2003 Senate Bill 252 ↩

Senate Roll Call 27: Passed

To adopt a compromise version of the bill reported by a House-Senate conference committee. This contains the major elements of the House-passed version. It levies $3 million in wastewater and stormwater discharge fees on permit holders, which will pay part of the $5.4 million the Department of Environmental Quality says is the cost of the permit program. Significantly, the conference report contains the House-passed provision which denies the Department of Environmental Quality authority to make new water pollution rules without specific legislative authority. It also has lower fees for agriculture and higher ones for municipalities compared to earlier versions.