Agricultural News
Proposal to Give County Commissioners More Power Fails in Committee as Oklahoma Ag Groups Cheer the Vote
Mon, 21 Feb 2022 17:21:40 CST
Agricultural groups that represent farmers, ranchers and those who live in rural areas of the state were united- and that resulted in a legislative win for the ag community at the start of the third week of the 2022 State Legislative session.
The victory came on a vote of HB 2990 in the County and Municipal Committee of the Oklahoma House. After considerable debate- the measure was defeated by a 4 yes- 6 no vote.
Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey tells the Oklahoma Farm Report "OCA is pleased that HB 2990 failed to advance from Committee today in a bipartisan vote. More government regulation is not what is needed as proposed by 2990. OCA appreciates being part of a broad coalition to help defeat this type of over reach."
HB2990 and it's companion, SB1182, have been very concerning for Agriculture, Energy and other groups as they could result in a "fundamental shift in how we do county government in Oklahoma"- according to Steve Thompson with Oklahoma Farm Bureau. The measures would allow County Commissioners to basically regulate anything that they are not specifically prohibited from doing in current state law. Thompson adds Farm Bureau and other groups fear that could result in patchwork of regulations and rules that would be vastly different from one county from another in the unincorporated parts of Oklahoma.
HB2990 says "The board of county commissioners shall have the power to: 1. In the conduct of county business, adopt, amend, repeal, and enforce rules, regulations, policies, procedures and codes necessary or proper to carry out the duties, responsibilities and functions of the county which are not otherwise specifically prohibited by any rule or law of this state."
The bill was amended a couple of times to limit the number of counties that might be able to take advantage of the free rein offered to County Commissioners. The first amendment specified that the measure would only apply to counties with more than 50,000 in population- and then a second amendment upped that to counties with 100,000 or more population- which would have mostly limited it to five of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
After the vote- Senior Farm and Ranch Farm Broadcaster Ron Hays talked with Steve Thompson about the vote and what might be ahead for the Senate version of this porposal.
Thompson was pleased by the vote "we were really proud of the way that it went down- and there were a couple of different versions of the bill as they keep narrowing the focus but still there was some danger there in what they might be able to do in unincorporated areas and really expand the scope and it would significantly change the way county government worked. It was a big victory for Farm Bureau as well as all of our other farm groups and also other industries- oil and gas and telecommunications all sent a message today."
Listen to all of Steve's analysis of HB 2990 by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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