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Committee releases bill allowing farmers to recover fees for bad-faith Right-to-Farm complaints
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Summary
Assembly Bill 4603, released from the Commerce and Economic Development committee, would allow commercial farm operators to seek reasonable costs and attorney fees from complainants found to have brought bad-faith complaints under the Right to Farm Act, subject to county or state board determinations of bad faith and reasonableness.
The Commerce and Economic Development committee voted to release Assembly Bill 4603, a measure designed to strengthen protections for commercial farm operations under the Right to Farm Act by permitting recovery of reasonable costs and attorney fees when a complaint is determined to have been filed in bad faith.
Under the bill, once a farmer is found entitled to the Act’s presumption, the county agriculture development board or the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) may determine, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a complaint was brought in bad faith and that costs and fees are reasonable. A farmer seeking an award would submit an application to the county board or SADC; if the board finds bad faith and reasonableness, it would issue an order requiring payment by the person who filed the complaint.
Advocacy groups and industry organizations were listed on the record in support but did not testify in person. The committee moved, took a roll call vote and released the bill.
The transcript did not record a mover or seconder for the motion. The bill proceeds to the next legislative steps following release.
