Committee advances bill letting some Agriculture Department employees apply for grants and loans

House Bill 216, which moves the Office of Agricultural Policy into the state Department of Agriculture and alters who may apply for ag loans and grants, passed the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture.

State Representative Myron Dossett, R-9, of Christian County, told the committee the bill "will correct that issue right there," explaining that after the office was moved into the Department of Agriculture the prohibition on employees applying for grants or loans had been extended inadvertently to Department staff. "The employees there of the Department of Agriculture will be able to apply for loans and grants there through the ag finance and the ag development board," Dossett said during his presentation.

The bill, as described to the committee, restores application eligibility for Department of Agriculture employees in the merit system while preserving existing prohibitions for employees of the Office of Agricultural Policy. Committee discussion focused on confirming that the change applies to merit employees.

There was a motion and second to advance the bill and the committee conducted a roll call vote. The transcript records a sequence of "aye" votes during the roll call for multiple senators and the presiding chair announced the bill "passes" and that it will move to the Senate floor.

The bill does not change the prohibitions that remain in place for employees who would continue to be classified as Office of Agricultural Policy staff, according to the bill summary presented to the committee. The committee made no additional amendments on the floor.

The next formal step for House Bill 216 is consideration on the Senate floor.