Source: NC PORK COUNCIL, 8/25/14

After 163 legislative days, the two-year session of the NC General Assembly finally came to a close last week. During that time, the legislature created 540 new laws.

Below are some highlights from the 57 days that lawmakers spent in Raleigh during 2014. For a full recap of the two-year session, make sure to check out the upcoming issue of the NC Pork Report magazine.

Tax Changes
As you may remember from the 2013 legislative session, although there were extensive changes to NC's tax code, farmers were able to retain all of the agricultural tax exemptions with one condition - to qualify, a farmer had to earn at least $10,000 in gross farming income to get the exemptions. This year, a slight modification was made so that if a farmer has an annual gross income for the preceding income tax year of $10,000 or more, or a farmer who has an average annual gross income for the three preceding tax years of $10,000 or more, that farmer qualifies for the exemptions. 

Because of this change, even if you have an agricultural exemption certificate for many years, you have to reapply one more time to keep your exemption certificate. YOU MUST REAPPLY FOR YOUR NEW EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE NUMBER BY OCTOBER 1, 2014!



2014 State Budget - $21.1 billion spending plan
• NC State University received $350,000 for a plant science initiative and $250,000 for a food processing initiative.
• The Farmland Preservation Trust Fund got $2.6 million - $1 million of which is earmarked for working with the U.S Department of Defense in securing land around NC's military installations and flyways.
• The Agricultural Water Resource Assistance Program (AgWRAP) received $1.5 million. 
• Also included in the budget was new rules related to unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. Under the provision, drone operators are prohibited from conducting surveillance of private property without the consent of the landowner, easement holder, or lessee.

The 2014 NC Farm Act (HB 366)
• Gives the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) discretion over responding to environmental complaints made against agricultural operations if the complaint is frivolous or was filed in bad faith. HB 366 also directs DENR to develop a formal system for receiving, investigating and responding to environmental complaints. 
• Tougher penalties for trespassing at an agricultural facility. The offense will now be a Class A1 misdemeanor. The only other facilities protected by this most stringent trespassing law are electrical generation facilities, public water systems, and natural gas facilities. This was a top priority for the NC Pork Council to strengthen biosecurity on our farms.
• Creates a requirement for a person operating an all-terrain vehicle on someone else's property to have the written consent of the property owner. It also removes the landowner's liability when giving written consent to someone wishing to operate an all-terrain vehicle on his or her property by requiring no more duty of care than he or she would owe a trespasser. In other words, just because you give someone written consent to ride a four-wheeler on your property, it does not mean you are liable if they are injured because you did not disclose something like a downed tree or newly constructed fence.
Makes changes to the Horse Industry Promotion Act by allowing an assessment on livestock feed labeled or marketed for equine use (formerly, it was just feed labeled specifically for equine use). Though this change is not expected to have a direct impact on the majority of pork producers, if any hog farmer purchases retail livestock feed for hogs that is also marketed for equine use, you could be paying that assessment. But, anyone who pays the assessment can request a refund from the NC Horse Council.