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April 4, 2008

 

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Farm Bill Talks Continue...Slowly - American Farm Bureau Federation farm policy specialists said negotiations to fund the new farm bill continue, though neither the Senate Finance Committee nor the House Ways and Means Committee has announced a breakthrough on finding $10 billion in spending offsets. The offsets are needed for any spending above the baseline budget previously agreed upon for the next farm bill. Presumably those committees and the White House have agreed upon $8 billion of the $10 billion in funding, AFBF's Mary Kay Thatcher and Tara Smith said. There also is no agreement on whether the funding would be managed by the Finance and Ways and Means committees or the House and Senate Agriculture committees. Instead of waiting for the funding and jurisdictional issues to be resolved, House and Senate Agriculture committee leaders have proceeded to other areas, assuming those issues will be resolved. The agriculture committees are attempting to divide the $10 billion among the bill's various titles. To whittle down the legislative package to a precise $10 billion over the baseline, a tentative agreement has been reached that the Senate must find $750 million in additional cuts from commodities, crop insurance or the disaster provisions. The House must find $135 million from conservation or nutrition. Since $750 million must be found by cutting crop insurance, commodities or the permanent disaster program, Thatcher and Smith said cuts to direct payments are on the table again. Committee staff members will continue working through the weekend.

 

STATE AFFAIRS

Governor, Legislative Leaders Announce Bipartisan Economic Stimulus Package - On Wednesday April 2, Governor Ted Strickland, Ohio Senate President Bill Harris and Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted announced a $1.57 billion jobs stimulus package that aims to create new jobs while laying the foundation for future economic prosperity.

Husted spent Wednesday afternoon in front of Ohio Farm Bureau's board of trustees, breaking down the details of the package, much of which relies upon and affects agriculture, the state's No.1 industry.

With the exception of the Clean Ohio program, the bipartisan package will not need to go to the ballot in November, allowing the positive benefits to the state's economy to start almost immediately.

"I am thankful to President Harris and Speaker Husted for their leadership and hard work in helping develop a jobs plan that will create thousands of new jobs in our great state," Strickland said. "Together, we have crafted a thoughtful approach to making the investments needed to jumpstart our economy."

"I am pleased to stand in support of a bipartisan jobs package that relies less on debt, that ensures stimulus dollars can be released before the end of the year and which wisely targets investments where they can make the most difference to our overall state economy," Harris said.

"I can support this plan – it invests in people and it creates real jobs because it requires private sector investment in the economy," Husted said. "The plan does not mortgage Ohio's future, it invests in it."

The economic package makes major investments in workforce, infrastructure and new and emerging industries that will spur job creation in Ohio.

The state leaders agreed that while the availability of high-quality jobs is essential to Ohio's future, so too are the investments we must make to link Ohio students and Ohio graduates to those jobs. This package calls for $250 million over the next five years to build a jobs pipeline for students – a resource that will greatly expand internships and co-op programs that place Ohio at the forefront of job creation. Moreover, attracting students and graduates back to Ohio will serve a critical role in this effort.

The proposal's investments of $1.57 billion, which represent approximately $700 million in less debt than the original proposal, will be funded through a combination of bond sales, existing revenue and other sources.

The details of the bipartisan economic package are:

New and Emerging Industries:

·         Bio-based Products, $50 million -- will help support and grow an industry that aims to produce polymers, plastics and other crucial modern materials out of Ohio-grown crops.

·         Biomedical, $100 million -- will help create jobs through spurring a part of Ohio's economy that saves lives and leads to medical advances.

·         Advanced and Renewable Energy, $150 million -- will create new jobs by making Ohio a powerhouse of renewable and advanced energy production such as wind, solar and clean coal.

Infrastructure:

·         Logistics and Distribution, $100 million -- will help spur job creation through investing in infrastructure that can be used to expand and support businesses that move and distribute products. Ohio's central location in the nation makes it a perfect location for a growing logistics and distribution industry.

·         Local Infrastructure, $400 million -- will be used to help build important local infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, sewers and water systems.

·         Clean Ohio Conservation, $200 million -- will fund the preservation of farmland and greenspace.

·         Clean Ohio Revitalization, $200 million --will help revitalize our cities and industrial areas by brownfield clean up and transformation into new residential and business development.

·         Historic Preservation Tax Credit, $120 million -- will revitalize historically significant buildings that expand the tax base of the local community.

Workforce:

·         Higher Education Workforce Initiative, $250 million -- aims to keep more college-educated Ohioans in the state by linking them with good internships, cooperative education programs and jobs while they earn their degrees. Matched with private sector investments, this will make Ohio a leader in higher education and job creation efforts.

"This bipartisan jobs stimulus plan will create jobs, make us a leader in emerging industries and establish the foundation for long-term growth and prosperity in Ohio," Strickland said.

Ohio Farm Bureau Testifies in Support of Agriculture License Plate - Senior Director of Policy and Political Affairs for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Rocky Black, testified as a proponent of HB 293 in the Senate Agriculture Committee.  Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Goodwin, HB 293, if signed into law, will establish the Ohio Agriculture License Plate. The plate will be available for purchase at the BMV and cost an additional $20. Proceeds from the plate will be used for scholarships for students studying agriculture or a related field in Ohio.

 

Black testified that in Ohio there are approximately 75,000 farm families and approximately 250,000 drivers. If the plate received only 10 percent participation, it would raise $200,000 for scholarships.

