Hello everyone,
We are over halfway through the 2025 legislative session and it was a very good week for CSPA priorities.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate State Affairs Committee considered amendments to SB 158 State Procurement & Disposal Certain Items. The Committee had previously heard testimony on February 18th. The CSPA opposed SB 158, as introduced, which established certain requirements for state agencies concerning the procurement of firearms, ammunition and firearm accessories and required law enforcement agencies to destroy all firearms that are retired or otherwise not in use by the agency. However, on Tuesday the Senate State Affairs Committee removed the requirement that agencies destroy all firearms not in use. This will allow peace officers to continue to purchase their retired firearms and agencies to trade in old firearms to offset the cost of any new firearms. The Department of Public Safety is still working with the bill sponsors to iron out some issues with the procurement requirements, but I believe it is likely they will address the Department’s concerns. The Senate State Affairs Committee referred SB 158 to the Senate Appropriations Committee where it will likely sit until after the budget is passed.
On Thursday, the House Business Committee killed HB 1237 Soft Closing of Alcohol Beverage Establishments. HB 1237 would have allowed an alcohol beverage licensee to allow customers in jurisdictions that opt in to consume alcohol from 2 to 3 am on the licensed premises if the licensee stops selling drinks no later than 2:30 am and removes all drinks no later than 3 am. The CSPA opposed HB 1237 and worked with our partners, including MADD, to convince the committee members that HB 1237 was a bad idea and would increase drunk driving. We successfully killed similar bills in the past and I anticipate we will see more in the future, but we should enjoy the win this year.
On Friday, the JBC considered the State Patrol’s budget for next year. The JBC approved all the Patrol’s decision items, including $792,119 to support a food service contract for the CSP Academy. Currently, the budget includes funding for the Trooper Pay Statute and a 2.5% salary increase for non-troopers. The Long Bill is anticipated to be introduced in the Senate on Monday, March 24th.
So far, there have been 497 bills introduced – 298 in the House and 199 in the Senate. Only 58 more days until the General Assembly is required to adjourn sine die.
Bill Skewes
Lobbyist