logo
Agricultural exemption, review bill fails on House floor

Agricultural exemption, review bill fails on House floor

Yahoo21-03-2025

An irrigation system is shown near Sheridan, MT, in 2019. (USDA Photo by Lance Cheung)
A bill seeking to change automatic classification of large tracts of land as agricultural land failed in the House on Thursday afternoon.
House Bill 27, brought by Rep. Sherry Essmann, R-Billings, would have introduced an application process for agricultural classification and a review process for properties already considered agricultural land.
The bill targeted properties that claim an agricultural exemption, but aren't actually being used for raising livestock or crops. Currently, agricultural exemptions are automatically granted for properties more than 160 acres. Properties that are less than 160 acres have to apply to the Montana Department of Revenue to receive an agricultural designation.
Properties not qualifying for the agricultural exemption would instead be switched to Tax Class Four, which is residential.
The bill would have introduced 'sustenance use land' and 'nonproductive forest land' as new tax classifications. The Department of Revenue supported the bill after an off-session working group tried to address the issue following a similar bill that failed during the 2023 session.
'What became crystal clear to the working group was that the current statute of ag classification eligibility is providing preferential classification value to properties that are not engaged in quantified ag use,' Essmann said on the floor Thursday. 'Montana's land is a right, but our ranchers, our farmers and our communities depend on it. But for too long, we've seen speculators buying thousands of acres and take them out of production and turn them into their personal playgrounds.'
Properties 640 acres and less would need to show they produced $1,500 or more in income from agricultural use to qualify for the agriculture exemption. Tracts of land receiving the exemption would have to show an additional $6 for every acre over 640. So, if a property was 650 acres, it would have needed to show an income of $1,560.
The bill received opposition on the floor and debate only ended with a cloture vote, a procedural move to stop debate.
Opponents said it would hurt small farmers, as well as operators of commercial operations like corn mazes, pumpkin patches and dude ranches. All three of those uses, along with agrotourism operations, were not eligible to be considered agricultural land under the bill.
Rep. Caleb Hinkle, R-Belgrade, spoke against the bill on the floor Thursday, saying it 'threatens to undermine the very backbone of our state.'
He said it would 'punish' small property owners and 'strangle' family farms.
'This bill, if passed, claims to target the fraud agriculture,' Rep. Jed Hinkle, R-Belgrade said on the floor, 'But instead captures good, well-meaning Montanans whose dream was to own some property, raise their livestock, or plant their gardens, orchards and actually be able to afford living and owning the land.'
The bill failed 60-40 on the floor.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Judge strikes reference to ex-Illinois speaker Madigan's personal fortune from sentencing record
Judge strikes reference to ex-Illinois speaker Madigan's personal fortune from sentencing record

Yahoo

time24 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Judge strikes reference to ex-Illinois speaker Madigan's personal fortune from sentencing record

CHICAGO — A federal judge on Tuesday struck from the court record a reference to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's personal net worth of more than $40 million, agreeing with the Democrat's defense team that it should have been kept private, even as the attorneys acknowledged the move was 'hollow' given that it was already widely publicized. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey said he didn't find any 'bad faith' on the part of the federal prosecutors who included the figure in a filing last week ahead of Madigan's highly anticipated sentencing on Friday, but found that common practice would be to file such personal information under seal. Blakey's ruling came before the attorneys delivered arguments over sentencing guidelines at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, technically kicking off the sentencing process. Blakey took the matter under advisement until Friday's hearing. Federal prosecutors made Madigan's net worth public for the first time in a response to a sentencing memorandum filed by his attorneys, arguing that the defendant's 'greed is even more appalling given his law firm's success.' Daniel Collins, an attorney for Madigan, called the inclusion of the former speaker's personal fortune improper and a 'gratuitous effort' to publicly identify his net worth. 'It is not necessary to include the number in order for the government to make an argument about greed,' Collins said. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker countered to the judge that the defense left the door open by arguing in filings that Madigan was solely motivated by a desire to help people. She also said the figure is relevant as the government seeks a fine in the case. 'It's fair for the government to rebut that narrative and show the defendant was motivated by greed not need,' Streicker said. 'This is a defendant that enjoyed every advantage and significant financial wealth and still turned to bribery and fraud.' In February, Madigan was convicted of 10 of 23 counts, including marquee allegations that he agreed to squeeze lucrative, do-nothing contracts from ComEd for pals such as former Ald. Frank Olivo and Ald. Michael Zalewski and precinct captains Ray Nice and Edward Moody, all while the utility won a series of major legislation victories. Madigan was also convicted on six of seven counts — including wire fraud and Travel Act violations — regarding a plan to get former Ald. Daniel Solis, a key FBI mole who testified at length in the trial, appointed to a state board. Jurors deadlocked on all six counts related to Madigan's co-defendant former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain. _______

