Associations Turn Attention to State Capitol

Budgets, biotech, hunting expected to be among hot button legislative issues

With the opening of state legislative sessions in January, wheat and grain associations in the region turn their attention to state issues affecting their members. Following is a preview on issues that may be on the burner in the Dakotas and Minnesota. (Leadership of the Montana Grain Growers Association was busy with its annual conference at press time; thus, this article does not include a state legislative preview from Montana).

Minnesota Lawmakers Face Budget Deficit
The 2003 session in Minnesota will begin on January 7. The single biggest issue facing the legislature will be the budget and the budget deficit, which will need to be addressed in two parts. The first is filling the estimated $4.6 billion deficit by June 30, 2003. The budget deficit for the current cycle is the difference between the amount of revenue that is expected to come into the state treasury by June 30, 2003 and budgeted expenditures  for that same period. Once this gap is closed, the second part is setting the next two-year budget which will begin July 1, 2003. This budget will be set in the face of declining revenues. The likely targets for major cuts are education (50% of the budget), health and human services (27%) and state aids to local governments (11%). All ag issues that will come before state lawmakers this year will be brought in the context of the budget situation.

– Bruce Kleven, who represents the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers and the Minnesota Barley Growers Association in St. Paul.

Wheat Checkoff, Biotech  Wheat Top Issues for NDGGA
The N.D. Legislative Session begins the first Monday in January, January 6.  Two key issues that the NDGGA will be following closely:

•  Biotech wheat.  The NDGGA supports biotechnology research at North Dakota State University, and believes that the wheat industry needs to work together to adopt protocol and standards for the eventual release of biotech wheat that are acceptable in the marketplace.

•  Increased investment in the N.D. wheat checkoff.  The NDGGA asserts that the wheat checkoff in N.D. is under-funded; wheat is last among eight major crops grown in N.D. in checkoff funds invested per acre.

We will also be following the sales tax exemption on used machinery and parts, trying to get that implemented again.

– Lance Hagen, executive director of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association.

Budget, Ethanol Mandate, Hunting Access Among Issues in SD
The major issue of the S.D. Legislature this session, which begins January 14, will be the budget.  We are going to be experiencing a second year of a deficit, and dealing with an expected budget deficit for fiscal year 2004.

Funding of the Northern Crops Institute may become an issue. S.D. has been very proactive over the last 15-20 years in funding NCI, which benefits market development of crops throughout the Northern Plains region.  But now with this budget crunch, we will have to fight tooth and nail to maintain our funding.

Game and fish issues will draw attention from a perspective of landowners versus sportmen. Sportman’s groups are seeking to repeal a recent Supreme Court ruling barring “road hunters” from shooting into private property. Legislatively, the sportman’s groups are seeking to allow hunters to retrieve game 40 yards from the boundary fence into private property.

Another issue is flooded land, specific to northeast S.D.  Major rains a few years ago flooded private land.  Water rose and flooded across private fence lines, to and across public roads. Circuit courts have ruled that there is public access to the road, but anglers cannot cross private fence boundaries, and fishermen were doing that. At any rate, this issue may be debated further by state lawmakers.

There may be a proposal on mandating the use of ethanol in South Dakota, as other states have done. Biotechnology may also be discussed. Two years ago, we established a state wheat biotech committee, very ad hoc.  We have been very involved in meeting with South Dakota State University on biotech wheat issues, which have not been as contentious here as in N.D. Previous legislation has been approved in S.D. that protects university research on biotechnology. I don’t envision major legislation addressing biotech, but if it does come, it will probably be from a group called Dakota Rural Action, which is tied to the Dakota Resource Council out of N.D. They are viewed as extremely radical in S.D., and don’t have a lot of legislative presence.  The biotech debate is something we will be keeping an eye on.

– Rick Vallery, executive director, South Dakota Wheat Inc.