Family Farmer group to talk to legislators on fracking, indemnity & other issues
Members and leadership of the Ohio Farmers Union will descend upon Ohio state legislator’s offices today to discuss a host of issues important to them and consumers.
Key meetings will be held with Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee and Rep. Dave Hall, R-Ashland, chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Roger Wise, OFU president said the group will focus on several issues that were adopted as ‘special orders of business’ for 2012 at its recent state convention. These include:
- Modernization of the state’s grain indemnity law,
- The effects of fracking in eastern Ohio on rural communities and farms,
- Maintaining Ohio’s goal to produce 25% of its electrical energy from renewable resources by 2025,
- Restoration of funding to the Ohio Consumers Counsel, and,
- Preserving the Ohio Turnpike as a public (state) asset.
On Tuesday evening, the Executive Committee of OFU met to discuss Gov. John Kasich’s plan to modernize the state severance tax system and return 100% of new revenue to Ohioans through income tax decreases over the coming years. Wise said the group is still in discussion, but he believes OFU will support increased severance taxes if some of the funds are directed to local governments and an environmental cleanup or restoration fund. He promises more on that issue in the coming days.
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