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Committee advances bills on forest entry closures and county energy plans
Summary
The House Climate, Energy, and Environment Committee moved two work-session bills forward Feb. 20: HB 2817, which eliminates permanent entry closures on forest land for fire danger, and HB 3171, which changes county energy-resilience plan requirements and was referred to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.
Chair Lively opened the House Climate, Energy, and Environment Committee meeting and began work sessions on two bills before public hearings. In a work session, the committee moved House Bill 2817 and House Bill 3171 forward to the full House with recommendations.
House Bill 2817 eliminates permanent entry closure on forest land due to fire danger, according to the committee staff summary read into the record. Vice Chair Gamba moved the bill to the floor with a ‘‘do pass’’ recommendation. The clerk then called the roll for final passage; members recorded ‘‘aye’’ votes and the motion was announced as passing. Representative Austin offered an on-the-record apology to a testifier, saying, "I think I was a little hard on you on your testimony," and the apology was accepted as entered into the record.
House Bill 3171 changes what a county must include in an energy-resilience plan and directs counties to engage specified communities and consider certain factors when developing plans. Committee staff told members the bill carries a fiscal impact and that the bill was amended to add a subsequent referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Vice Chair Gamba moved HB 3171 to the floor with a ‘‘do pass’’ recommendation and the additional referral; the committee then called the roll and the motion carried.
Why it matters: HB 2817 removes a statutory mechanism used to restrict public access to forest land during periods of elevated fire danger; HB 3171 would alter county responsibilities for resilience planning and sends the bill to the budget committee for consideration of costs and implementation. Both measures now advance to the next stage of the legislative process.
Votes at a glance: - House Bill 2817 — Motion: move to the floor with a ‘‘do pass’’ recommendation (mover: Vice Chair Gamba). Outcome: passed in committee. (Roll call recorded ‘‘aye’’ votes; a member was recorded as excused.) - House Bill 3171 — Motion: move to the floor with a ‘‘do pass’’ recommendation and subsequent referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means (mover: Vice Chair Gamba). Outcome: motion carries; bill referred to Joint Committee on Ways and Means. (Roll call recorded mostly ‘‘aye’’ votes; Representative Wallen recorded a ‘‘no’’ vote in roll call.)
The committee proceeded to public hearings after the work sessions.
