Committee rejects broadening amendment but advances House Bill 484 on water protections

The Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure committee voted down an amendment that would have broadened statutory protections for several reservoirs, then moved a favorable report for House Bill 484 in its original form.

A lawmaker arguing for the amendment said it would “make sure that all of these water sources are protected,” while noting a compromise was intended to preserve recreational fishing in most areas. The same speaker said they had consulted local prosecutors and the attorney general, stating, “I’ve spoken with our district attorney, Keith Blackwood, and I’ve spoken to Attorney General Steve Marshall. Both of them recommend that we fix this.” That speaker was not named on the record in the transcript and is attributed here as a lawmaker.

Opponents and other members questioned whether the bill should cover reservoirs that were not formed by damming navigable waterways. An agency representative described the state’s position in ongoing litigation: when a navigable waterway’s original channel is dammed, “the surface waters become public waters,” a legal theory the department has asserted in court regarding Big Creek Lake.

The committee took a roll-call vote on the amendment; the amendment failed and the bill returned to its prior text. The clerk then called a separate roll for a favorable report on House Bill 484. The record shows multiple members voting in favor; the committee announced that House Bill 484 "as amended" (the committee’s procedural posture after returning to original text) passed and will be reported out of committee.

Next steps: the committee’s favorable report sends House Bill 484 to the next stage of the legislative process. The transcript does not include any subsequent plenary-floor action or enactment date.

Sources: committee debate and roll-call announcements recorded in the committee transcript.