Rules committee schedules six bills for consideration, including historic rehab tax credits and workforce package

The rules committee voted to place six bills on the calendar for floor consideration in the coming days, approving the motion without opposition.

Chair called for scheduling of HB376, HB998, HB999, HB1159, HB1302 and HB1379; the motion was seconded and the chair declared the motion carried unanimously. The bills cover a range of policy areas, from economic development to education and agriculture.

Sponsor remarks highlighted key points from several of the measures. The sponsor of HB376 said the historic rehabilitation tax credit program has effectively exhausted its available credits and the bill adds additional credits and stratifies incentives to favor projects in counties with fewer than 50,000 residents to prevent large urban projects from using the entire allocation. Representative Jones summarized HB998 as an extension and modernization of the universal access program for basic telephone service, with added guardrails to preserve rural service. Representative Gamble described HB1159 as a tax-exemption for certain farmer assistance payments, modeled after prior hurricane relief exemptions.

The committee moved the six bills to the calendar by voice/hand vote and will return to rulemaking processes as scheduled. Members asked clarifying questions on rural stratification for HB376 and on implementation mechanics for several workforce and tax measures; no formal amendments were adopted at this meeting.