Bills Restricting Local Government Regulation Stuck In Committee

Neither House Bill 302 nor Senate Bill 172, which would have prohibited local governments from regulating design standards on one and two-family residential properties, made it out of committee on Thursday, the day when a bill usually needs to come to the floor of one chamber for ultimate passage.

The House Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee met three times on House Bill 302, most recently on Wednesday, when it approved a substitute for the original bill in a 9 to 7 vote.

The House Rules Committee met on Thursday but did not take action on House Bill 302, which has generated strong opposition from Oconee County city and county officials.

Senate Bill 172, which was identical to the original House Bill 302, was referred to the Senate Oversight Committee on Feb. 25. The Oversight Committee took no action on the proposed legislation.

Marcus Wiedower, who represents most of Oconee County in the House, said the bills are dead for this session. Wiedower said he was satisfied with that outcome.

For more on the story, please go to Oconee County Observations.