House Bill 1076 brings clarity and puts new requirements in place. Those requirements include that three-fourths of the entire county board must approve any crop share, cash rent or lease agreement. Any of these agreements cannot be any longer than five years, and importantly, it deletes a provision that a single county officer can make a lease agreement.
State Representative Brad Halbrook responded, “As Republican spokesperson for the Counties and Township Committee, I was opposed to this bill when first presented in the House. In its initial filing, HB1076 violated key protections in our constitution to protect fair and transparent bidding processes for the public use of taxpayer assets. The bill passed the House in March and then went to the Senate. Had the errors in the bill not been fixed in the Senate, there is no doubt that any action taken under the bill’s initial provisions would have been deemed unconstitutional.
“It’s important to note that this amendment in no way takes away the fact that units of government, counties in this instance, need to be conscious of the requirement that any agreement they enter into must meet the public purpose criteria of the Constitution. This point was referenced during debate in the Senate.
With the changes to the bill in Senate Amendment 1, I fully support HB 1076 and thank Senator Plummer, with just a few changes in key sentences, for making this bill one that will protect taxpayers and give counties an additional revenue source.”
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