2B by Arkansas Farm Bureau

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

130 Agri tourism 1.

We support laws that limit the liability of agi tourism except in cases of gross negligence. -- Calhoun

139 Right-to-farm 1.

We support laws ensuring the continued legality of utilizing current methods of raising animals, crops, and forages for food and fiber. -- Greene

We support legislation that strengthens right-to-farm and personal property laws. -- Union

With the percentage of people involved in production agriculture dropping to less than two percent to feed our nation, Arkansas is not immune to these challenges facing us today. -- Faulkner

146 Land use 1.

We oppose the designation of any lands or riparian zones being described as habitat for endangered species prior to publishing environmental impact and economic impact statements; publishing the information in all state and local newspapers serving the counties to be affected for not less than 90 days; and conducting public hearings in the quorum courts of the Arkansas counties where the lands or riparian zones are located. -- Madison

Annexation - validity of petition signatures: There is no effective process to ensure the integrity of signatures on petitions. We support: (A) Working with the Association Arkansas of Counties, the Arkansas Association of County Judges and other relevant organizations toward the purpose of thoroughly reviewing and refining current annexation legislation. (B) Establishing a signature verification procedure that will ensure the integrity of the signature gathering process for petitions. -- Garland

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

We oppose the annexation of adjacent land by any municipality unless the following conditions are met for ensuring the gathering signatures on petitions: 1) The person asked to sign the petition is educated as to the purpose of the petition; 2) The identity of the person signing the petition is verified; and 3) The person signing the petition is a landowner in the proposed area to be annexed. -- Garland

We support that areas annexed must receive respective city services within two years. -- Garland

We support that at the two year anniversary or beyond, the county judge acting in jurisdiction through the respective county court should determine if said services have or have not been adequately delivered; if not delivered then we support a process whereby the county judge could designate the annexation null and void with the area returning to the care of the county. -- Garland

151 Minerals & mineral rights 1.

We support educating landowners regarding the process of mineral right leasing. -- Scott

We support increasing inspections on the closing of "frac" ponds. -- Van Buren

157 Government The following county(ies) submitted all or part of current policy. Benton, Cross 1.

We oppose any increase in training hours required for annual certification of volunteer firemen above the current level. Additionally, we recommend that the current requirement of annual training hours be reduced to include training provided by a certified trainer. -- Boone

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

We support that when a board or commission dealing with agriculture is created or restructured, there should be adequate representation by experienced farmers and ranchers. -- Boone

We recommend that the agriculture community be represented on all major commissions in the state. This includes ANRC, AG&FC, AFC, AHC, PC&E, PSC, and O&GC. -- Prairie

We support current laws related to political campaigns, and candidates and elected officials should be required to obey these laws and regulations. -- Mississippi

We support at least a two year waiting period before a legislator may register as a lobbyist. -- Mississippi

We support increasing the maximum principal amount for the Arkansas Beginning Farmer Loan Program from $250,000 to $500,000. -- Perry

In order to allow more input, and also to achieve a better political balance in legislative redistricting, we support a constitutional amendment to expand the state Board of Apportionment. -- Scott

We urge the Legislature to repeal Arkansas law 22-9-309, regarding prevailing wages. -- Benton

We oppose state and national Farm Bureau political action committees. -- Craighead

10.

We oppose Farm Bureau endorsing any political candidate and oppose a candidate PAC, and an issue funds should be used only after surveying county Farm Bureaus for their opinion. -- Montgomery

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

11.

We oppose legalization of same sex marriage. -- Craighead

12.

We support establishment of at least four official weather reporting stations per county for use to determined eligibility for USDA disaster programs. -- Washington

13.

School election dates should be changed and held in conjunction with the General Election. This would lower costs to school districts and a greater turn out for school elections. -- Montgomery

158 Arkansas Game & Fish Commission (G&FC) 1.

We strongly support increasing efforts to prosecute anyone intentionally releasing hogs into the wild for the purpose of hunting. -- Izard

We support stricter penalties on anyone caught transporting feral hogs. -- Ashley

We support legislation that requires jail time for the illegal hauling of feral hogs. -- Union

We support issuing landowners’ permits that allow them to hunt and trap feral hogs through any means necessary on all adjacent public lands. -- Ashley

We support legislation that makes the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission the controlling state agency for feral hog enforcement. -- Union

We propose legislation requiring Game & Fish Commission to pay a portion of the local property taxes attached to any land purchased by the Commission for a period of no less than ten years. -- Woodruff

All revenue from mineral leases and royalties from the Game & Fish Commission-owned lands should revert to the state general revenue fund. -- Montgomery

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

159 Rural Development 1.

In order to bring in more jobs for citizens, we urge local city and county governments to entice new businesses to locate in their area by offering incentive programs. -- Scott

