Votes at a glance: committee advances a package of bills on seniors, development and tourism incentives

At the close of the session the committee recorded favorable reports or filings on several bills with limited floor discussion.

• House Bill 96 (Representative Pringle): Described as raising the allowable home-equity exemption for senior citizens in bankruptcy to reduce the likelihood of losing their homes. Committee reported the bill favorably (14–0).

• House Bill 250 (Representative Garrett): Sponsor noted the Senate had previously passed a version and the house version will likely be the vehicle; committee gave a favorable report (14–0).

• Senate Bill 289 (Senator Singleton): Would allow two economic-development associations or adjacent local governments to jointly own or participate in development to obtain incentives; committee discussion was supportive and the bill was filed for a report.

• House Bill 359 (Representative Witt; carried by Mister Elliott): Clarifies and tightens guardrails for a tourism tax-incentive rebate, adding documentation and definitions (examples on page 10 of the bill), and the committee recorded a favorable report (15–0).

All recorded committee votes on these items were unanimous in favor as noted in the record. Details such as statutory text, fiscal amounts or implementation timelines were not fully developed in committee testimony and will be clarified as each bill advances.