Legislative Update Session

The next session is Saturday, Feb. 21 at 8 a.m. in the Putnam County Farm Bureau boardroom. Here is a recent update on what is happening with the Ag Bills.
Farm and Rural Legislation Moving in Indiana Legislature 02/19/2009by Gary Truitt
The Indiana General Assembly took action this week on several pieces of legislation that impact agriculture and rural Indiana. The House Agriculture Committee passed two bills that deal with permitted livestock operations. HB 1074 requires a background check on individuals seeking a IDEM permit for a CAFO. The bill is similar to one moving through the Senate. The Senate bill SB 221 has the support of IDEM, Indiana Farm Bureau, and most Indiana livestock groups. It is expected that this bill, and not the House version, will eventually become law.HB 1075 would place a limit on where livestock facilities could be located. Bob Kraft, with Indiana Farm Bureau, says this bill passed out of the ag committee and is now before the full house, “The bill was amended to require a 2 mile setback from State Parks and Reservoirs.” Originally the legislation would have implemented a 2 mile setback from any body of water in the state. Kraft said while this is an improvement it still blocks livestock locations from many sitesin the state. During the committee hearing on the bill, Michael Platt with the Indiana Pork Producers testified that livestock operations pose no more of a threat than housing, industrial, or business operations that would be located close to these parks and waterways. If it passes the House, it may face a tougher road in the Senate. This week State Senate did pass the resolution that makes property tax caps part of the state constitution, but Kraft says it faces an uncertain future in the Democratically controlled House, “We at Farm Bureau are hopeful it does die in the House. We don’t like the caps, and we don’t think they are fair.” Kraft would like to see the issue put off until next year, allowing for more study of the long term ramifications of the policy change. Another issue that failed this week was a bill that would have required small rural schools to merge with larger school corporations. The Governor’s plan to do away with township government also failed this week. Many rural residents had concerns about both of these measurers.