State Issues

Solar & Wind

Issue

With solar installations on the rise in Pennsylvania and across the nation, finding a balance between solar energy development and production agriculture is more important than ever. Farmers are used to facing land use pressure from warehouses and housing developments, now solar can be added to that list. Pennsylvania has some of the most fertile farmland in the world and keeping it in agriculture production is imperative.

Background

According to Pennsylvania’s Solar Future, a project of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania has a goal to increase in-state solar generation to provide 10 percent of in-state electricity consumption by 2030. Among the strategies to help reach 10 percent by 2030 include increasing Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS), increased access to capital by expanding availability of solar lending products and implementation of a carbon pricing program. Currently, Pennsylvania generates 0.57% of its electricity from solar.

PFB Policy

Energy, Energy Alternatives, page 10, #3. We recommend companies who lease land for solar and wind energy projects be required to pay decommissioned bonds that cover all of the disposal costs for equipment once it is no longer useful or operational.

Energy, Energy Alternatives, page 10, #5. We recommend a fee on commercial solar farms that would go into the PA Agricultural Land Preservation Fund to provide more funding for farmland preservation.

Energy, Energy Alternatives, page 10, #7. We recommend utility scale solar projects not be allowed on productive Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 Pennsylvania farmland.

Legislation

Bill: SB 211 by Senator Yaw Summary: Would establish decommissioning and bonding requirements for project developers who seek to install or operate commercial solar electric generation facilities in Pennsylvania.

Status: Referred to House Environmental Resources and Energy on April 25, 2023.

Ask: Support.

Electric

Issue

Above all, affordability and accessibility need to remain at the forefront in discussions surrounding the promotion of electric vehicles and equipment. A diverse energy supply is a great asset to farmers and currently that includes renewable energy as well as conventional energy sources.

Background

In recent years there has been a massive push to advance electric vehicles and equipment. For example, in 2020 Pennsylvania signed a multi-state agreement that at least 30 percent of new medium-duty and heavy-duty truck sales will be zero emission vehicles by 2030 and 100 percent of these truck sales will be zero emission vehicles by 2050. There has also been an initiative in the state legislature to establish a Zero Emissions Lawn Care Task Force which would develop a plan to phase out gas-powered lawn and garden equipment in Pennsylvania.

PFB Policy

Motor Vehicle Code, Vehicle Code – General, page 33, #5. We recommend increasing registration fees for electric and hybrid cars to offset the loss of gas tax revenue.

Motor Vehicle Code, Vehicle Code – General, page 33, #6. We recommend an annual road use tax on all electric vehicles titled in Pennsylvania to coincide with vehicle registration renewal. All renewals shall be contingent upon payment of the annual road use tax.

Legislation

Bill: SB 656 by Senator Rothman

Summary: Would eliminate the alternative fuel tax on electric vehicles and replace it with an electric vehicle fee of $380 per noncommercial electric vehicle and $450 per commercial electric vehicle.

Status: Senate final passage on June 21, 2023 (41-9). Amended in House Appropriations and re-reported as amended on April 10, 2024.

Ask: Support.

Depletion Allowance

Issue

The lack of clarity surrounding the tax code has caused frustration for farmers and landowners who elect to deduct the depletion of natural resources by either a cost or percent method. As a result, the agricultural community has lost valuable time and money. Amending the state Tax Reform Code to bring it into conformity with federal law would bring much needed consistency and transparency to a process which has long been unclear.

Background

Pennsylvania’s Personal Income Tax is not in compliance with the federal Internal Revenue Code regarding calculating cost, and percent, depletion of mines, oil and gas wells, and other natural deposits.

PFB Policy

Taxes, Income Tax, page 52, #13. We recommend federal tax rules apply in determining the amount of depletion deduction from state income tax a natural gas/hydrocarbons royalty owner may receive under the percentage deduction method.

Legislation

Bill: HB 81 by Representative Dunbar

Summary: Would align the Commonwealth’s Personal Income Tax (“PIT”) with the federal Internal Revenue Code for the purposes of calculating cost, and percent, depletion of mines, oil and gas wells, and other natural deposits.

Status: Referred to House Finance on March 7, 2023. Ask: Support.

Bill: SB 654 by Senator Bartolotta

Summary: Would align the Commonwealth’s Personal Income Tax (“PIT”) with the federal Internal Revenue Code for the purposes of calculating cost, and percent, depletion of mines, oil and gas wells, and other natural deposits.

Status: House final passage on March 20, 2024 (106-95). Referred to Senate Rules and Executive Nominations on April 8, 2024.

