By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Successes ranging from major flood control and limiting the reach of municipalities are among the reasons Indiana Farm Bureau is basically giving the 2019 legislative session a perfect score.

             “When you have a really positive session and achieve a lot of priorities you really don’t walk away disappointed,” said Justin Schneider, director of state government relations for IFB out of Indianapolis.

             If he were a teacher, Schneider said he would give an A to the work of lawmakers for addressing what Farm Bureau deemed as priority items during the four-month session ending April 24.

             He said major successes included passage of bills requiring majority support in areas targeted for annexation by cities and towns and eliminating the ability of municipalities to regulate health, safety and animal related matters up to four miles outside their corporate limits.

             Also taken from cities and towns was their authority to regulate ditches, streams and other watercourses as much as 10 miles from their boundaries.

             Schneider said municipalities extending their reach doesn’t make sense with a strong form of county government in place to regulate activities in the unincorporated areas.

             He also said it’s not fair when landowners in unincorporated areas can’t vote in the elections of cities with influence on their activities.

“We felt there was a big need to remove that regulating authority,” he said.

Schneider said the legislature also gave counties the authority to limit the zoning ability of municipalities if county commissioners feel cities and towns are not properly using their powers to zone two miles outside their corporate boundaries.

Municipalities also had their ability to exercise eminent domain outside their jurisdiction taken away unless specifically authorized under statute.

Also hailed as a victory by Farm Bureau was passage of a bill establishing mechanisms for addressing a suspected growth in flooding along the Kankakee River.

The eight counties along the Kankakee and Yellow rivers are mandated under the legislation to provide anywhere from about $100,000 to $700,000 annually toward implementing a 20-year flood control plan.

The plan includes reducing the amount of sand flowing into the Kankakee River from the Yellow River and strengthening levees.

According to the legislation, each county has the option of imposing a special assessment on farmland and other properties within the basins to come up with their respective payments.

Another $2.3 million for flood control in those basins is also being provided in the new two-year state budget.         

Schneider said farmers don’t usually support paying more taxes but the cost of flooding is greater and could go even higher.

 “We have a lot of members who are increasingly impacted by flooding concerns all over the state,” Schneider said.

The 24-member Kankakee River Basin Commission was also reduced to nine-members to implement flood control strategies more effectively.

Another victory cited by Farm Bureau was passage of legislation allowing for the commercial growing and processing of hemp.

Schneider said he feels demand for hemp will continue to grow and feels its potential could be more just a secondary crop.

“Do I think it’s going to become the next corn and soybeans? Not right now. I’m not sure what the future is going to hold on it. There are a variety of uses and other uses being looked at,” he said.

He said one challenge is overcoming the head start into the hemp market by Kentucky.

According to hemp industry sources from Indiana’s neighboring state, the amount of gross product sales in Kentucky increased from $17 million in 2017 to $58 million last year.

Lawmakers legalized commercial production after hemp was removed from the list of controlled substances at the federal level.

Another win for farmers was legislation eliminating the state income tax levy on the trade-in value on old equipment.

Schneider said the state tax on trade-in value stemmed from changes in federal tax laws adopted in 2017.

“If you trade in a $200,000 combine that’s going to have significant tax implications,” he said.

Schneider said the new state budget was also good to agriculture in areas like increased bonding authority for construction of a new Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

The state is contributing $73 million toward the estimated $108 million cost.

“I think it’s probably fair to say that this is the most successful session of the General Assembly for Purdue in memory,” said Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University and a former Indiana governor.

The new hospital replacing the one built in 1959 will alleviate the risk of Purdue losing accreditation for its program, officials said.

Purdue also received $60 million in state funding for a new 160,000 square foot STEM teaching lab facility.

“We not only secured support for one, but two major capital project and I just don’t know when that’s happened for any state university,” Daniels said.

Other victories cited by Farm Bureau included $100 million for rural broadband extension and funds to complete the renovation of the Fall Creek Pavilion/Swine Barn at the state fairgrounds.