October 5, 2012 Farm Bureau Supports Issue #1 Arkansas Farm Bureau is supporting Issue #1 on the November 6 ballot. If the ballot issue passes it will create a temporary ½ cent sales tax (ends after ten years) to finance $1.3 billion bonds for highway improvements and maintenance. The tax will also generate $700 million in funds for counties and city road work. Farm Bureau has a long history of supporting highway programs. In addition to county and city funds, the bonds will be used to expand four lane projects all over the state. A map of road projects and an estimate of individual county and city turnback funds is available at www.MoveArkansasForward.com. We ask all Farm Bureau members to help us pass Issue #1 by voting in support of the issue in November and telling other voters to vote in support of the issue. Some facts about Issue #1: • Issue #1 WILL NOT raise taxes on groceries, medicine or gasoline. • Money for every county and city in Arkansas. More than $700 million in new state turnback revenue - $350 million for counties and $350 million for cities. • Cities and Counties will have discretionary control over funds they receive from Issue #1 but the sales tax funds can only be used for roads and highways. • Issue #1 will create a permanent $20 million a year State Aid Street Fund for cities and towns to apply for grants for local street and bridge projects. • Issue #1 will support 40,000 statewide jobs and improve Arkansas’s economy, while making roads safer for all, including school buses, emergency vehicles, and drivers sharing the highways with big trucks. • Farm Bureau policy supports this method of highway funding. We recommend the first alternative for paying for a highway program be a users' tax, and the second alternative be bonds in conjunction with a sales tax, toll roads (where feasible), or other measures. We request adequate funds for rural road improvements.
NATIONAL NEWS Farm bill on hold until after the November election Congress has recessed until after the November election. With the election just a month away, Representatives and Senators have hit the campaign trail with a vengeance and left D.C. The House recessed without taking floor action on the House’s FARRM bill. The bill will most likely be considered in a lame duck session post elections. Some House members including Rep. Crawford signed a discharge petition to force consideration of the bill but it was well short of the necessary 218 signatures needed to call the legislation to the floor. At last count the petition had only 79 signatures. House leadership says there aren’t enough votes right now to pass the bill and members haven’t agreed on the amendments that will be considered when the bill is debated on the House floor. Supportive members of Congress and farmers alike are expressing more urgency to pass a farm bill. Other groups, perhaps sensing an opportunity, are attacking the farm bill and calling for more drastic changes. Emily Goff of the Heritage Foundation was quoted in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette saying, “It’s time for farmers to start assuming responsibility for their businesses by reaping the rewards of their risks and also dealing with the consequences.”