HB 535, a bill that would create exclusion zones along the Louisiana coast in which the commercial harvest of menhaden — commonly known as pogeys — is prohibited, passed with amendments in the Senate yesterday by a 35 to 3 vote. It is scheduled for Concurrence in the House today, June 8.
Concurrence is a vote by the House to adopt or reject House bills that have been amended by the Senate. All Senate amendments on an instrument (bill) are adopted or rejected; there is no procedure for adopting some and rejecting others. If the House rejects the amendments, a conference committee will be appointed to discuss the bill.
But if the House accepts HB 535 as amended by the Senate, the bill will move forward, and it can be signed into law by the Governor.
Five amendments to HB 535 were proposed by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and accepted by the Senate. The amendments make two changes to the bill:
- Amendment Number 3 reduces the size of the exclusion zones HB 535 would create by half; they would now reach ¼ mile from shore along much of Louisiana’s coast instead of ½ mile as originally proposed.
- Amendment Number 4 allows menhaden vessels to retain by-catch for disposal on shore, and allows agents and employees of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries “to board such vessels for inspection, observation, study, or collection of data from by-catch.”
Louisiana Sportsman will continue to cover HB 535 as it makes its way through the legislative process.
If you would like to read HB 535 in full, visit: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=21RS&b=HB535&sbi=y.
If you would like to read the amendments proposed by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and accepted by the Senate, visit: http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1230285.
