May 21, 2021 | Regular Session
The Alabama Farmers Federation External Affairs team wraps up the 2021 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature with discussion about limited access to the State House; passage of a medical marijuana bill; and what happened to gambling legislation in the final hours. (Click To Listen)
Farmers See Success In Legislative Session
Alabama Farmers Federation members earned victories during the 2021 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature, which concluded Monday. 

Property rights protections for farmers and landowners near cities, more equitable licensing for farm and forest product trucks, and expansion of markets for small farm wineries were among this year’s success stories. The Federation also helped stop harmful actions by educating lawmakers on the negative consequences of proposed laws and regulations. Meanwhile, important funding for agriculture and forestry was preserved in the state’s General Fund and Education Trust Fund budgets. 

These wins were months — or years — in the making, said Federation External Affairs Department Director Matthew Durdin.

“In each of these cases, our farmers saw a problem, approached our team and showed us the importance of passing legislation,” Durdin said. “That’s the value of a grassroots organization.”

Durdin said one or more special sessions of the Legislature are likely to address redistricting, prisons, gambling and distribution of the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief. (Read More)
General Fund Budget Passes On Final Day
One of the last actions of the Alabama Legislature was passage of a record General Fund (GF) budget, less than a month after passing a historically large Education Trust Fund budget. 

The $2.5 billion GF budget includes $300,000 for the Sweet Grown Alabama program, up $50,000; $225,000 for the Farm to School program, up $105,000; and a new appropriation of $3 million for renovations at the Gilmore-Turnham Building on Auburn University’s campus. The building houses the state’s chemical and pesticide residue laboratories. 

Funding was preserved for the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) program at the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and to secure federal appropriations for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). 
The 2021 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature
has adjourned sine die.
Capitol Connection | Alabama Farmers Federation | (334) 288-3900 | Alfafarmers.org

Questions?
 Matthew Durdin - Director, External Affairs Department
 Preston Roberts - Director, Agricultural Legislation
Casey Rogers, Director, State Legislative Programs
John Allen Nichols, Agriculture Counsel
Beth Chapman, Beth Chapman and Associates, LLC