House Environment and Transportation Committee advances voting list No. 3, approving bills on invasive trees, tow rates, veterinary guidance and agency rules
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Summary
The committee approved a slate of bills on invasive-tree control, veterinary guidance on cannabis products for animals, police-initiated tow-rate standards, forestry licensing, park-name language and administrative changes at the Maryland Environmental Service; one bill was withdrawn.
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 recommending the use of cannabis or a product that contains cannabidiol on an animal for potential therapeutic effect or health supplementation." There were no amendments and the bill passed on voice vote.
Chair Lewis (as referenced in the transcript) outlined House Bill 30, the police-initiated towing bill, as amended by subcommittee. The bill directs the state police to establish approved rates for police-initiated towing and recovery of light-duty vehicles, caps light-duty tow rates at 80 percent of the maximum medium-duty tow rates, and requires the committee on rate setting and complaint resolution for police-initiated towing and recovery to recommend light-duty rates and study insurance and cleanup costs related to out-of-state registered vehicles. The committee adopted an additional amendment renaming the committee for brevity and passed the bill.
House Bill 174, which allows sole owners or co-owners of marine vessels and co-owners of motor vehicles to designate transfer-on-death beneficiaries, and House Bill 342, which requires a four-year forestry curriculum (or a substantially equivalent degree as determined by the board) for applicants for a State Board of Foresters license while repealing a prior two-year experience requirement, both passed after subcommittee amendments were adopted. Committee members moved and passed the measures by voice vote.
House Bill 404 changes certain statutory references enacted under the 2022 Great Maryland Outdoors Act from "state historical parks" to "state parks" while the presenter said the parks' historical nature and statutory purposes would remain unchanged; committee members asked about potential signage costs and were told signage had not yet been printed and fiscal impact should be minimal. The bill passed by voice vote.
The committee also considered House Bill 227 (on which this committee was secondary), a departmental bill from the Maryland Environmental Service (MES). Unidentified Speaker 2 explained the bill would allow the appointed treasurer of MES to delegate duties, with board approval, to a deputy treasurer, raise MES's small-procurement threshold from $25,000 to $50,000, and update public-notice rules while retaining a newspaper publication requirement. The bill passed; Delegates Jacobs, Baker and Morgan were recorded in opposition.
House Bill 647 was withdrawn from the list. The chair closed the session by noting a heavy schedule of hearings next week and adjourning the meeting.
Votes at a glance: House Bill 35 (invasive-tree regulation) — passed as amended; recorded opposition: Delegate Grammer. House Bill 452 (veterinary guidance on cannabis) — passed. House Bill 30 (police-initiated towing rates) — passed as amended. House Bill 174 (transfer-on-death for vessels/vehicles) — passed. House Bill 342 (forestry license education) — passed as amended. House Bill 404 (park reference language under the 2022 Great Maryland Outdoors Act) — passed. House Bill 227 (Maryland Environmental Service administrative updates) — passed; recorded opposition: Delegates Jacobs, Baker, Morgan. House Bill 647 — withdrawn.
The committee completed its voting list and adjourned; members were reminded that next week's schedule will include Friday bill hearings and multiple long days of hearings Tuesday through Thursday.
