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Natural Resources & Energy chair signals possible vote on H 778 dam safety bill, seeks stakeholder language
Summary
The Natural Resources & Energy chair said the committee plans to reconsider H 778, a dam safety bill, and may vote soon but wants suggested language from stakeholder Eric Orange before proceeding; staff will follow up and the item could be removed from the agenda if input is not received. The meeting also previewed updates on the bottle bill, the fish and wildlife bill, and a lengthy discussion on the building energy code.
The Natural Resources & Energy committee chair said the panel is likely to consider H 778, the dam safety bill, at its next meeting but could delay a final vote until suggested language from stakeholder Eric Orange is received.
The chair told members she was “feeling like we're pretty close on H 778, the dam safety bill,” and placed the measure on the agenda for a possible discussion and vote, noting that the money for the proposal already appears in the House’s version of the budget. The chair said she would “walk through that again” to identify any tweaks before a vote.
Committee staff confirmed that Eric Orange had submitted testimony with possible suggested language. The chair said she would follow up by email to obtain his suggested text; she also said that if Orange’s input does not arrive in time she would prefer to delay the vote or remove the measure from the agenda rather than proceed without that stakeholder input.
Members also heard a brief preview of other upcoming items. The chair said the committee will receive an update on the bottle bill and expects to invite Matt Chapman to begin that discussion. The committee will also review a fish and wildlife bill and has scheduled an extended discussion of the building energy code for the next meeting.
On H 778 the chair noted that one participant named Drew had offered wording suggestions to explicitly call for coordination with emergency medical services. The chair said those were the type of specific edits the committee could adopt if provided; otherwise the committee could proceed through the rest of the bill and leave contested language pinned for later consideration.
No formal motions or votes were recorded during this meeting. The chair asked for final thoughts and, receiving none, adjourned the session. The chair and staff said they will follow up on the outstanding suggested language before the next meeting.
