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Idaho committee advances bill to broaden 'right to farm' protections
Summary
The Idaho House Agricultural Affairs Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1033 to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation after brief sponsor remarks and supportive testimony from agricultural groups concerned about nuisance claims.
Representative Judy Boyle, sponsor of Senate Bill 1033, told the Idaho House Agricultural Affairs Committee that the bill is intended to strengthen Idaho's Right to Farm Act and reduce nuisance lawsuits against agricultural operations. "This is to strengthen our right to farm bill, our right to farm act that we have in Idaho," Boyle said, adding the measure should "prevent some of the nuisance lawsuits that we see coming forward in complaints."
The bill drew supportive testimony from agricultural groups. "The Idaho Cattle Association supports this bill," Spencer Black, president of the Idaho Cattle Association and a cattle producer, told the committee, citing conflicts that arise where agricultural operations sit near expanding development. Braden Jensen of the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation also testified in support, saying the bill would make the state's Right to Farm Act "more robust."
Committee members asked for clarifications about the bill's remedies. Representative Mills and Representative Dyer highlighted language in the draft that addresses both attorney fees in claims and penalties for meritless complaints. "If you look on page 1, line 18 through 24, in section 3, it talks about if there's a claim or a cause of action and it talks about getting attorney fees, then section 4 deals with meritless complaints," Dyer said, summarizing provisions that, in the committee's words, would allow recovery of attorney fees in some circumstances and provide specific penalties for repeat or meritless filings. Sponsor Boyle said whether attorney fees would be recoverable could depend on whether a dispute reaches the courts.
After testimony and brief discussion, Representative McCann moved to send Senate Bill 1033 to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation. The committee approved the motion by voice vote; the transcript records an affirmative voice vote and no stated opposition.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript. The motion advances the bill to the full House for further consideration.