Proposal to ban DEI college courses, state policy dies in Louisiana Legislature
Proposal to ban DEI college courses, state policy dies in Louisiana Legislature

Yahoo

time25 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Proposal to ban DEI college courses, state policy dies in Louisiana Legislature

A brick wall sign marks the entrance to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus on May 15, 2025. (Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) The Louisiana Senate has refused to refer a bill targeting diversity, equity and inclusion to a committee where it could be debated, an unusual move that essentially means the proposal will die on the vine. House Bill 685 by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, would have banned DEI practices across state government and prohibit state universities and colleges from requiring certain race and gender-based curricula for undergraduate students. It narrowly passed the House last month after a hours-long debate in which Black lawmakers called the bill 'racially oppressive.' 'We couldn't figure out which committee to refer it to,' Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said Monday in an interview. Chenevert said she was disappointed her bill didn't get a Senate committee hearing, adding she would consider sponsoring the legislation again in the future. 'Sometimes it's not about getting all the way through,' Chenevert said. 'Maybe it's just bringing up the topic and having some … open conversations about it.' The legislation was originally debated in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, because its original version only prohibited DEI practices in state agencies. During that hearing, it was amended to restrict college curricula but it was not sent to the House Committe on Education, which handles proposals on curricula and higher education. 'To the extent the bill intended to prohibit the inclusion of certain concepts which are unrelated to specific courses or programs it would be unnecessary as professional best practices already set that standard,' LSU Faculty Senate President Dan Tirone said in a statement to the Illuminator. House Bill 685 was introduced in the Senate on May 20, with more than three weeks left in the legislative session during which it could have been debated in committee, a necessary step before it can get a Senate floor vote. But as the final week of committee meetings passed, Chenevert's proposal remained unreferred. 'I think it's unnecessary,' Henry said, adding it was the Senate's decision, not just his, to stall the bill. 'An enormous amount of people from both parties expressed their reservations.' Chenevert's bill had the support of Gov. Jeff Landry. 'If the governor wants to institute that, he can do an executive order,' Henry said of the legislation. If it had become law, the bill would have prohibited required classes that cover any of the following subjects: Critical race theory White fragility or white guilt Systemic racism, institutional racism or anti-racism Systemic bias or implicit bias Intersectionality Gender identity Allyship Race-based reparations Race-based privilege The legislation would have allowed any of the subjects to be taught if it was 'included at the discretion of the faculty member, is not prescribed by the institution as a program requirement, and is part of a broader pedagogical objective.' Opponents of the bill said even with this language, the legislation could have had a chilling effect on faculty's academic freedom and freedom of speech. The Louisiana chapter of the American Association of University Professors sent a letter to lawmakers asking them to oppose the bill. 'This legislation would stifle the 'marketplace of ideas' and infantilize our students, forcing faculty to avoid concepts the legislature dislikes and presenting only those that have gained their favor,' the letter reads. 'This is antithetical to freedom in a democratic society and hurts our students as they transition into fully enfranchised citizens.' The Southern University Foundation, which is affiliated with Louisiana's largest historically Black university, also opposed the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

GOP megabill could undermine US energy production, Republicans warn
GOP megabill could undermine US energy production, Republicans warn

