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Senate approves change narrowing Good Samaritan scope for NGOs that assist undocumented immigrants
Summary
Senate Bill 227, amended by the House, limits where the commissioner may issue variances and, in debate, sponsors said the House amendment restricts application to single‑family residences; the Senate concurred and later adopted the bill on third reading (ayes 24, nays 4).
Senator Taylor moved Senate Bill 227 for third and final consideration and described the bill as clarifying when a commissioner may issue variances for subsurface sewage disposal systems in contract counties. The House attached an amendment that, sponsors said, limits some applications to single‑family residences.
Senator Yarbrough sought clarification about substantive changes in the House amendment and whether it precluded local governments from adopting standards that are more stringent than state minima. Leader Johnson agreed to move the item to the heel of the message calendar to confer with concerned senators and later renewed the motion to concur.
Debate centered on whether the amendment produced a "pretty significant substantive change" to local authority over sewage regulation. After conferring and discussion, the Senate recorded a concurrence and passed the bill on the floor (ayes 24, nays 4).
The Senate's action will be sent to the enrolling process and to the other chamber as required; no additional implementation steps were announced on the floor.
