Senate Resources Committee moves HJR 29 from committee after adopting amendment requiring catch certificates

The Senate Resources Committee on March 13 adopted Amendment 1 to House Joint Resolution 29 and moved the resolution from committee as amended. Senator Rauscher moved the amendment, which adds a whereas calling for strengthened enforcement by requiring catch certificates for foreign-caught seafood to reduce reliance on importer self-declaration.

Representative Sara Stutes, the sponsor, said the language “will just strengthen the resolution” and thanked Senator Rauscher for following up with the drafting work. After the amendment was adopted, Senator Kawasaki moved HJR 29 (version 34 LS 13 14 I A) from committee “as amended, with individual recommendations and the attached fiscal note,” and Chair Giesel noted there were no objections.

Why it matters: The amendment responds to testimony and committee concern that current enforcement approaches rely too heavily on importer self-declaration. The added whereas requests stronger verification (catch certificates) to improve enforcement of existing prohibitions.

What happened next: Committee members were asked to stay briefly after the meeting to sign the committee report. The resolution was reported from committee; no roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.

The committee then took up Senate Bill 275 for initial presentation and Q&A, which will be returned to the committee for further review at the next scheduled meeting.