Legislative counsel briefs committee on H.762 to extend County and Regional Governance Study Committee

Tim Devlin briefed the House Committee on Government Operations & Military Affairs on Jan. 29 about H.762, a bill proposing technical and schedule changes to the County and Regional Governance Study Committee created under Acts and Resolves, 2024, No. 118.

Devlin said the bill would extend the committee’s reporting deadline from Nov. 1, 2025 to Dec. 15, 2026, and change the committee’s 'cease to exist' date from July 1, 2026 to July 1, 2027. The proposal would replace the prior co-chair arrangement — which had included ex officio chairs from the House and Senate Government Operations committees — with a single chair elected from among the committee members. The bill also adds a narrow expansion to the committee’s charge by directing study of the Agency of Administration’s role in responding to all-hazards events.

Why this matters: Devlin framed the extension as necessary because the study committee’s work was interrupted by elections, membership turnover and recomposition; he said the committee’s earlier meetings were limited in number and the report is relatively brief, so additional time is needed to complete the study’s aims and any follow-up legislative work.

Committee members probed the timeline and scope, asking why the committee would remain in existence into the next biennium and whether a shorter sunset might suffice. Devlin and members discussed the value of an interim or preliminary report and noted the committee will continue to refine its charge during markup.

Next steps: Committee members indicated they will continue mark-up on the bill and may request refinements to the committee’s charge and timeline before final action.