Local Government Committee advances two committee substitutes; SB975, HB3496 approved in executive session

The House Committee on Local Government approved two committee substitutes in executive session, advancing one senate and one house measure to the next stage.

The panel first adopted a distributed substitute amendment (ending in .07c) and then voted to report the House committee substitute for Senate Bill 975 "do pass." The clerk announced a roll-call result of 16 ayes and 0 nos. Committee members said the adopted substitute removes a previously controversial clause from Senator Black’s original draft and replaces it with Representative Farnon’s text.

The committee then considered a House committee substitute for House Bill 3496, a package that began as a county-official salary commission measure but was broadened by the bill handler to include cleanup language for county clerks and election authorities, additions related to sheriffs and prosecuting attorneys, and a larger change addressing county classification and assessed-valuation treatment aimed at assisting several fourth-class counties. The committee voted the substitute "do pass" by a roll-call tally of 15 ayes and 1 no.

Committee members asked whether the valuation language would affect cost-of-living adjustments; the bill handler said COLAs are managed separately by the salary commission and the substitute addresses base salaries and valuation rules. Members also flagged that language tied to county classification arose after auditor guidance and may require clean-up; sponsors said they would work with stakeholders and noted the affected counties asked for a fix.

No floor dates were recorded in the hearing record. The committee moved out of executive session and opened a series of public hearings on other local bills.