AZFB Leadership Sets Their Legislative and Lobbying Priorities for 2011

By Joe Sigg, Arizona Farm Bureau
Last November the Board of Directors for the Arizona Farm Bureau met to discuss legislative and lobbying priorities for the upcoming year. All priorities are supported and driven by Farm Bureau policy, and of course, depending upon the nature of the upcoming legislative session and the new Congress other issues requiring attention may surface.
 
Further issues arose at the President’s Summit:  movement of the Office of Pest Management to the Department of Agriculture (ADA) and more fee authority for the ADA Advisory Council (currently all authority resides with the Director).
 
As a result, the following priorities will be our focus in 2011. We will work to …
  • Eliminate or place restraints on funds sweeps.
  • Establish rules and controls on agency fees making.
  • See to it that the legislature renews the Arizona Department of Agriculture agency.
  • Maintain state meat inspection programs.
  • Advance the concept of producers’ liens.
  • Eliminate taxes on agriculture inputs. A jobs bill will be pushed hard at the legislature – agriculture needs to be recognized as a base industry and we need to use it as an opportunity to push for elimination of taxes on inputs.
  • Address air-quality reporting.
  • Address agricultural tax status as it relates to equine.
  • Address budget issues for ADA, Department of Water Resources, Department of Environmental Quality, State Land Department, NRCD funding and the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. 
At the federal level, our focus will be on border security issues and visa reform.
 
Farm Bureau works on issues its members have indicated are important. While staff may provide input as to political conditions, considerations and concerns ? in other words laying out the political landscape ? nevertheless, the members lay out the goals and objectives because it’s the members who must navigate the course of their business operations in the regulatory environment.
 
We look forward to the year ahead and will seek your insights and support as we go along. Know that we’ve launched a Twitter account called @AZFBLegisLetter. You can find us on Twitter. We hope to post notes as events on the state and national level occur. Since you’ll find Phil Bashaw and myself frequently at the Capitol and other places, we hope this communication tool can help you stay informed.