Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Sponsor withdraws moratorium-oversight bill after extended hearing and public comment
Summary
Senate Bill 290, a proposal to require legislative approval before state agencies impose moratoriums affecting watersheds, drew hours of testimony from conservation groups, agricultural organizations and local residents before sponsor Blake Johnson withdrew the bill for further work.
Senate Bill 290, which would have required state agencies to obtain legislative approval from the agriculture committees before imposing moratoriums affecting watersheds, prompted lengthy testimony Wednesday and was withdrawn by its sponsor for further drafting.
Sponsor Senator Blake Johnson (District 21) described the bill as a process change that would require agencies to present proposed moratoriums to the legislative agriculture committees before the agencies finalized rulemaking. Johnson said the idea is to place “major land-use restrictions” under closer legislative oversight and to provide elected representatives the opportunity to review moratoriums that could affect agricultural operations.
The hearing drew dozens of public witnesses on both sides. Opponents said…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
