WVFB 2016 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES
Agriculture and Agricultural Funding
Promote strategies / activities to confront the ongoing regulatory challenges posed by an ever aggressive EPA to ensure strength and continued growth in West Virginia ’ s agricultural economy .
Maintain adequate funding for the predator control program .
Promote legislation to establish / define veterinary technician responsibilities .
Property Rights
Promote reasonable and responsible legislation regulating oil and gas exploration that will protect private property / surface owners ’ rights and the environment , while encouraging the development of our resources . Farm Bureau supports the rights of land and mineral owners to negotiate with other parties to achieve the desired use of resources .
Promote legislation to protect landowner from civil liability for injuries that may occur to a person or property on the landowner ’ s property or surrounding property caused while hunting .
Ensure that antidegradation implementation procedures follow the interpretative rule set forth by DEP . [ With the exception of streams in state and national parks and the limited number identified by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act , any stream nominated for Tier 3 status must follow procedure – individual notification of landowner ( s ), current scientific data , appeal process via EQB , etc .]
Rural Values / Public Issues
Promote legislative action to have right to work placed on the ballot .
Agricultural representation on the DEP Advisory Council .
Support legislation that recognizes English as the official language of West Virginia . Support legislation action to direct necessary financing to Local Education Agencies for facility maintenance , as well as new construction .
Support legislative action to ensure local control on Sunday hunting , with approval only by local option at the ballot box .
Taxes / Tax Reform
Farm Bureau recommends an investigation of individual budget items rather than acrossthe-board cuts to address budget shortfalls .
Farm Bureau supports reinstating the food tax as a broad based tax .
Promote action to ensure county assessors adhere to the approved formula for appraising farmland .
Maintain current farm use valuation status for real property in production agriculture , including the $ 1,000 production standard , while eliminating non-farmer access to this tax classification .
Support tax reform measures that might have a positive effect on agriculture and oppose those measures that might have a negative effect .
West Virginia Farm Bureau News 7