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Senate amends and passes H50 to identify underutilized state buildings and land
Summary
The Senate adopted a compromise amendment narrowing language about agency purpose and passed H50 in concurrence, after discussion about limiting language to an individual agency's statutory purpose rather than a broad "state purpose."
The Senate amended and then passed H50, an act relating to identifying underutilized state buildings and land. Senators debated an amendment that narrows the bill's language to reference the “statutory purpose of the agency” rather than a broader “state purpose,” and adopted the compromise amendment before passing the bill in concurrence.
Senator from Orleans offered the amendment on behalf of the Senate Institutions Committee, saying the committee and the senator from Washington negotiated a compromise. "We worked together, had some discussion, and we came up with a alternative amendment that would alleviate some of the concerns of the committee as well as, additionally do what the senator from Washington was looking to do with her amendment," the senator from Orleans said. The senator said the amendment language being added appears on page 2837 of the calendar and limits the statutory language to the purpose of a single agency.
The senator from Orleans explained that the original language proposed by the senator from Washington would have used the phrase "state purpose," which the committee thought was too broad and could allow one agency head to challenge the necessity of another agency's activities. "So the language that we had is specifically from 1 agency talking about their own agency and not talking about anybody else's agency," the senator from Orleans said.
Senator from Addison expressed support for the amendment's sentiment, saying he wanted to ensure the state would not replicate federal proposals to sell public lands. He noted public support for keeping lands public and said he "wholeheartedly support[s] the sentiment of this amendment."
The Senate voted to adopt the amendment (voice vote) and then took third reading on H50. On the question "shall the bill pass in concurrence with proposal of amendment as amended?" the chamber responded by voice: "Aye." The president announced, "The ayes have it and we have passed in concurrence H50." The Senate record shows the amendment is on page 2837 of the calendar and the enacted language references the statutory purpose of the agency.
No roll-call vote totals or individual vote records were provided in the transcript; both the amendment and the final passage were announced by voice vote.
