The Senate Natural Resources Committee voted to remove Senate Bill 71 from the table and then approved the bill, which continues use of Natural Resource Operations (NRO) special revenue funds for the Department of Environmental Quality’s mining program.

The bill drew questions about whether the measure would raise taxes and whether the DEQ had surplus funds. Director Nowakowski of the Department of Environmental Quality told the committee "no. We do not have a surplus at the DEQ. I sure wish we did, though." She said NRO funding is used to operate the agency’s mining bureau and that the bill would extend existing funding while the state considers a separate mining-fees proposal.

Why it matters: the NRO funds backfill a portion of mining-bureau operations and permit issuance; without an extension, DEQ staff warned permitting and oversight work could be disrupted. The committee’s action preserves the department’s funding path for the near term while lawmakers consider fee changes in a future bill.

Committee discussion and votes: Committee members first voted to remove the bill from the table in a roll call that recorded nine yes votes and two no votes. After DEQ leadership addressed questions about funding and program purpose, the committee held a voice vote to advance the bill; the motion passed and the committee reported Senate Bill 71 as passed out of committee.

DEQ explanation and limits: Nowakowski told senators the bill "simply extends the NRO money so we can continue on to fund the mining program and issue our permits." She said the department’s long-term approach is to continue the NRO backfill now and, if a separate mining-fees bill succeeds later, to reassess the need for the NRO backfill at that time. Nowakowski identified Dan Walsh as the division administrator who had testified on the bill earlier in the session.

Concerns raised: Senator Usher asked why members were bringing the bill off the table if it had been tabled previously; he said, "if we tabled it, we tabled it for a good reason." Several senators said they had discussed the bill with the director and were satisfied with the explanation that the bill does not create a new tax and is a continuation of existing funding. Senator Harvey, citing local mining impacts, supported continuing the program, saying lawmakers should "make sure they're taken care of with clean water." Senator Nolan noted that the sponsor had not provided a lot of information at the original hearing, and senators said DEQ had since provided clarifications.

What the bill does not do: Committee discussion clarified that Senate Bill 71 does not itself create new mining fees. Nowakowski said collection of new mining fees is the subject of a separate bill that is not part of SB 71. The bill before the committee extends the sunset or continuation for NRO appropriations that support DEQ mining operations.

Next steps: With committee approval, Senate Bill 71 advances to the Senate floor for further consideration; senators noted there will be additional opportunity on the floor to ask questions and seek further detail.

Ending: The committee adjourned after completing its agenda; senators also recorded a procedural retraction of an earlier misstatement about another bill during closing remarks.