The Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee has voted unanimously to send both HB 95 and HB 110, the remaining urban renewal bills, to the Senate's 14th Order for amendments. Over the past two days, the committee has taken testimony and worked on extensive amendments, some of which draw in pieces from the other two House bills on urban renewal that passed this year, HB 96 and HB 97, and put them in HB 95. "This is a very complicated issue," said committee Chairman Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston. "It's my hope that this adds some transparency and additional public process to do away with some of the criticisms of urban renewal districts, to the point that we are not revisiting this every year."

Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, thanked Stegner and Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Post Falls, for all their work on the proposed amendments to HB 95, which he said "make these better bills."

As for the other bill, HB 110, which would add a public hearing requirement, committee members raised questions over whether the bill actually required two hearings on the same plan. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, told Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, "It needs to be reworked - I think your point is well-taken." Hammond said he thought amendments could "clean it up" by striking about half the bill's wording.