By Jessica Domel
News Editor
When the 85th Texas Legislature convenes this month, Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) will be there—ready to fight for farmers, ranchers and rural Texans.
While thousands of bills will be filed in the 140-day regular session on a myriad of topics, TFB will focus on seven state legislative priorities.
“Our biggest priority is eminent domain. We passed some eminent domain reform several years ago, and we’ve now had a chance to see the effect of these revisions,” Regan Beck, TFB director of Government Affairs, said. “We see that we still need to do some more work on eminent domain to make it more fair for property owners. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Other priority issues named by the TFB board of directors include: producer financial protections, water, taxes, land use regulation, transportation and animal care.
“We’re keeping our eye on many issues, but these are the priorities and what we want to accomplish this session,” Beck said.
The board sets the priorities for the legislative session, Beck said, choosing issues important to TFB members.
On a national level, TFB will focus on eight national legislative priorities. They are: trade, taxes, regulatory reform, the farm bill, cottonseed, agriculture technologies, property rights and border security/immigration.
“These topics aren’t just lobbied by TFB staff,” Beck said. “Each year, we take a group of people from across Texas to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress and their staffs to talk about why the topics are important and what needs to be done to ensure the future of Texas agriculture.”
In addition to the annual TFB National Affairs Awards Trip, there’s a TFB State Affairs Awards Trip every other year that takes young county Farm Bureau leaders to Austin to meet with lawmakers about state issues.
“It’s important to reach out to your representation in Austin and Washington, D.C.,” Beck said. “These lawmakers want to hear from you. Explain why a specific bill is important to you. Share your story so they really understand what’s needed.”
VoterVoice, a feature on www.texasfarmbureau.org, makes it easier to stay in touch with state and national lawmakers.
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State legislative priorities
85th Texas Legislature
1. Eminent Domain—Ensure property owners’ rights are protected under eminent domain law.
2. Producer Financial Protections—Protect agricultural producers’ ownership in the crops they produce and deliver to a contract purchaser or a warehouse. Ensure that agricultural lien searches and notification procedures protect agricultural producers.
3. Water—Protect the rights of landowners and agricultural producers to surface water and groundwater. Oppose legislation that attempts to take any constitutionally-protected rights to water.
4. Taxes—Ensure state tax policy does not adversely impact or burden agricultural producers or the agricultural industry. Protect the current state tax provisions that limit the burden on producing food, fiber and other agricultural products for consumers.
5. Land Use Regulation—Protect the rights of agricultural producers to engage in normally-accepted agricultural practices on their land. Oppose unnecessary regulatory authority over rural land.
6. Transportation—Ensure vehicle, trailer and driver’s license regulations do not adversely impact or burden agricultural producers or the agricultural industry.
7. Animal Care—Protect the ability of agricultural producers to utilize generally-accepted, scientifically-proven production practices for livestock, poultry and other animals present on agricultural operations.
National legislative priorities
115th Congress, First Session
1. Trade—Support the passage of trade agreements that benefit production