 

Agricultural Security Areas Legislation Passes Senate - HB 289, sponsored by Rep. Tony Core, passed the Senate with a 31 -1 vote. Voting against the bill was Sen. Eric Kearney. The bill was introduced to make changes to the laws currently governing Agricultural Secuirty Areas (ASA). ASAs allow landowners to protect their agricultural land from development for 10 years. HB 289 will allow other landowners to join an established ASA with consent of the ASA landowner. Also, the bill allows landowners to transfer ASA land to a new owner. Other provisions include: preventing home businesses on ASA land that would cause the land to lose CAUV, allowing the buildings to be put up for agricultural purposes, and clarifying penalties for breaking the ASA.

 

Tax Sourcing Bill Awaits Governor's Signature - On March 12, HB 429, sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs, passed through the Senate. This week the House concurred with the Senate amendments and sent the bill to await Gov. Strickland's signature.

 

HB 429 was introduced in light of an amendment made to the Streamline Sales Tax Project (SSTP) agreement in December. The amendment allows states to use origin-based sale tax methodology for all intrastate sales and still be permitted to join the SSTP. This is opposed to using destination-based sale tax methodology, which was previously required under the agreement.

What's in the bill?
·Requires a mandatory switch back to origin-based sourcing

o   This means a retailer pays the sales tax in their county no matter what county they may ship their product

o   Under destination-based sourcing retailers would be responsible for paying the sales tax of the county in which they shipped their product

·Repeals the law that requires the Department of Taxation to perform a semi-annual calculation to reimburse counties when their sales tax revenue loss is four percent or greater from destination-based sourcing, effective May 1, 2009

·Gives the Department of Taxation the authority to formulate a plan for a one-time payment to compensate vendors who have switch to destination sourcing by Jan. 1, 2010

o   Requires the state to provide compensation to vendors at $1,000 for larger-volume sellers and up to $600 for other businesses

·Provides that a vendor does not have to refund the sales tax on the part of the price consisting of a delivery charge if the delivery charge is not refunded to the consumer

Why origin-based sourcing?
·A vast majority of retail businesses in Ohio are already using origin-based sourcing

·For states that have multiple sales tax rates and jurisdictions, like Ohio, destination-based sourcing places additional burdens on vendors

·Small- and Medium-sized businesses often use off-the-shelf tax software that is not capable of computing the different tax rates of various jurisdictions as is required under destination-based sourcing

What is the Streamline Sales Tax Project?
http://www.streamlinedsalestax.org/oprules.html
·The project is designed to develop measures to test and implement a simplified sales and use tax system

·The project is created by and comprised of participating governments of States and the District of Columbia.

·States must pass legislation indicating the intent of the State to participate in interstate discussions to develop a simpler sales and use tax system

More Information
For more information contact the Ohio Department of Taxation at 1-800-282-1780 or visit their website at http://tax.ohio.gov/

Questions
Please contact Rocky Black of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation with any questions or concerns at rblack@ofbf.org or 614-246-8255

 

ACTION ALERTS

Proposed Dairy Labeling Rule Update - The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has modified the proposed dairy labeling rule originally announced February 7. As a result, the rule will be re-filed and have a public hearing on April 8 at 10 a.m. at ODA, 8995 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg. The Joint Committee Agency on Rule and Review (JCARR) hearing for the proposed rule was originally scheduled for March 31. It has been tentatively re-scheduled for the modified/re-filed rule on April 21.

Under the modified/re-filed rule, dairy product labels:

Generally may not make "compositional absence claims" like "Hormone Free," "Antibiotic Free" or "rbST Free." These claims are either not provable or disclaim the presence of substances which may not legally be present in milk products.

May make accurate "production claims" which reflect the way a dairy product was produced.  For example, claims that milk was produced from cows not injected with antibiotics, if true, may appear on the product label. (This would apply to certified organic dairies that participate in USDA's organic program and undergo a third-party audit/verification process.)

Must include, along with any permissible production claim about the use of rbST, a statement regarding the FDA's determination that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST-supplemented and non-rbST-supplemented cows.

Must display the FDA determination contiguously to any accurate rbST production claim in a font size no less than one-half the font size of the rbST production claim. 

Milk product processors will have 120 days to come into compliance with the rule.

OFBF supported the original rule and generally supports the modified/re-filed rule. We still encourage members to contact their legislators, particularly JCARR members, and ask them to support the modified/re-filed rule. Contacts should be made prior to the JCARR hearing tentatively scheduled for April 21. For additional information, please refer to the talking points.

If you have any questions/concerns or need additional information/assistance, please contact David White at (614) 246-8261 or dwhite@ofbf.org.

Ohio Farm Bureau Takes Action on SB 221 - Ohio Farm Bureau was the first major statewide organization to support Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to stabilize the state's electricity rates, as laid out in Senate Bill 221 (SB 221). Now the governor is asking Farm Bureau members across the state to band together in a united grassroots effort to urge Ohio House members to pass the legislation as quickly as possible.

OFBF is responding by asking members to contact their representatives and ask them to support SB 221, creating more than 7,000 Farm Bureau contacts to the statehouse.

OFBF is providing members who wish to take action  with the resources to get their message to the Capitol through the following means:

Ready-made postcards: OFBF-produced cards ask representatives to support SB 221 and promote Farm Bureau's efforts to help them become friends of agriculture. Members should write a message on the back of the card, affix the proper postage and send directly to statehouse offices. Postcards can be obtained from your County Farm Bureau office.

Farm Votes Matter e-mails: E-mails can be sent directly to representatives' inboxes by visiting www.farmvotesmatter.org and clicking on the Action Alert! link.

In-District visits with representatives, personal letters and phone calls to state offices are contact options as well. Click here for SB 221 talking points.

Contact your County Farm Bureau office or organization director for more information.