STATE AND NATIONAL ISSUES Public Policy Division

Transcription

1 Executive Branch STATE AND NATIONAL ISSUES Public Policy Division Commissioner Charlie Hatcher Department of Agriculture Governor Bill Lee Commissioner David Salyers Department of Environment & Conservation Senate Leadership House Leadership Randy McNally Lt. Gov. & Speaker Ferrell Haile Speaker Pro Tempore Janice Bowling Deputy Speaker Glen Casada Speaker of the House Bill Dunn Speaker Pro Tempore Mathew Hill Deputy Speaker Jack Johnson Majority Leader Ken Yager Rep. Caucus Chairman Jeff Yarbro Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari Dem. Caucus Chairman William Lambert Majority Leader Cameron Sexton Caucus Chairman Karen Camper Minority Leader Mike Stewart Caucus Chairman 1

2 House and Senate Agriculture Leadership New Members Senate Steve Southerland Chairman Frank Niceley 1 st Vice Chair Mark Pody 2 nd Vice Chair Curtis Halford Chairman Chris Todd Vice Chair Jay Reedy Subcommittee Chair New Members House New Members House 2

3 Other Items of Interest 5 new Senate committee chairmen 13 new House committee chairmen House now 14 standing committees and 29 subcommittees State Issues Budget +$182.9 million through first 6 months of the fiscal year Career and Technical Education GIVE Act Future Workforce Initiative Criminal Justice Reform Online Sales Tax/Streamline Sales Tax Initiative Industrial Hemp Medical Marijuana Deannexation Farm Bureau Priority Issues Tennessee Congressional Delegation Marsha Blackburn U.S. Senator Mark Green (R) District 7 John Rose (R) District 6 Tim Burchett (R) District 2 Remember US Senate: 53(R) 47 (D) US House: 235 (D) 198 (R) 2020 Election 3

4 National Issues T Trade R Regulatory Reform (Clean Water Rule) A Agricultural Labor I Infrastructure Investments N New Congress (Develop a relationship with the 116 th Congress) Other Items to Watch Farm Policy, Energy, Animal Agriculture, Labeling, Mental Health, Taxes Tennessee Law and Resources Pertaining to the Definition of Agriculture tnfarmbureau.org/policyinformation Agriculture as defined by Tennessee Law: TCA & : Definition of terms used in code. As used in this code, unless the context otherwise requires: (2) (A) "Agriculture" means: (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; (ii) The activity carried on in connection with the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; (iii) Recreational and educational activities on land used for the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; and (iv) Entertainment activities conducted in conjunction with, but secondary to, commercial production of farm products and nursery stock, when such activities occur on land used for the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; (B) As used in this definition of agriculture, the term "farm products" means forage and sod crops; grains and feed crops; dairy and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including breeding and grazing; fruits; vegetables; flowers; seeds; grasses; forestry products; fish and other aquatic animals used for food; bees; equine; and all other plants and animals that produce food, feed, fiber or fur; (C) As used in this definition of agriculture, the term "nursery stock" means all trees, shrubs, or other plants, or parts of such trees, shrubs or other plants, grown or kept for, or capable of, propagation, distribution or sale on a commercial basis; 4

5 Tennessee s Right to Farm Law Chapter definitions. (1) "Farm" means the land, buildings, and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock as defined in ; (2) "Farm operation" means a condition or activity that occurs on a farm in connection with the commercial production of farm products or nursery stock as defined in , and includes, but is not limited to: marketed produce at roadside stands or farm markets; noise; odors; dust; fumes; operation of machinery and irrigation pumps; ground and aerial seeding and spraying; the application of chemical fertilizers, conditioners, insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides; the employment and use of labor; marketing of farm products in conjunction with the production of farm products thereof; and any other form of agriculture as defined in ; (3) "Farm product" means those plants and animals useful to man and includes, but is not limited to, forages and sod crops; grains and feed crops; dairy and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including breeding and grazing; fruits; vegetables; flowers; seeds; grasses; industrial hemp; trees; fish; apiaries; equine and other similar products; or any other product that incorporates the use of food, feed, fiber or fur; and Tennessee s Right to Farm Law Farms presumed not nuisances (a) It is a rebuttable presumption that a farm or farm operation is not a public or private nuisance. The presumption created by this subsection (a) may be overcome only if the person claiming a public or private nuisance establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that either: (1) The farm operation, based on expert testimony, does not conform to generally accepted agricultural practices; or (2) The farm or farm operation alleged to cause the nuisance does not comply with any applicable statute or rule, including without limitation statutes and rules administered by the department of agriculture or the department of environment and conservation. Counties are prohibited from regulating agricultural activities. Counties are prohibited from regulating agricultural buildings County powers shared with municipalities (b) Nothing in this part shall be construed as granting counties the power to prohibit or regulate normal agricultural activities. Supporting Documents: Attorney General Opinion No Inability to Regulate Tree Harvesting Through County Zoning Resolutions Attorney General Opinion No County Zoning Authority to Regulate CAFOs Attorney General Opinion No County Powers to Regulate a Sawmill on Land Zoned for Agriculture Excerpt from: Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405 (Tenn. 2013). Attorney General Opinion No County Regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Exclusion of agricultural buildings. The powers granted to counties by this part do not include the regulation of buildings used primarily for agricultural purposes; it being the intent of the general assembly that the powers granted to counties by this part should not be used to inhibit normal agricultural activities. 5

