House Environment and Transportation Committee advances voting list No. 3, approving bills on invasive trees, tow rates, veterinary guidance and agency rules

The House Environment and Transportation Committee considered Voting List No. 3 and approved a package of bills covering invasive-species regulation, veterinary guidance on cannabis products, approved tow-rate standards and several administrative and technical changes.

Unidentified Speaker 3 summarized House Bill 35 as amended, saying it would "authorize the governing body of a county or municipality to regulate listed invasive trees, including tree-of-heaven," allow local bounties and establish a native tree replacement program to address pests such as the spotted lanternfly. Two amendments (a technical clean-up and a definitions/scope expansion) were adopted and the bill as amended passed; Delegate Grammer was recorded in opposition.

A delegate identified in the transcript as "Delegate Zilar" presented House Bill 452, which "prohibits the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners from suspending or revoking a license to practice veterinary medicine, reprimanding or censuring a licensee, or placing a licensee on probation solely on the basis of that licensee discussing or…