Senate committee hears HB 80 to move state agricultural lease bidding to cash-per-acre

The Senate Agricultural, Livestock and Irrigation Committee heard testimony on House Bill 80 on HB 80, a bill sponsored by Representative Brandon Gregg to allow the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to competitively bid agricultural state trust leases on a cash-per-acre basis rather than on a crop-share basis.

Representative Brandon Gregg, sponsor of HB 80, told the committee the bill would "allow the DNRC the ability to competitively bid agricultural leases on a cash lease only basis." He said the measure passed unanimously through the House. Kelly Matishka, agricultural and grazing bureau chief in the Forestry and Trust Lands Division of DNRC, testified in support and described the current process as confusing for staff and lessees.

Matishka said DNRC manages more than 9,000 active leases across about 4,700,000 trust acres and that trust revenues from agricultural leases generate between $15 million and $20 million annually for beneficiaries, mostly K–12 schools. She said about 555,000 acres are classified as agricultural, roughly 1,000 leases come up for renewal each year, and only about 40 to 50 of those typically receive competitive bids. "When a bid is submitted for an agriculture…