The bill that would have generated funding to battle giant salvinia on Lake Bistineau died in the Senate Committee this week.
State Rep. Gene Reynolds says it failed by one vote, 6-5.
“It wasn’t the fact that they disagreed with what it was trying to do,” he said.
He says the bill died because it would have taken money from Wildlife and Fisheries that couldn’t be afforded.
“I’m not going to quit,” he said. “We’re going to come with a more reasonable approach and try to come up with more partners. We’re going to get a facility up here, we just have to figure out a way to do it.”
House Bill 228 would have dedicated $300,000 of the state’s mineral income from activities on certain water bottoms of Lake Bistineau to weevil production for control of giant salvinia on the lake.
The proposed law would have dedicated the funds from of the state leases, royalties, bonuses and rights-of-way from activity on Lake Bistineau for weevil production. It would have created the Lake Bistineau Management Account in the conservation fund.
Reynolds says he was looking at a public/private partnership to help cover some of these expenses, as the requested amount wouldn’t have covered it all.
Reynolds says he will go back to the drawing board and hopefully have a more workable bill for the 2016 legislative session.