Committee rejects amendment-backed bill to add county seats on municipal power boards

The State and Local Government committee debated an amendment to House Bill 2418 aimed at adding seats for county or neighboring-county ratepayers on municipally owned power boards but ultimately failed to advance the bill.

Sponsor Representative Whit Boyd urged the committee to adopt amendment 016376, which would create seats for non‑city ratepayers where a de minimis threshold of 3,500 ratepayers is met and allow county mayors to opt out. "There is a de minimis threshold of 3,500 rate payers," Boyd said while explaining the proposal. Boyd said the change would permit outside counties to have representation while preserving the ability of the original city members to retain a simple majority if appointments shifted the balance of power.

Opponents questioned the fairness of adding new members for a relatively small number of outside customers. Representative Mitchell pressed the sponsor on proportionality: "Do you think that's fair?" he asked, arguing that adding seats could give a small share of ratepayers outsized representation. Representative Dixie called the proposal a "knee‑jerk reaction" that could substantially expand some boards.

After discussion the committee voted. The clerk recorded 9 ayes, 9 noes and 3 present not voting; the bill failed at the committee stage. No amendment further changed the outcome. The committee moved on to subsequent calendar items.