including committee members who reviewed the committee analysis and federal requirements, warned the changes could conflict with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements tied to a state implementation plan (SIP) and risk federal funding if the state’s SIP were found less stringent. Senator Zedillo Lopez said EPA guidance already allows consideration of ability to pay and that codifying a prohibition could expose the state to federal consequences. She also warned the bill’s mitigation language could lead to litigation about what constitutes appropriate mitigation.

Sponsor testimony and supporters argued the bill rewards companies that self-report and cooperate with remediation, rather than punishing good-faith efforts to clean up environmental problems. Senator Townsend cited a case in which a company that acquired another company identified problems during a voluntary audit, spent large sums to remedy them under agency direction and later received a substantial fine; the sponsor framed the bill as encouraging self-reporting and cooperation.

Multiple senators raised technical and policy concerns about the bill’s language, including how to define “appropriate action,” how to reconcile the measure with EPA requirements and whether the bill would undermine enforcement against bad actors. The Environment Department was not present to testify; the committee chair said the department reported it was in litigation on the matter and declined to testify to avoid ex parte communication.

Senator Cervantes moved to table the bill; the committee voted to table it. Committee roll-call indicated the tabling motion passed (committee announced the bill was tabled).