Committee advances conservation-banking bill after Earthjustice opposition and DLNR alignment

The Senate Committee on Water, Land, Culture and the Arts voted to advance SB 2005 with amendments after competing testimony about safeguards for imperiled species.

Catherine Stanaway of DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife told the committee the department supports the bill and noted that a House companion (HB 1802, House Draft 1) contains statutory safeguards that differ from the Senate draft, which relies more on administrative rules. David Henkin of Earthjustice said he opposed SB 2005 because, "as Ms. Stanaway mentioned, it does not have in statute the safeguards that we need to protect our imperiled species," and urged adopting the House language.

Angela Melody (CARES) testified in support, saying conservation banks can reduce permit processing times, provide predictable costs for developers and "ensure mitigation success" by using pre-established, managed sites. The testimony referenced that incidental-take permits and habitat conservation plans are the legal mechanisms for certain authorizations under the Endangered Species Act.

At decision making the committee adopted amendments to align SB 2005 with the cited House draft's language and added a defective date; the chair said the changes were made in response to Earthjustice and stakeholder concerns and the measure will move on for further fiscal or legal review.

The committee’s action preserves the core authorization for conservation banks while responding to calls for clearer statutory safeguards; lawmakers will still need to reconcile rulemaking versus statutory standards as the bill progresses.