Delaware Farmland Preservation program

by

Wait and See in January 2016

So much for no new ag legislation this session. This may have been the intent of Delaware Secretary of Ag, Ed Kee, but it didn’t happen. I would consider no new ag legislation or additional funding for ag programs a success and Rep. Dave Wilson (R) seemed to be working in this direction. However, his attempt stalled. Meanwhile, an animal activist bill popped up out of nowhere. A ton of bills were left on each chamber’s  ready list, tabled, or stalled. I suppose we’ll have to “wait and see” as the 148th session continues in January 2016. Here’s a recap of Jan-June 2015, complete with links if you want to learn more:

  • HB (House Bill) 124 is Rep. Dave Wilson’s (R) masterpiece. He’s trying to find a permanent funding solution for the Ag Land Preservation Program by writing $10 million from the Realty Transfer Tax Fund into our Constitution. The bill sailed through the House Ag Committee but it parked itself on the House Ready List. Meaning it’s ready to be heard on the House floor. It will have to pass by a 2/3 vote and it has to pass both chambers in two consecutive sessions since it’s a constitutional amendment. We’ll see what happens in January 2016. I should also mention $3 million was appropriated to the Aglands Preservation Program at the last-minute, thanks to the one time nationwide bank settlement with Bank of America and Citigroup.  
  • SB (Senate Bill) 124 breezed through the Senate Chamber on June 23 with a vote of 21-YES, 0-NO. The bill seeks to add a voting member to the Aglands Preservation Board. The only requirement is this person must be actively engaged in farming or some other form of agribusiness. He or she can live in any county. But Sen. Ennis (D), the primary sponsor of the bill, stated it was a spot for an African-American farmer. I don’t see that written in the bill. The bill has been to assigned to the House Ag Committee. We’ll see what happens in January 2016.
  • HB 189 was the attempt by the HSUS lobbyist to end dairy cattle tail docking in Delaware. Any farmer in violation would be slapped with a Class A misdemeanor. The bill was tabled. The Department of Ag promised to meet with HSUS to give more detail on how many Delaware farmers actually engage in this practice. Lets hope we don’t see anything happen in 2016! 
  • SB 69 is not exactly an ag bill but it may come as a surprise to some rural families and kids. Any person under 18 years old, operating an ATV, must wear a protective helmet on his or her head with the chin straps properly fastened. Any person under 18 years old cannot be a passenger on an ATV unless the passenger is wearing a protective helmet with the chin straps properly fastened. Not sure who will enforce it or how rural families will be educated on this new law? The DE Farm Bureau was involved and put forth an amendment.
  • HCR (House Concurrent Resolution) 30 was proposed by Rep. Jeff Spiegelman (R) from Smyrna. His intent was to establish a Port of Wilmington Exports Task Force to provide recommendations in regards to expanding the operations at the Port of Wilmington to include agricultural product exports. The bill was tabled. It seemed to possibly ruffle the feathers of the Port, as if it was an insult that they weren’t already doing enough. Rep. Spiegelman requested the bill be tabled so he could do more background work on the bill. It seems like he’s trying to find more niche markets and open up more channels for Delaware farmers. I don’t see how this can go wrong. Lets hope to hear more in January 2016. Here’s a video clip where he explains more.

by

Rep. Wilson Attempts to Secure Funding for DE Farmland Preservation

When the DE Agricultural Lands Preservation Act was passed in 2005, the intent was for the program to be fully funded $10 million from the realty transfer tax revenue. Because of other budget constraints in recent years, funding has been significantly less. Rep. Dave Wilson (R) seeks to make the full funding of $10 million constitutional law by proposing HB 124. Passing a constitutional amendment is no easy task. The bill requires a 2/3 vote in each house and must pass 2 consecutive sessions. If passed, HB 124 would not take effect until 2017. On Wednesday, May 13, HB 124 passed through the House Ag Committee.