6 Counties cannot require a building permit for agricultural buildings. Municipalities are prohibited from regulating agricultural land (a) This part shall not be construed as authorizing the requirement of building permits nor providing for any regulation of the erection, construction, or reconstruction of any building or other structure on lands now devoted to agricultural uses or which may hereafter be used for agricultural purposes, except on agricultural lands adjacent or in proximity to state federal aid highways, public airports or public parks; provided, that such building or structure is incidental to the agricultural enterprise. Nor shall this chapter be construed as limiting or affecting in any way or controlling the agricultural uses of land. (b) For purposes of this section, buildings used as residences by farmers and farm workers are "incidental to the agricultural enterprise". Supporting Documents: Attorney General Opinion No County Zoning of Residential Structures on Land Used for Agricultural Purposes Attorney General Opinion No County Zoning of Buildings Used as Residences by Farmers and Farm Workers Excerpt from: Shore v. Maple Lane Farms, LLC, 411 S.W.3d 405 (Tenn. 2013). TCA For any land that is used for agricultural purposes as of May 10, 1998, a municipality may not use its zoning power to interfere in any way with the use of such land for agricultural purposes as long as the land is used for agricultural purposes. * *The Attorney General opined this law is only concerned with a municipality s power to regulate the use of land and not with that municipality s ability to require building permits. *Attorney General Opinion No Ability of Municipalities to Charge a Fee for Building Permits Agricultural Land Agriculture as defined by Tennessee Law: TCA & : Definition of terms used in code. As used in this code, unless the context otherwise requires: (2) (A) "Agriculture" means: (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; (ii) The activity carried on in connection with the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; (iii) Recreational and educational activities on land used for the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; and (iv) Entertainment activities conducted in conjunction with, but secondary to, commercial production of farm products and nursery stock, when such activities occur on land used for the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock; (B) As used in this definition of agriculture, the term "farm products" means forage and sod crops; grains and feed crops; dairy and dairy products; poultry and poultry products; livestock, including breeding and grazing; fruits; vegetables; flowers; seeds; grasses; forestry products; fish and other aquatic animals used for food; bees; equine; and all other plants and animals that produce food, feed, fiber or fur; (C) As used in this definition of agriculture, the term "nursery stock" means all trees, shrubs, or other plants, or parts of such trees, shrubs or other plants, grown or kept for, or capable of, propagation, distribution or sale on a commercial basis; Farm Property defined for property tax purposes (3). Taxes and Licenses Property Taxes Definitions Farm Property (3) "Farm property" includes all real property that is used, or held for use, in agriculture as defined in and , including, but not limited to, growing crops, pastures, orchards, nurseries, plants, trees, timber, raising livestock or poultry, or the production of raw dairy products, and acreage used for recreational purposes by clubs, including golf course playing hole improvements; 6

7 Multiple Use Subclassification RULES OF TENNESSEE STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION CHAPTER : MULTIPLE USE SUBCLASSIFICATION DETERMINING WHEN MULTIPLE USE SUBCLASSIFICATION IS APPROPRIATE. (e) Properties used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock but which also have uses not within the definition of agriculture otherwise provided by law. As used in the rules, commercial production of farm products and nursery stock means the production is consistent with a farm operating for profit for federal income tax purposes. Examples requiring a split subclassification of agricultural property would include portions of a farm that generate regular annual income (as opposed to sporadic and de minimis income) from regular rental of space set aside for parking or camping, or portions of a horse farm devoted to uses such as a shop engaged in the retail sale of tack. Boarding of animals integral to breeding, raising and development of horses and other livestock at the property is not considered a commercial use for purposes of these rules; Multiple Use Subclassification (f) Portions of farms with commercial activities unrelated to production of farm products or livestock, except commercial activities constituting agriculture as defined by law. Improvements and structures on, and land that is part of, a farm engaged in the commercial production of farm products or nursery stock that are used for agriculture may be classified as farm property, provided the land improvement or structure in question is used for one or more of the following: (1) recreational or educational activities; (2) retail sales of products produced on the farm, but only if a majority of the products sold are produced on the farm; or (3) entertainment activities conducted in conjunction with, but secondary to, the commercial production of farm products or nursery stock. Commercial subclassification of those portions of a farm used for events unrelated to agriculture shall be limited to the actual land and structures dedicated to the unrelated uses. Questions? tnfarmbureau.org/policyinformation STATE AND NATIONAL ISSUES Public Policy Division 7