Ask: Support.

More Information

• PA’s Solar Future Plan: https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Energy/OfficeofPollutionPrevention/SolarFuture/Pages/Pennsylvania%27s-Solar-Future-Plan.aspx
• PA Electric Vehicle Roadmap: https://files.dep.state.pa.us/Energy/OfficeofPollutionPrevention/StateEnergyProgram/PAEle ctricVehRoadmapBookletDEP5334.pdf
• PA Department of Revenue – Natural Resources, Depletion: https://www.revenue.pa.gov/FormsandPublications/PAPersonalIncomeTaxGuide/Pages/Natural-Resources.aspx#PITTreatmntFedPercentDep

Storm Water Management

Issue

Stormwater management has become a growing financial burden for many communities across Pennsylvania. To pay for the related increasing costs, as of March 2021, at least 27 municipalities have implemented user fees for stormwater management services, and a growing number are considering them. These charges are modeled after the way municipalities have historically billed residents for other utility services. Stormwater fees provide local governments with a stable source of revenue to pay for their growing stormwater management costs, but at the same time have generated controversy in many Pennsylvania communities.

Background

Stormwater is defined as the precipitation–either rain, snow, or ice–that becomes surface water drainage instead of soaking into the ground. Developed land generates stormwater that can cause property damage and water pollution if it is not managed properly. On an acre-per-acre basis, generally speaking, developed areas generate more stormwater runoff than “rural” areas because they contain more hard structures like rooftops, driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, and roads. To manage the stormwater they generate, municipalities build and maintain stormwater management systems consisting of ditches, catch basins, inlets, underground pipes, and other interconnected structures designed to move stormwater out of inhabited areas. These water transportation networks are technically called municipal separate storm sewer systems, or MS4s, because they are “separate” from the sanitary sewer systems municipalities also build and maintain.

PFB Policy

Natural Resources, Stormwater and Erosion Control, page 40, #9, We recommend Pennsylvania agriculture be exempt from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) requirements mandated under the Federal Clean Water Act, and that all mandated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) implementation be funded by the state.

Natural Resources, Stormwater and Erosion Control, page 40, #1, We oppose legislation that would authorize counties to jointly develop watershed-based stormwater management plans and require counties and municipalities to develop land use regulations that are consistent with these plans.

Natural Resources, Stormwater and Erosion Control, page 40, #2. We oppose any fee, tax, or ordinance based on stormwater runoff.

Legislation

Bill: HB 207, MS4 Data and Testing Expansion – Encouraging Accurate Watershed Storm Water Plans by Representative Gleim

Summary: Would enhance the quality of the data DEP uses when determining a municipality’s MS4 compliance.

Status: Referred to House Environmental Resources and Energy on March 8, 2023.

Ask: Support.

Bill: MS4 Farm Exemption Legislation by Representative Gleim

Summary: Would amend the Second-Class Township Code and the Municipal Authorities Act to ensure that farmers that install approved best management practices receive credit against any storm water management fee imposed on them.

Status: Co-sponsor memo introduced on July 13, 2023.

Ask: Support.

More Information

• DEP Stormwater Management: https://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Water/CleanWater/StormwaterMgmt/Pages/default.aspx

 

Labor

Equal Rights for Agriculture Workers

Background

A minimum hourly wage, overtime and unionization for agricultural workers would mean higher prices, greater unemployment and ultimately, the erasure of family farms. Farmers cannot afford increased labor costs and for many it would mean financial collapse. In New York, where the decision was recently made to drop the overtime threshold to 40 hours, input costs will rise by up to $264 million per year. In addition, many farm workers stated they plan to head to other states where they can work the hours they want. PA cannot afford to enact the same policies. At a time when expenses are on track to outpace revenues for many farmers enacting minimum wage, overtime and unionization policies would be shortsighted and pose a significant threat to food security.

PFB Policy

PFB Policy Labor, Minimum Wage and Overtime, page 26, #1. We recommend Pennsylvania’s minimum wage not exceed the federal mandate.

Labor, Minimum Wage and Overtime, page 26, #3. We recommend farmers are exempt from state mandated over-time pay.

Labor, Unionization, page 26, #1. We recommend legislation be enacted to prohibit strikes in agriculture, or in an agriculture processing plant, during a critical period of production or harvest.

Legislation

 Bill: HB 1141 by Representative Hohenstein

Summary: Includes the minimum wage component of the package.

 Status: Referred to House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on May 10, 2023.

Ask: Oppose.

