By Julie Tomascik
Editor

A new year brings new state and national legislative and advocacy efforts for Texas Farm Bureau (TFB).

“Texas Farm Bureau will make sure the voices of farmers and ranchers are heard in both Austin and Washington, D.C.,” Regan Beck, TFB Government Affairs director, said. “The legislative sessions are the organization’s opportunity to stand up for farmers, ranchers and rural communities.”

State priorities
Thousands of bills are expected to be filed in the 140-day regular session, but TFB will focus on 10 legislative priority issues set by the state board of directors.

TFB will continue to prioritize protecting property rights by opposing unnecessary regulatory authority over the use of private property. The organization will also support the protection of generally accepted agricultural practices under the current right to farm law and support any changes in statute or to the state constitution that strengthen those protections.

“We made major strides in the last legislative session with Proposition 1, which added the right to farm and ranch to the Texas Constitution,” Beck said. “We want to continue to add to those protections and also ensure that property owners’ rights are protected under eminent domain law.”

Other issues central to farming, ranching and rural prosperity are on the organization’s agenda as state legislative priority issues.

Beck noted water—groundwater or surface water—is an important issue for agriculture as the state population continues to grow.

“Protecting the rights of farmers, ranchers and landowners to surface water and groundwater is critical,” Beck said. “We will support adequate funding for water projects, but we will oppose legislation that attempts to take away any constitutionally-protected rights to water.”

Taxes are also among the state priority issues.

TFB will work to ensure state tax policy does not adversely impact or burden farmers, ranchers or the agricultural industry. The organization will also advocate to protect the current state tax provisions that limit the burden on producing food, fiber and other agricultural products for consumers.

TFB’s policy, which is decided by voting delegates at the annual meeting each year, also will focus on hostile foreign ownership of agricultural land. The organization will support changes in statue that would prevent the foreign ownership of agricultural land that results in an unfair trade advantage or endangers U.S. national security.

Other state priority issues named by the TFB board of directors includes: sunset legislation, animal care and transportation.

National priorities
On the national level, TFB will focus on nine issues, including the farm bill, disaster and economic assistance and the 1944 Water Treaty.

“Both the farm bill and economic assistance for farmers are two issues we’ve been focused on and will continue to pressure Congress about. But we’ve also been working with lawmakers to find solutions to making Mexico pay their water debt under the 1944 Water Treaty,” Beck said.

Working to strengthen and enforce existing trade agreements and enacting new trade deals that benefit agriculture is also on the organization’s agenda for national efforts.

Provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire in 2025 and could result in farmers, ranchers and business owners potentially paying more of their inheritance to the federal government. TFB will focus on extending those provisions or making them permanent.

“The tax deductions and estate tax exemption provide much-needed relief to many farmers and ranchers,” Beck said. “Without these provisions, taxes will increase, and that’s more bad news for those in agriculture who are facing rising input costs.”

Efforts to expand rural connectivity and ensure federal regulations don’t negatively impact farmers’ and ranchers’ ability to operate are also among the national priorities for TFB.

Also on the agenda is to maintain funding for control and eradication of invasive species and prevent introduction of foreign animal diseases.

More information
For more information on the legislative priorities, visit texasfarmbureau.org/advocacy.

To sign up for the weekly Austin Newsletter email for updates throughout the session, login to MyTFB and select Austin Newsletter from the Contact Preferences.