The synopsis of the bill:

The Delaware Farmland Preservation Fund was created under the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Act in order to conserve, protect, and encourage improvement of agricultural lands within the State. The Legislature has previously expressed its desire that $10 million in receipts from the State Realty Transfer Tax be allocated annually to this fund in order to accomplish its goals. This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment that will make this allocation binding on all future administrations and General Assemblies, thus allowing this essential program to continue protecting one of our State’s most important resources.

Voting in favor:

  • Rep. Bennett (D)
  • Rep. Kenton (R)
  • Rep. Carson (D)
  • Rep. Wilson (R)
  • Rep. Collins (R)
  • Rep. Paradee (D)
  • Rep. Spiegelman (R)

Not in favor:

  • Rep. Q. Johnson (D)
  • Rep. Mulrooney (D)

All public comment generously supported the bill and farmers! Many legislators also spoke highly of the ag and poultry industry in DE.If you support this bill and want to see farm land preserved please contact your local legislator! Public testimony came from:

Also on the agenda was HCR 30, creating a task force related to the Port of Wilmington. It was tabled so the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Spiegelman (R) could edit the language. Although not in either ag committee, SB 69 passed through the Senate Public Safety Committee. This bill seeks to require helmet use for anyone 18 years old or younger operating a 2 wheel or 3 wheel ATV (all terrain vehicles). Keep in mind, ATV does not refer to a farm vehicle being used for farming. This is specifically stated within the legislation.

Here’s a video clip from Comcast Newsmakers of Rep. Dave Wilson explaining the bill:

Click HERE for a news and audio clip of Ed Kee, DE Secretary of Agriculture explaining the program.

by

2014 Legislative Update

For the first time in 2014, the DE General Assembly convened in January. Later in the month the usual “State of the State” address was given by our Governor. I have to agree with State Minority Whip Rep. Deb Hudson (R). Why wasn’t our #1 industry mentioned? Take a listen below (it’s a 9 second clip).

Rep. Hudson said she was surprised that a speech that was expected to focus on economic development did not mention the state’s number one industry…

Is there a state agricultural policy agenda for the upcoming year?  As of today, Feb 18, there has been no Agricultural Committee meeting scheduled or held this year in either chamber. There are many agricultural related bills being held over from the last session including the “Right to Farm Bill” (HB 65) and at least 2 bills related to agricultural license plates and special tags. One of these, HB 122, did pass both Houses on Jan. 30, 2014. This bill would allow farmers who have a farm vehicle that is used within a 20 mile radius of their farm to register their vehicle with DMV. The “FV” tag would replace the white plastic “Farm Vehicle” tags. The FV tag fee is $10 which is comparable to what the “Farm Vehicle” tags sell for. A vehicle with an “FV” tag would be exempt from inspection.

I also have to admit, the “clean water initiative’s” our Governor mentioned several times in his address make me nervous.  Details from DNREC haven’t been released yet. The Governor also released his budget proposal a few days later, in which he proposed a $8 million funding cut to the State’s Farmland Preservation program. The cut would leave $2 million for the fund.

In recent days, Rep. John Atkins, Chair of the House Agricultural Committee, proposed a toll for west Rt. 404 instead of the .10 gas tax, which the Governor proposed in his address. It was all over the media yesterday, including tv and radio (WBOC, WMDT, and 105.9). Our family farm businesses operate on Rt. 404, which include a retail produce stand, creamery, and daily farm operations. If this becomes seriously considered (it sounds like a just an idea at this point), let’s pray that our customers don’t bypass Rt. 404 to avoid the toll. Let’s also hope that the toll booth doesn’t go in directly across from one of our retail operations. I’d also like to hear what Rep. Dave Wilson, Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, or Sen. Gary Simpson have to say (Rt. 404 west is split by District 18 & 19), since this is their district! Sen. Pettyjohn released a YouTube video recently, centered on ag issues and not supporting the proposed gas tax hike or cut to farmland preservation dollars, but it offered no alternative options and it came out before Rep. Atkin’s toll proposal. See the You Tube mash-up below. The legislative session doesn’t reconvene until late March. More to come and hopefully an Ag Committee meeting date!?!?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcK8_2kPKWs