Farm Bureau receives legislative update
An update on state and national legislation was provided Friday during the Livingston County Farm Bureau’s annual Legislative Breakfast in Pontiac.
With the Primary Election approaching, State Rep. Dennis Tipsword of the 105th district said the start to this year’s legislative session has been slow. He was happy to see plenty of blue jackets in Springfield during the recent ag day.
“We were inundated with FFA kids,” said Tipsword. “It’s such as refreshing time.”
Tipsword serves o the Criminal Justice and Ethics & Elections committees. He notes there is a push in Illinois to move toward rank choice voting which means voters would rank candidates if multiple people are running for office. Tipsword is against it.
“We are looking for more transparency in voting.”
Permanent vote by mail in Illinois is something else that has been discussed. Tipsword described this as a push to eliminate Election Day voting in the state. Every voter would get a ballot in the mail and Tipsword sees issues with this.
“It’s hard for our county clerks,” he said.
Tipsword referred to the emissions bill coming out of California “absolutely horrible,” as Republicans came out strongly against the bill in Illinois. Thousands of witness slips were filed against it by residents. It appears to be dead at this point in time.
Jason Bunting, State Representative in the 106th district, spoke further on the emissions bill, known as HB 1634 in Illinois.
“Our constituents listen. They are well-informed of what’s taking place in Springfield,” Bunting said.
According to Bunting, if Illinois passed this law, the state would have six months to follow what California did. This not only impacts farmers but also fire departments, schools and businesses.
“It would shut me down,” Bunting admitted.
Another bill Bunting spoke of was HB 4600 which will reform the estate tax, allowing a farm to move down to the next generation. Small business owners feel the scope of this bill is too small as it just covers multi-generational farms currently. Though it has bipartisan support, Bunting is still concerned since many legislators are from the Chicago area.
“If we can at least get something started, we can always build off of it.”
Bunting encouraged those in attendance to buckle-up for the upcoming legislative session after the Primary Election, saying they have to pass “a lot of good bills but stop a lot of really bad bills.”
“It’s time for us to let them know we’ve had enough,” Bunting added.
U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly told the crowd she keeps fighting for farmers and knows firsthand about the delay in this year’s farm bill, nothing it is not the only option Congress has to help farmers. There is $200 million available to build renewable fuels infrastructure and $500 million was allocated to the biofuel infrastructure program.
“I’ve had the pleasure of touring some wonderful farms in our district,” Kelly explained.
Kelly said her door was always open and that she is just a phone call away for constituents.
“I always take what I learn back to Washington with me.”
Leah Bohlmann, an aide to Congressman Darin LaHood, revealed LaHood is eager to work on a farm bill soon and current programs have been extended until the fall. The biggest challenges in farm bill discussions include modifications of entitlement programs. LaHood wants to expand market access abroad for farmers and is working on ways to utilize the tax code to result in more economic investment.
Livingston County Farm Bureau President Brad Schmidgall thanked everyone in the room for what they are doing with the county and reminded them that the Farm Bureau’s doors are always open.
“Thank you for your personal involvement,” Schmidgall said.
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