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Conservation districts ask legislature to lift mortgage ban so they can buy and repair offices
Summary
Michelle Monroe, executive director of the Roman Association of Conservation Districts, told the committee the state's 1939 Soil Conservation Act bars districts from holding mortgages; she urged removing the prohibition so districts can use USDA rural development forgivable loans and buy office space.
Michelle Monroe, executive director of the Roman Association of Conservation Districts, told the committee the Soil Conservation Act of 1939 currently bars conservation districts from holding mortgages and asked lawmakers to remove the restriction so districts can buy and repair office space.
The restriction, Monroe said, prevents districts from accessing the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development community facilities program, which requires a loan up front and can forgive a percentage of the loan later. "Because it's a forgivable loan, we first need to take out the loan and then they would forgive 75% of it but we can't take out the loan currently," Monroe said, describing the rule as a practical barrier to…
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