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Senate Agriculture
Feb. 7, 2023
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Sen Caldwell I call this meeting of the Senate Agri, Forestry and Economic Development Committee to order. One order of business today. Senate Bill 191. Senator Wallace, if you would, please turn your mic on, introduce yourself for the record and you are recognized.
SB 191 Changing how Plant Board members are selected
Sen Wallace Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Dave Wallace, District 19. Members, this bill is a repeat of the bill we did two years ago. It reforms the Plant Board, the process, and most importantly, it conforms with the recent Supreme Court ruling. Specifically in years past, there were groups, seed growers among them, seed sellers that had the ability to restrict the names presented to our governor and to the Senate to initially one name and then two names. The Supreme Court ruled and this bill says that just as the governor has a right to pick from hundreds of farmers, hundreds of cattlemen, hundreds of timbermen, has a right to pick from a wide range of individuals that have an interest in seed growing, seed selling, and aviation and all the other industries that are mentioned in here. There is no known opposition. And with that, I stand by for your questions. Okay.
Sen Caldwell Members, do you have any questions for Senator Wallace? This is pretty much an agreed to bill. Did anyone sign up to speak for or against? No one? Proper time. Motion do pass? I’m sorry. You have a question, Senator Leding? We will allow that.
Sen Leding Thank you. This isn’t– I mean, I support the bill, just from my own education. One of things I love about this committee is learning more about our state’s number one industry. But I’m reading through here, line 14, Page 2, A practical corn, peanut, sorghum, turf or wheat grower, I’m interested in the adjective. They’re practical. Is there impractical corn, peanut, sorghum?
Sen Wallace He doesn’t last long in the business if he is. But I think that’s just old language that we’ve had in for a long time.
Sen Leding Okay. All right. Thank you.
Sen Caldwell Senator Gilmore, motion do pass. Second. All in favor say aye. All opposed? Congratulations.
Sen Wallace Thank you, sir. And, Mr. Chair, I might mention that, members, we should think going forward, there’s other boards out there that this board was kind of designed off of many, many years ago. There may be future lawsuits involving that. That’s something we need to think about and we should look, do we want to take a look at those boards as well?
Sen Caldwell Very good.
Sen Wallace Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Sen Caldwell We are adjourned. Before we stop, let’s take a head count. We are invited to go tour a medical marijuana growing facility tomorrow. And they need a headcount of. Senator Leding, are you going to– there’s a tour and a dinner. You can make the tour, not the dinner. One. Senator Love, you’re not going? Senator Gilmore? Okay. We’ll find out. Two. Okay. All right. And we’ll check with Senator Davis later. We are adjourned.