At the Statehouse

Week Ending March 6, 2015 At the Statehouse…. Preparing for budget week in the House and another sales tax elimination proposal introduced.

Legislative Action This Week… Sales Tax Exemptions (Priority) >>> Rep. Jenny Horne (Dorchester) formally introduced two bills: H.3671 and H.3672. These bills would eliminate certain agricultural sales tax exemptions and establish a statewide property tax rate to pay for schools and roads. The economic impact of eliminating most sales tax exemptions on SC farmers and ranchers could be over hundreds of millions of dollars. SCFB staff met with Rep. Horne this week concerning elimination of the agriculture exemptions. She asked SCFB to provide her a list of existing agricultural sales tax exemptions and why they are necessary. It is imperative that Farm Bureau members contact their House of Representative members and urge opposition.

Repair and Maintenance of Rural Roads and Bridges (Priority) >>> Public debate to address our crumbling infrastructure has turned to the Senate. The Senate Special Transportation Funding Subcommittee continued discussion this week concerning an assortment of bills. During the meeting Sen. Cleary (Georgetown) asked members to discuss with their caucuses three issues: supporting bills by Sens. Grooms (Berkley) S.23 and Setzler (Lexington) S.2, supporting a 10-cent gas tax increase right away, or supporting a 2-cent gas tax increase each year and reforming DOT. Thursday, Sen. Cleary introduced S.523, the "SOUTH CAROLINA COLLECTIVE ROAD ACT". In summary, this bill would raise the gas tax by 10 cents, place some state roads under local government control, increase the cap on automobile sales tax to $1,400 and eliminate the state’s 3 percent income tax on small businesses. Most concerning, the proposal would remove some sales tax exemptions on agricultural products. During the bill’s introduction, Senator Danny Verdin (Laurens) questioned the elimination of agricultural sales tax exemptions. SCFB staff is currently analyzing the bill to see to what extent the proposed legislation would hurt SC farmers. At this point we are sure it will negatively affect some of our agricultural operations. Farm Bureau is opposed to funding our state’s infrastructure by way of eliminating agricultural sales tax exemptions.

Agricultural Water Use (Priority) >>> The push by environmental groups to amend the Surface Water Permitting Act of 2010 and place agriculture as a permitted user is ongoing. We urge all Farm Bureau members to contact your elected officials and voice opposition. We stand firmly against any amendments to the current Surface Water Permitting Act at this time.

Jeffrey Axson, Seven Oaks Farm: “Water is the lifeblood of agriculture!” Please visit Save SC Farmers: http://www.savescfarmers.com/

Trespass Liability (Priority)>>> SCFB staff, along with a group of business allies, met with a couple of senators this week on H.3266 , the Trespasser Responsibility Act bill. This bill passed the House by a vote of 106-6. Sen. Massey (Aiken), the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee chair whose subcommittee has been assigned this bill, is trying to set a subcommittee hearing soon. South Carolina Farm Bureau supports this legislation. We ask that all members contact your elected officials and urge them to support H. 3266.

Budget >>> The House of Representatives will begin budget debate on Monday, March 9th. Debate is expected to last the entire week before being sent to the Senate.

S. 454 - Deer Quota Program – We have long supported a reasonable limit on antlered bucks and the implementation of a deer tagging program for all deer that will enhance the management of the deer herd in South Carolina. This legislation is designed to do just that. This bill was reported favorably out of committee with amendments. Bills of Interest S.11: Notice of meetings for public bodies Sponsors, Sen. L. Martin, Malloy, Peeler, Courson, Campsen, Johnson, Hembree, Setzler, Coleman, Alexander, Scott and Sheheen NOTICE OF MEETINGS FOR PUBLIC BODIES, TO REQUIRE THAT A PUBLIC BODY MUST PROVIDE AN AGENDA FOR ALL REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS AND THAT ITEMS SHALL NOT BE ADDED TO THAT AGENDA LATER THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING, EXCEPT BY A TWO-THIRDS VOTE OF THE BODY. House Judiciary Committee

H 3192: Notice of meetings for public bodies Sponsors, Reps. Newton, Cole, Anderson, Bales, G.A. Brown, etc. PUBLIC NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC MEETINGS, SO AS TO REQUIRE AN AGENDA FOR THE MEETINGS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH ITEMS MAY BE ADDED TO THE AGENDA. Senate Judiciary Committee

H. 3203: Utility Trailer Sponsors, Rep. Bernstein TO DEFINE THE TERM "UTILITY TRAILER" AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE EQUIPMENT THAT MUST BE USED TO ATTACH A TOWING VEHICLE TO A UTILITY TRAILER. House Committee on Education and Public Works

H. 3430: Tires Sponsors, Reps. Simrill, G.M. Smith, Felder, Pope, Weeks, Taylor, Hixon, Corley, Norrell, Ridgeway, Henderson, G.A. Brown, Long, Lucas, Brannon, Pitts, Atwater, Gagnon and Gambrell TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL TO SELL OR INSTALL AN UNMOUNTED, UNSAFE USED TIRE ONTO A PASSENGER CAR OR LIGHT TRUCK, TO DEFINE "UNSAFE", TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL TO CONDUCT INSPECTIONS, TO PROVIDE A CIVIL FINE FOR EACH VIOLATION House Judiciary Committee

On the National Side

Homeland Security/Immigration: The standoff in Congress over homeland security funding came to an end this week, as House Speaker John Boehner relied on moderate House Republicans and all the House Democrats to pass a spending bill. Conservative Republicans had balked at passing a bill that funded any part of President Obama’s executive orders on immigration. The bill funds the Department of Homeland Security and its sub- agencies until the end of September.

E-Verify: The House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would implement a mandatory E-Verify system The Legal Workforce Act requires employers to check the work eligibility of all future hires through the web-based E-Verify system. The bill requires agricultural employers to use mandatory E-verify pursuant to the requirements of the bill at least 36 months after the date of enactment.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) stated that he is committed to addressing agricultural labor needs; however, at this time there is no clear path forward to moving legislation that addresses agriculture’s labor concerns.

AFBF and SCFB oppose legislation that would mandate E-verify without providing agricultural employers access to a legal current workforce and a new temporary worker program. A Farm Bureau commissioned study released in February 2014 showed that labor shortages resulting from enforcement-only reform would cause production to fall between $30-60 billion and food prices to rise 5-6 percent. The full study is available here.

Important Dates: Women's Day at the State House: March 17 National Ag Day: March 18 Palmetto Palate: July 23