Yahoo

time25 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

GOP megabill could undermine US energy production, Republicans warn

Republicans want to expand power production to shore up the grid and support the growth of data centers — but their own megabill risks doing the exact opposite. That's the message lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, industry executives and former Republican officials delivered on stage at the POLITICO Energy Summit on Tuesday. The reconciliation bill that passed the House last month seeks to gut clean energy tax credits enacted by Democrats in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, particularly for wind and solar — two of the fastest-growing sources on the grid. President Donald Trump has derided those subsidies as the 'Green New Scam,' and congressional Republicans have said the two technologies must stand on their own after decades of support. But the speedy sunset of the investment and production tax credits under the House bill would hurt companies that have made investments based on the IRA, several of the Summit speakers said. The House-passed bill is not 'fair to businesses in the way that we're phasing [the credits] out,' said Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis. 'Investors have invested billions of dollars based on the rules of the road, and you have employees who have set careers based on these things.' Energy companies have warned the bill could lead to the cancellation of hundreds of major electricity generation projects, just as the nation's utilities prepare for a surge in power demand from new AI data centers. John Ketchum, chair and CEO of NextEra, the nation's biggest owner of natural gas-fired power plants and the world's leading generator of electricity from wind and solar power, said he agrees with the Trump administration's declaration of an energy emergency — but warned renewables cannot be taken 'off the table.' 'We cannot afford to do that. If we do that, we will lose the AI race, and we will bring this economic expansion in the United States to a screeching halt,' Ketchum said. That's because a new fleet of natural gas power plants won't be ready until 2032, he added, and nuclear power will take even longer. And former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Neil Chatterjee, who served under the first Trump administration, said fossil fuels must be complemented by renewables and emerging technologies like geothermal and nuclear — as well as energy efficiency efforts. 'We can't possibly win the AI race and keep energy reliable and affordable with only fossil fuels,' Chatterjee said. 'We need every available electron.' But the backing for renewables drew pushback from Jarrod Agen, the executive director of Trump's newly created National Energy Dominance Council, who said he was 'very happy' with the bill the House produced. Wind and solar are 'intermittent' sources, he said, that 'can't stand on their own feet.' While the administration believes that nuclear energy will ultimately be the 'perfect source,' fossil fuels and coal are the most reliable and secure sources today, Agen said. Here are some other takeaways from Tuesday's event: Curtis, who has urged his Senate colleagues for months to preserve the IRA credits, specifically called for the bill to set a phase-out date for the clean energy tax credits based on when developers start construction of new projects, rather than on when a project begins producing electricity, as the House bill does. The House language discourages new investment because construction timelines are often uncertain, he said. 'Changing it to say something about the date [construction] started would be a really significant difference and not really hurt the intent of what Republicans are trying to do on this bill,' Curtis said. That echoed comments from Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who also urged changes to the bill's prohibition on foreign involvement in projects, which he said is 'completely unworkable in its current form.' Even Jennifer Granholm, who oversaw much of the growth spurred by the credits as the Biden administration's energy secretary, told the summit the bill could be 'workable' if the Senate fixes those two provisions, as well as restores rules that allow companies to buy and sell the tax credits. Former FERC leaders bemoaned President Donald Trump's treatment of the agency, with Chatterjee warning the moves could turn the independent regulator into the 'EPA,' which has whipsawed between administrations. Trump requested that former Democratic Chair Willie Phillips depart the commission, and last week declined to renominate current Republican Chair Mark Christie for a second term. His administration has moved to exert more power over other independent agencies as well. 'If the White House exerts control over the agency and they have to clear everything through OIRA and through OMB, then effectively the role of FERC chairman is no longer as head of an independent agency, it's basically a staff position,' Chatterjee told the audience. The energy world is still processing the falling-out between Trump and his former 'first buddy,' clean energy and electric vehicle entrepreneur Elon Musk. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) told the summit that Musk never brought up objections to the Republican megabill during a breakfast just hours after the House passed the measure. 'He talked about AI, he talked about all this stuff that [was] energy,' Guthrie said. 'Never mentioned the bill. And the bill had just been voted.' Granholm signaled that clean energy advocates could welcome Musk back into the fold, calling his electric vehicle company Tesla 'amazing' while noting the 'later part of his journey has been more challenging.' Pressed on Musk's support for clean energy, Agen, the White House official, said: 'The President is in charge.' Granholm acknowledged that Democrats should have done a better job on the campaign trail last year selling their vision of job creation from the clean energy transition. But the party going forward also needs to hone its messaging on 'keeping costs low by using the cheapest form of energy,' which is renewables, Granholm said. Heinrich, too, forecast that Republicans' fossil fuel push would drive up energy prices — and provide a political opening to Democrats. 'We're in a constrained supply environment and an increased demand environment,' he said. 'People's electricity bills all over the country are going to go up. What I can guarantee you is in the next election and the election after that Republicans are going to own increased energy prices.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store