Bill: HB 1045 by Representatives Guzman and Burgos

Summary: Would treat persons employed in agricultural labor as entitled to coverage for unemployment insurance compensation on the same terms as all other workers.

Status: Referred to House Labor and Industry Committee on April 28, 2023.

Ask: Oppose.

Bill: HB 347 by Representative Dan Miller

Summary: Would allow agricultural laborers the right to self-organize, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively about the terms and conditions of their employment, and to engage in concerted activities for mutual aid or protection.

Status: Referred to House Labor and Industry Committee on March 13, 2023.

Ask: Oppose

More Information

• PA House Ag Labor Reform Package Co-Sponsor Memo: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=39031
• Grow NY Farms: https://grownyfarms.com/

Crop and Livestock Damage

Issue

Wildlife has the potential to decimate yields, harm livestock, and cause significant damage to existing infrastructure. Skyrocketing input costs in tandem with decreased hunter numbers creates a problem that farmers simply cannot afford.

Background

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) reports Pennsylvania among the top states experiencing crop losses due to wildlife damage. According to their data, Pennsylvania suffered over $20 million in losses on corn in 2017, the highest reported number in the nation. That same study showed that Pennsylvania farmers suffered more than $15 million in losses to soybean crops in 2017. In 2022, the USDA wildlife damage management program, Wildlife Services (WS) reported that predators cause an estimated $232 million in losses to livestock producers annually and bird damage to crops exceeds $150 million each year.

PFB Policy

Hunting and Fishing Laws, Damage by Game Animals, page 19, #5. We recommend rigorous and scientific study of the amount of yearly wildlife damage to crops and livestock in Pennsylvania, such as study to be conducted by NASS, PDA and/or Penn State or other industry recognized institutions.

Hunting and Fishing Laws, Seasons and Bag Limits, General, page 23, #2. We recommend supporting Sunday hunting if multiple PFB policy priorities are included in the legislation.

The following are those priorities:

• Hunting and Fishing Laws, Deer Depredation Permit Program, page 19, #2. We recommend farm operators be allowed to contract or appoint a delegate licensed hunters to harvest wildlife for crop damage without opening it to the public.
• Hunting and Fishing Laws, Damage By Game Animals, Deer, page 19, #3. We recommend persons lawfully killing deer for crop damage, that will not be utilized for food consumption, not be required to: (a) Provide cold storage for compliance with standards of “safekeeping.”
• Hunting and Fishing Laws, Game and Fish Commissions, page 21, #2. We recommend adding a Commissioner-at-Large to both the PA Game Commission and the PA Fish and Boat Commission to represent agricultural interests.
• Hunting and Fishing Laws, Hunting on Private Property, page 22, #4. We recommend a one-year revocation of hunting and fishing privileges for anyone who hunts or fishes on private land without landowner permission.
• Trespassing, General Trespass, page 55, #2. We recommend landowner permission be required prior to entrance onto private property.
• Trespassing, Hunting-Related Trespass, page 56, #1. We recommend penalties for private property and hunting trespass violations occurring on Sunday be doubled.

Legislation

Bill: SB 1087 by Senators Rothman and Vogel

Summary:

• Would increase hunting trespass penalties.
• Would streamline crop damage mitigation programs.
• Would add a tenth seat to the PA Game Commission that would be defined as a farmer-at-large position.
• Would create a system by which licensed hunters can easily be contacted by farmers.

Status: Second consideration as of April 8, 2024.

Ask: Support.

**PFB will support SB 67 by Senator Laughlin, which would repeal the Sunday hunting prohibition, if SB 1087 passes with or before it.

Bill: HB 2106 – HB 2108 by Representative Mandy Steele

Summary:

• Would increase hunting trespass penalties.
• Would streamline crop damage mitigation programs.
• Would require at least one member of the PA Game Commission to be defined as a farmer.
• Would create a system by which licensed hunters can easily be contacted by farmers.
• Would repeal the Sunday hunting prohibition.

Status: HB 2106 reported as amended by House Game and Fisheries on May 22, 2024. HB 2107 and HB 2108 reported as committed by House Game and Fisheries on May 22, 2024.

Ask: Support.

More Information

• PA Game Commission Agricultural Deer Control (AG Tag) Program: https://www.pgc.pa.gov/InformationResources/GetInvolved/LandownerPrograms/Pages/Re dTagProgram.aspx
• PFB Crop Damage on the Rise in PA: https://pfb.com/crop-damage-on-the-rise-in-pennsylvania/
• PFB Wildlife Damage to Crops and Livestock Testimony: https://pfb.com/wildlife-damage-to-crops-and-livestock-testimony/