June 29, 2012 NATIONAL NEWS Highway bill set to move forward under a pile of amendments Surface transportation conference committee has reached a deal on a 27-month bill that would fund highway projects at nearly current levels until Sept. 30, 2014. Since H.R. 4348 is the vehicle that is moving in Congress right now, all kinds of amendments are finding a home with the bill. H.R. 4348 includes reauthorization of surface transportation programs, an extension of reduced student loan rates, and a reauthorization of the flood insurance program. The flood-insurance program will include reform at the urging of Sen. Mark Pryor. Pryor’s measure will strike language directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to require that floodinsurance policies cover residual risk behind dams and levees. The bill would phase in market-based premium rates over five years, phase out certain subsidies, and reauthorize the program for five years. The bill does not include expedited approval of the Keystone XL pipeline or a provision relating to coal ash, but it does consolidate transportation programs, speed up the environmental and regulatory reviews of projects and give states more leeway in spending funds set aside for “enhancements,” such as highway beautification or bicycle paths. The conference report also included the Senate language that extends by one year, through fiscal year 2012, the Secure Rural Schools program. The program funds county outlays for public schools, road improvement and maintenance projects, and forest restoration and improvement projects in and around national forests. The bill also includes several exemptions for farm vehicles. Included in the conference report are exemptions for farmers and ranchers and covered farm vehicles from several federal regulations. The language exempts a covered farm vehicle, including the individual operating that vehicle, from requirements to obtain a commercial driver’s license, medical certificates, hours of service restrictions and any requirement relating to vehicle inspection, repair and maintenance. These exemptions apply for any properly marked farm vehicle that weighs less than 26,001 pounds, and also for farm vehicles that weigh more than 26,001 pounds and are traveling within the state or within 150 air miles of their farm if that vehicle were to cross a state line.
Superfund bill will get committee hearing On Wednesday, July 27, the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy will hold a hearing on H.R. 2997, the Superfund Common Sense Act. Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) introduced the legislation last fall to clarify that animal manure shall not be included in the meaning of “hazardous substance” or “pollutant or contaminant” under the Comprehensive Environmental Recovery, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA) or impose any liability under the Environmental Protection & Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). CERCLA and EPCRA are commonly referred to as Superfund. The bill currently has 113 co-sponsors.
STATE NEWS Butch Calhoun to take the helm of the Arkansas Agriculture Department The Arkansas Agriculture Board approved the Governor’s recommendation of Butch Calhoun as the next head of the Arkansas Agriculture Department. The board voted on June 27 that Calhoun will replace current Secretary Dick Bell upon his retirement effective June 30. Calhoun is currently the head of the Department of Rural Services, a post he has held since 2007. He has vast government