Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Agriculture Cotton topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee advances bill to raise cotton checkoff cap to $1.30
Summary
A Senate committee voted to report Senate Bill 207 favorably, allowing the state cotton checkoff cap to be raised from $1 to $1.30 per bale if producers approve a referendum; funds support cotton research and education.
Senator Cornley told the Senate committee that Senate Bill 207 would change the statutory cap on the cotton checkoff, allowing it to be increased to $1.30 per bale if producers approve the increase by referendum.
The bill would not itself change collection amounts immediately; it would raise the legal cap from $1.00 so that, if producers vote in a referendum, the program could collect up to $1.30 per bale. "This would not change the price. It just allows the cap to be raised to a dollar 30, and if they approve it, then they can, you know, collect that," Senator Cornley said.
The committee moved the bill favorably by voice vote after a motion and a second. The motion was reported by voice as carried; committee members gave verbal "ayes," and no roll-call tally was provided on the record. The record does not specify the individual who moved the motion.
Committee members and presenters said the checkoff money funds research and education tied to cotton production in Alabama. Senator Cornley described the change as a cap adjustment that would require a producer referendum before collections could increase.
The committee advanced the measure; no committee-assigned floor date or subsequent steps were specified in the transcript.
