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Senate passes DNR bill after rejecting amendment to impose cleanup fines
Summary
The Senate substituted and passed House File 22‑15 (DNR bill) covering DNR office location, a state park nonresident fee pilot and hunting‑age changes; Senator Weiner's amendment to impose fines equal to 10% of cleanup costs was ruled not germane and not adopted; final passage recorded (ayes 31, nays 14).
House File 22‑15, which the Senate substituted for Senate File 22‑30, passed the chamber after debate over a nongermane amendment. Senator Sweeney said the bill, coming from the Department of Natural Resources, moves certain DNR duties and includes a park user‑fee pilot program and changes to supervised hunting ages.
Senator Weiner offered Senate Amendment 50‑80 to impose a fine equal to 10% of the cleanup and mitigation costs on companies responsible for environmental damage; he argued the fine would give the DNR more enforcement power and save taxpayers money by putting more of the cleanup burden on responsible parties. The chair ruled the amendment not germane to the bill's contents, prompting criticism from Senator Petersen that limiting germane discussion prevents addressing water‑quality and pollution concerns. The Senate nevertheless moved the bill for final reading and passed it on record (ayes 31, nays 14).
Floor debate recorded concerns about enforcement authority and germane rulings; the bill was passed and the sponsor moved to withdraw the related Senate File 22‑30 substitution as ordered.
