Legislators last week met another deadline at the state Capitol as bills were required to pass out of committees in the opposite chamber of origin. Oklahoma Farm Bureau saw progress on a number of bills including legislation regarding the agriculture sales tax exemption, nuisance claims and trespass law. Since early on in the legislative session, Farm Bureau has tracked HB 1682 by Rep. Jim Grego and Sen. Mark Allen which would have prohibited the requirement of a Schedule F form to determine eligibility for the state agriculture sales tax exemption. Though the bill did not pass out of committee this […]

The committee process ramped up this week at 23rd and Lincoln as legislators face an upcoming deadline on Thursday, April 8. Several bills of interest to Farm Bureau members were among those receiving approval from their assigned committees. Farm Bureau members are no strangers to the language found in SB 838, as similar legislation has been proposed over the past five years. If passed, the bill would allow municipalities to create public safety protection districts funded by a new ad valorem tax. While OKFB members have longstanding policy opposing increases in ad valorem taxes, this year Farm Bureau has worked […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week announced its plans to distribute more than $12 billion under a program called Pandemic Assistance for Producers, which includes aid that had been put on hold as well as funds newly allocated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The program expands assistance to farmers helped by existing programs and assists farmers and ranchers who previously did not qualify for COVID-19 aid. Farmers will need to sign up only if they are applying for new programs or if they are eligible for CFAP assistance and did not previously apply. “We appreciate Secretary Vilsack’s action to […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau this week hosted Senate and House redistricting committee chairs Sen. Lonnie Paxton and Rep. Ryan Martinez to discuss Oklahoma’s ongoing redistricting process. Every 10 years, the state Legislature is tasked with redrawing state legislative and congressional district lines following the decennial census. The new boundaries will be used for elections beginning in 2022 through 2030. Below, read about seven things we learned while visiting with Sen. Paxton and Rep. Martinez. 1. Every legislator is involved in the process Just like standing legislative committees, the House and the Senate each created redistricting committees to carry out the process […]

After the state Legislature surpassed its first major deadline where bills were required to advance out of their committee of origin to remain alive in the legislative process, the total number of proposed bills were reduced from more than 3,000 to only a little more than 1,000. Below, learn about some of the remaining bills on Oklahoma Farm Bureau’s list. PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS HB 1135 by Rep. Scott Fetgatter Allows landowners to use purple posts to indicate no trespassing in lieu of a readable sign. For one year, purple posts would need to be accompanied by a sign explaining that […]

Oklahoma Farm Bureau is encouraging members to contact their state legislators to urge a NO vote on House Bill 2092 by Rep. Lonnie Sims and Senate Bill 189 by Sen. Dave Rader. The legislation would allow county commissioners to create a hazard mitigation district funded by a new property tax, upon approval by 60% of voters in the county. The district would include all territory within the county, except for land within city limits that is zoned for agricultural use. Unincorporated land in rural areas is not exempted, which would subject farmers, ranchers and landowners to an additional property tax […]

The state Legislature this week saw its first significant deadline of the 2021 legislative session as Thursday was the final day for bills to be passed out of a committee of their chamber of origin. The week’s deadline reduced the number of active bills and resolutions from the more than 3,000 originally filed. Lawmakers will now have two weeks to pass the remaining bills off the floor of their chamber of origin. Unfortunately, House Bill 2092 and Senate Bill 189, which would each create hazard mitigation districts funded by a new property tax, both advanced out of committee. OKFB has […]

As was the case with most of the rest of life in Oklahoma, winter weather heavily impacted week three of the 2021 legislative session. The Oklahoma Senate canceled all activities for three days and the House of Representatives shut their doors for one day. Coming at one of the busiest times in the legislative calendar, these delays could result in problems over the next few weeks. Similar to the furious final weeks of the 2020 session, dangerous things can get moved along in the process without the proper consideration when unusually large amounts of legislation are hurried through in a […]

Though the winter weather caused a few disruptions, legislative work continued this week as legislators spent the bulk of their time in House and Senate committees. After legislation moved last week to allow municipalities to levy ad valorem taxes, a second ad valorem bill began advancing through the committee process this week. Senate Bill 189 by Sen. Dave Rader would allow counties to create a new property tax for the purpose of hazard mitigation. OKFB expressed concerns over the broad nature of the applicable tax and as a result, several senators worked to make changes and procedurally opened the bill […]