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Senate approves Air Conservation amendments to allow limited solid-fuel cooking; members raise air-quality concerns
Summary
The Senate adopted an amendment to House Bill 65 that allows the division discretion to permit solid fuels for cooking (for example, pizza ovens), citing small-business concerns. Supporters said the change balances business needs and air-quality goals; some senators raised concerns about particulate pollution. The amended bill passed on roll-call and will be returned to the House.
Senator Adams introduced House Bill 65 to amend the Air Conservation Act so that the division can permit use of solid fuels in certain cooking operations. Adams framed the amendment as a targeted allowance to enable businesses that rely on wood or solid fuels — such as pizza shops and other food-service operations — to continue functioning while the state pursues clean-air goals. "What it does, it will allow us to decrease lines on election day..." (context: sponsor discussion of technical fixes elsewhere) and on HB 65 he said the intent was to "allow those that would like to use solid fuel for the cooking of food to be able to function also."
Senator Van Tassel and other members described small businesses in their districts that rely on wood-fired cooking and thanked the sponsor for the amendment, warning that overly broad restrictions could harm nascent businesses that need a few critical days of operation. Senator Van Tassel said some local businesses "rely on wood to cook their pizzas" and that strict restrictions could be "too restrictive" for starters and small operators.
Senator Shiozawa pressed the sponsor on air-quality implications, asking the sponsor to comment on the particulate-matter impacts of wood-burning. "There is community concern about wood burning, for example, and how the particulate matter can be a problem," Shiozawa said. Senator Adams responded that the amendment was designed to allow limited commercial cooking uses and that additional language could be considered to address larger commercial smokehouses. "We actually restricted it to the commercial cooking," the sponsor said, and noted the bill aims to balance air-quality protection with small-business operations.
The amendment was adopted. On final roll-call the Senate reported House Bill 65 as having received 25 'yay' votes, 3 'nay' votes and 1 absence; it will be returned to the House for concurrence.
The floor record shows a balance of policy goals: supporters emphasized protecting small-business operations that use solid fuel for cooking, while other senators voiced health and air-quality concerns and sought clarifications about scope and limits.
