Conference committee approves HB 24-89 to fund Sinco disaster relief in second senatorial district

The House–Senate conference committee voted to adopt House Bill 24-89 (HS1, SD1), which directs $300,000 of Commonwealth Economic Development Authority dividends from the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation to Super Typhoon Sinco disaster relief operations and personnel in the second senatorial district.

The motion to adopt HB 24-89 (HS1, SD1) was offered by Representative Ralph N. Yumo and seconded; all three House conferees and all three Senate conferees recorded affirmative votes, and the committee instructed the Legislative Attorney to prepare a conference report for both chambers to adopt.

Conferees debated changes offered by the House and the Senate before the vote. Members discussed language tied to expenditure authority and the potential for certain recovery activities to be reimbursable; some House conferees had proposed additional reimbursement provisions intended to return funds to the delegation if federal reimbursement becomes available. Senate conferees raised concerns that added reimbursement language could create administrative burdens on municipalities and noted SD1’s monthly reporting requirement and re-appropriation mechanism as safeguards.

After a short recess to reconcile draft language, conferees agreed to proceed with the Senate SD1 version of the bill, leaving the SD1 reporting and re-appropriation provisions intact. The committee adopted HB 24-89 HS1 SD1 and recorded unanimous affirmative votes among the listed conferees.

The measure will be carried forward in a conference report for formal adoption by both chambers.