The General Assembly is ramping up for the year with informational committee presentations on a variety of state agencies and stakeholders, setting the stage for the legislative session. A few bills with environmental interest continued to scootch through the process, as did Helene relief legislation.
House and Senate Appropriations subcommittees met this week to hear presentations on agency funding. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Natural and Economic Resources covers environmental and conservation issues.
The House Regulatory Reform Committee heard from the Homebuilders Association and the Retail Merchants Association, and got a primer on the Office of Administrative Hearings and Rulemaking. The House Energy and Public Utilities Committee met to hear presentations from some of the utility companies operating in North Carolina.
The House Judiciary Committee gave its blessing to H62, Farmers Protection Act, which would prohibit banks from considering ESG (environmental, social and governance factors) when making decisions about lending to farmers. If challenged, the lending institutions would have to prove ESG was not a consideration in making a loan. Next, the bill goes to the House Agriculture and Environment Committee, which is due to meet Wednesday.
That committee heard this week from NC Department of Environmental Quality divisions about their scopes of responsibility, then approved H130, Agriculture Crops Disaster Relief, which would provide some funding to farmers whose crops were damaged or lost during the 2024 storms.
It also approved H8, NC Managing Environmental Waste Act of 2025, the perennial effort to reduce the single use food and beverage containers waste stream to landfills. In past sessions, the bill made it through the House but stalled out in the Senate. We're supporting Rep. Harry Warren (R-Rowan), the main sponsor, in pushing the legislation forward this go-round. Stay tuned for ways you can help!