Yesterday I attended meetings of both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. The House Ag Committee approved 2 bills to amend the Clean and Green Law to make it easier for farmers to lease a portion of their land that is enrolled in C&G without paying huge amounts of roll-back taxes. This would include leasing for windmills, Marcellus shale natural gas, solar, and all other "Tier One" alternative energy sources.
The Senate Ag Committee approved a similar bill. Both committees also approved amendments allowing quarrying for blue stone on C&G parcels involving less than 5 acres without roll-back taxes.
The Senate committee also approved a bill amending Animal Cruelty provisions prohibiting dog owners from performing tail docking and ear cropping on their dogs, and granting authority to dog wardens to enforce certain provisions of the animal cruelty statute in counties without a court-appointed humane society police officer.
Following all this heavy stuff, I joined in the June is Dairy Month celebration on the Capitol steps with a giant ice cream sundae!
Betsy Huber, State Master