Committee adopts amendments and reports substitute House Bill 22 38 out of committee
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Summary
The committee adopted four amendments to House Bill 22 38 (food security strategy) by voice votes, rejected one roll‑call amendment, and voted 11–0 to report the substitute bill out of committee with a 'due pass' recommendation.
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee took action on House Bill 22 38 on Jan. 21 after a staff briefing by Rebecca Lewis. The underlying bill directs the Department of Agriculture to add food security coordination and monitoring powers and to develop a statewide food security strategy.
Staff said there were five amendments in the electronic binder. The committee adopted four amendments by voice vote: LOUIS 61 (adds tracking of regulatory cost metrics for food system performance), LOUIS 62 (requires the department to recommend measures the legislature could take to make food more affordable), LOUIS 60 (adds individuals with lived experience of food insecurity including at least one BIPOC representative and small BIPOC farmers to consultation lists), and LOUIS 63 (adds metrics for agricultural viability including fuel and labor costs).
The committee took a roll‑call vote on LOUIS 64 (Representative Dent), which would have required the Department of Agriculture to hire a consultant to study cost impacts of certain proposed legislation. The roll call recorded 5 ayes and 6 nays; the amendment failed.
After incorporating the adopted amendments into a substitute, Vice Chair Morgan moved that substitute House Bill 22 38 be reported out of committee with a due‑pass recommendation. The committee voted by roll call 11–0 in favor of reporting the substitute bill out of committee. Chair Reeves announced the result and thanked stakeholders for input.
What the amendments do: supporters said they add important data and lived‑experience perspectives to the development of a statewide food security strategy and help identify cost drivers affecting affordability. Some members cautioned that certain study mandates could carry a fiscal note and that hiring consultants in a constrained budget year might slow progress.
What’s next: substitute House Bill 22 38 will proceed with the committee’s due‑pass recommendation; the bill sponsor and staff indicated willingness to continue working with members on technical refinements before further floor consideration.
