Agriculture committee moves to insert CREP expansion into House Bill 2255, omits electric‑vehicle charging language

The Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources discussed amendments to House Bill 2255 on the floor, agreeing to move forward with language from House Bill 2111 to expand the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) statewide cap from 40,000 to 60,000 acres while omitting proposed sections on electric‑vehicle charging‑station inspection and testing.

Why it matters: The change would raise the statewide CREP cap, adjust county limits, and add an annual per‑county enrollment limit intended to prevent large single‑year enrollments in one county; committee members said those adjustments respond to stakeholder concerns about concentrated enrollments and regional applicability.

What the committee discussed and agreed to move forward: Committee members debated whether to reinstate sections 23 and 24, which would have directed department involvement with inspecting or testing electric‑vehicle charging stations. One committee member said the committee and the…