We urge Arkansas Farm Bureau to develop a rural development resources list that includes grant makers, economic development contacts and other organizations that have similar rural development goals. -- Perry

162 Crime & law enforcement 1.

We support strong enforcement of the existing laws regarding copper and metal theft and the sales of stolen products. -- Poinsett

Copper theft continues to be a major problem for many owners. We support stiffer penalties for those convicted of such. We need to become more involved with the state legislature, as well the legislative bodies in states that border Arkansas. -- Mississippi

We propose legislation requiring that buyers and dealers of scrap metals be licensed by the state and be subject to similar record keeping requirements as well as criminal penalties of pawn brokers in the state of Arkansas. -- Woodruff

With the high value of metals, it encourages theft of wire and scrap metals in unpopulated rural areas. We recommend that payments be delayed for a mandatory wait of 30 days by companies that buy these products. -- Craighead

We support our elected officials in strengthening our current laws, in regard to theft of copper materials. We recommend increasing the period of time between the point of sale and payment, to a minimum of 30 days, to decrease theft of copper materials. -- Lonoke

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

We support initializing a 10-day waiting period to receive payment on scrap metal sold to recycling centers. -- Clay, Greene

We support a permitting process for any person selling non-ferrous scrap metals. -- Arkansas

We support legislation that requires stronger penalties for theft of farm property. -- Union

We support tougher laws to reduce theft of agricultural equipment, supplies, and other property, especially in rural areas. -- White

10.

We support the development of an Arkansas State Police task force with the Arkansas Agrucilture Department to investigate agriculture related thefts such as livestock and equipment. -- Clark

11.

We request that the prosecuting attorney's office consult with the proper law enforcement office to determine restitution to crime victims and insurance companies in all cases involving theft or destruction of property. We support full restitution before plea bargaining or imposition of sentence. -- Woodruff

12.

We support turn-back funds to local communities from Arkansas' prison system from all farm proceeds, similar to what the U.S. Forest Service does with the National Forests. -- Lincoln

13.

Victims' rights Resolution: (a) The right of the victim to be heard at any court proceedings involving evidence or testimony at the proceeding regardless the age of the accused. (b) The right of the victim to be notified of any proceedings involving release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceedings. (c) The right of the victim for fair treatment and compensation with fairness and respect for the victim's dignity and privacy. -- Scott

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

14.

We commend our law officials for their efforts, but we continue to encourage a higher emphasis be placed on crime prevention and conviction related to drugs. -- Cross

15.

We recommend that Farm Bureau oppose any attempt to legalize the production of hemp as an agricultural or medicinal crop in Arkansas. Marijuana use is the number one drug problem among youth in the United States and hemp plants cannot be easily identified as separate species. -- Mississippi

16.

We recommend the Arkansas Legislature enacting a law making it a felony for anyone taking pictures on a farm or in a plant without permission from the owner or manager. -- Hot Spring

17.

There is a growing need for more help and services on community and county projects. For example, cleanup programs on public property and the removal of trash, etc., from such property. We support and recommend that community service be required more often as punishment for those that are convicted on breaking laws. -- Mississippi

163 Utilities The following county(ies) submitted all or part of current policy. Woodruff 1.

We support an affordable rural broadband Internet access that is not limited by the amount of MB that can be downloaded in a 24-hour period. -- Jackson

We recommend that utility companies be required to reimburse customers for the use of alternative fuels when service that is needed to maintain animals and birds is disrupted for more than two days. -- Montgomery

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

164 Insurance 1.

Strike: "We favor access by law enforcement offices to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration database of liability insurance to replace proof of insurance cards located in vehicles. Replace with: "We request access by law enforcement offices to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration database of liability insurance to replace proof of insurance cards located in vehicles." -- Benton

165 Energy 1.

We support legislation that would require all new purchased or leased vehicles by the state, county, municipal governments or agencies be equipped to run on natural gas. -- Cleburne

We support a diverse base load electrical generation system that includes coal, natural gas, and nuclear sources. -- Benton

Commendations The following county(ies) submitted all or part of current policy. Cross 1.

We commend FFA and 4-H members in their effort to sign up rice acreage for conservation. -- Cross

We commend the efforts of the Animal Care Committee to educate the public on the farmers story of animal welfare issues and concerns as it relates to animal production. We encourage that efforts continue. -- Polk

We commend the National Park Community College for developing an associate degree with emphasis on poultry science. -- Garland

Official Book for Subcommittee 2B

Faulkner County Board of Directors wishes to express their appreciation to all our employees, both state and county for their hard work and professionalism in serving the membership of Faulkner County and the state of Arkansas. -- Faulkner