Subcommittee rejects ban on correctional facilities, hospitals and nursing homes in 100-year floodplains

House Bill 293, which would have prohibited building correctional facilities, hospitals or nursing homes in areas designated as 100-year floodplains, failed in the Cities & Counties Subcommittee on Feb. 12 by a 5-2 vote.

Chairman Clemens, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee that the common feature among those facilities is limited mobility and that locating them in flood-prone areas risks the safety of people who cannot evacuate quickly. “When you have someone incarcerated, if you have someone in a nursing home, if you have someone in a hospital, mobility is limited. So we would never want to put those individuals in the position where they are limited in their ability to escape a flood,” Clemens said in committee discussion.

Opponents argued the proposal would encroach on local land-use authority. A member who identified themselves as a recovering county commissioner said land-use decisions are primarily county functions and expressed opposition for that reason. Committee debate also referenced recent flooding and operational difficulties experienced by medical facilities; one member recounted a hospital that had to move patients to its roof during a recent flood. The sponsor pointed to a fiscal note that, he said, outlined increased building and insurance costs in the absence of the proposed restriction.

After committee discussion, the clerk recorded two ayes and five noes; the noes prevailed and the bill did not advance. The subcommittee did not adopt an amendment for the bill; the vote outcome was recorded as failing to move to the next calendar.