Legislative Review 2022 | Oklahoma Farm Bureau

After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 2020 and 2021 legislative classes, lawmakers have been again to enterprise as traditional in 2022 throughout the second common session of the 58^th Oklahoma Legislature, working from the primary Monday in February to the final Friday in May.

With restrictions lifted and long-awaited constructing renovations full, the marble flooring of the state Capitol performed host to a seemingly infinite stream of foot site visitors from legislators, workers and guests from across the state.

Oklahoma Farm Bureau and its members had a powerful presence at 23^rd and Lincoln all through the 2022 legislative session. In addition to the efforts of OKFB’s public coverage staff, practically a dozen county Farm Bureaus took time without work the farm and made the trek to Oklahoma City to advocate for farmers and ranchers on the state Capitol.

With hundreds of payments accessible for consideration this 12 months, OKFB was proud to stroll away with victories in a number of precedence areas for Farm Bureau members.

Medical Marijuana

Oklahoma’s medical marijuana business took the state by storm after the passage of State Question 788 in 2018. With greater than 8,000 medical marijuana grows in Oklahoma, the business has had a big impression on agriculture and rural Oklahoma. From criminal activity to considerations with herbicide spray drift, Farm Bureau members sought readability on potential liabilities and improved communications with medical marijuana growers round them.

One of the highlights of the 2022 legislative session was the passage of SB 1737 by Sen. Blake Stephens and Rep. Kenton Patzkowsky, which requires all business medical marijuana growers to submit signage exterior their operation and requires them to register with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as an environmentally delicate crop. Signage necessities embrace itemizing the official license quantity and legitimate contact information for the licensee.

Before the passage of SB 1737, many farmers and ranchers had issue figuring out if a neighboring operation grew marijuana and, if that’s the case, discovering legitimate contact information for the operation’s possession to have readily available in case of emergencies or earlier than making use of herbicides. This invoice will assist Farm Bureau members tremendously within the spirit of being good neighbors.

Cracking down on unlawful marijuana exercise was a excessive precedence for OKFB members coming into the 2022 session. SB 1543 by Sen. Greg Treat and Rep. Jon Echols establishes the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority as a standalone entity, giving the company larger freedom in each managing authorized marijuana exercise and investigating and prosecuting criminal activity.

OKFB additionally labored with lawmakers to move laws that creates a tiered price construction for marijuana grower licenses, will increase penalties for unlawful actions, revokes medical marijuana licenses within the occasion of improper use and establishes a moratorium on issuing new licenses till OMMA completes all pending licenses, inspections and investigations.

OKFB started the 2022 legislative session monitoring dozens of medical marijuana payments. While not all have been signed into legislation, OKFB is happy with people who did and can proceed engaged on behalf of Farm Bureau members as laws re-emerges in future classes.

Landowner Advocacy and Private Property Rights

OKFB has lengthy opposed will increase to advert valorem taxes and all types of county zoning authority. Property tax will increase are sometimes thought of to assist improve governmental budgets, however they unfairly have an effect on farmers and ranchers as they typically have a large amount of land and capital – a few of which doesn’t at all times generate a revenue.

Early within the 2022 session, OKFB helped defeat two county zoning payments, together with SB 1182 by Sen. Dave Rader and HB 2990 by Rep. Carol Bush. Both payments would have allowed counties to create and implement rules, codes or insurance policies as long as a state legislation on the identical subject didn’t exist. This enlargement of county authority may have prompted important uncertainty for farmers and ranchers in rural, unincorporated areas of Oklahoma. HB 2990 failed in committee, and SB 1182 was by no means thought of, due partly to the sturdy opposition from an OKFB-led coalition.

In 2021, Farm Bureau members expressed concern with advert valorem valuation protests by vitality corporations and the pressure it positioned on college budgets. When a taxpayer – whether or not particular person or company – protests their assessed advert valorem taxes, the protested funds go into escrow throughout the negotiation course of. The cash tied up in escrow is due to this fact not accessible to be used by native college districts who typically depend on advert valorem income for his or her working budgets.

OKFB and lawmakers engaged in a number of discussions on advert valorem protests with the need to hurry up prolonged negotiations whereas preserving a taxpayer’s proper to fairly protest advert valorem assessments. HB 3901 by Rep. John Pfeiffer and Sen. John Michael Montgomery and HB 2627 by Rep. Dick Lowe and Sen. John Michael Montgomery will help in protest negotiations by rushing up the scheduling course of and eradicating third-party assessors from negotiations.

OKFB additionally noticed laws on private property taxes emerge throughout the 2022 session. Current Oklahoma statute directs county assessors to tax unmanufactured farm merchandise like saved hay and grain. SB 192 by Sen. Brent Howard and Rep. John Pfeiffer will take away this part of statute after stakeholders on either side agreed little income could be misplaced as many counties weren’t assessing worth on the reported gadgets.

Rural Infrastructure

Farm Bureau members strongly help the enlargement of high-speed broadband web and high quality cell phone service in rural areas of the state. As expertise advances each at house and on the farm, entry to high-speed web is essential to continued prosperity in rural Oklahoma.

In many cases, telecommunications corporations aiming to broaden to rural areas typically request the utilization of preexisting utility poles owned by rural electrical cooperatives, leading to disagreement and debate between the 2 entities on utilization charges and pointers. This 12 months, the legislature handed HB 3835 by Rep. Ryan Martinez and Sen. Brent Howard, which units a system for max pole attachment charges. It additionally incentivizes communications corporations to deliver broadband web to underserved areas by reducing the price to $1 for the primary 4 years.

Two further developments on the agricultural broadband entrance embrace the passage of HB 3363 by Rep. Charles McCall and Sen. Greg Treat to determine the Oklahoma Broadband Office and HB 1123 by Rep. Logan Phillips and Sen. Roger Thompson, which appropriates $2 million from statewide pandemic aid funds to help in broadband mapping across the state.

For Farm Bureau members, legislative work doesn’t cease with the top of the session. Throughout the summer season and fall, OKFB will proceed to work hand-in-hand with its grassroots members throughout the coverage growth season to make sure farmers and ranchers can proceed producing meals, gas and fiber for the world.

Top Legislation Monitored by OKFB