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Amendment to S.60 would rename fund and replace 'climate' language with 'weather‑based' emergency wording
Summary
Michael Grady presented draft amendment 2.1 to S.60, implementing technical section renumberings, replacing some references to 'climate' with 'resilience' or 'weather‑based' language, incorporating Representative Groening’s disclosure requirement for applications, and adding a contingency tying implementation to future appropriations.
Michael Grady presented amendment draft 2.1 to S.60 during the Jan. 13 House Appropriations Committee meeting, describing a package of technical fixes and policy clarifications the committee requested in December.
Grady said the amendment makes four categories of changes: replace some references to "climate" or "climate change" with less controversial wording (for example, using "resilience" or "weather‑based emergencies"), move multiple sections into a different subchapter with corrected section numbers, incorporate Representative Groening’s amendment requiring applicants to list state grants or loans received in the previous five years, and add a contingency so the secretary of agriculture would implement the program only if a general‑fund appropriation is made.
"You requested that the term climate or climate change be replaced to avoid any controversy that that might cause," Grady said as he summarized the first change. He explained the renumbering at length, listing the edits needed to move the farm and forestry operations security special fund into the correct subchapter and to correct cross‑references for the special fund review board’s membership terms.
On the contingency clause, Grady said the duty to implement the fund "is contingent upon an appropriation of funds in fiscal year 2027 from the general fund to the agency of agriculture for the specific purposes described in section 2 of this act." Committee members asked whether the contingency language should accommodate funding in later fiscal years; members agreed the wording should be expanded to "FY2027 or subsequent fiscal years" so the program is not irretrievably delayed if money is not appropriated immediately.
Grady also confirmed the bill’s effective date and title would be adjusted in the amendment to reference payments for farm and forestry operation losses due to weather conditions. He outlined corrected cross‑references for membership terms and said the updated amendment would be circulated for committee review and a vote after a short break; no final vote was taken on Jan. 13.
The committee will reconvene after hearing additional testimony and then take up the revised amendment for a vote.
