A bill restricting nuisance lawsuits against ag and farming operations in Oklahoma is close to landing on the desk of Gov. Kevin Stitt. When it does, some producers predict he will sign it into law.
Ron Hays at the Oklahoma Farm Report reported such suggestions in his Monday edition.
The Oklahoma Legislature wrapped up its second week of cross committee work this last Thursday, as Senate committees review bills that originated in the House and vice versa. Lawmakers have about two weeks left to finish their committee work before the next major deadline on April 11. Following that, all bills must be heard and approved by the full opposite body. Our Associate Farm Director Carson Horn caught up with Roy Lee Lindsey, executive director of the Oklahoma Pork Council, this past week to discuss the recent activities of legislators at the State Capitol as they move toward those upcoming deadlines in the 2019 Legislative Session.
Over the past couple weeks, Lindsey says neither the House or Senate Ag Committees met, which makes today a big day as those groups will have a lot of business to discuss. However, one issue in particular that Lindsey and his team are watching this week though, is H.B. 2373. Until now, Lindsey has kept the bill’s progress through the session quiet as it has managed to fly under the radar with relatively no opposition. If successful, H.B. 2373 will create caps on non-economic damages and ag nuisance lawsuits like we’ve seen in North Carolina against major integrators like Smithfield Foods.
The bill passed through the House of Representatives several weeks ago 88 – 7 and last week out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This week, H.B. 2373 was heard on the Senate Floor and passed 39 – 7. Lindsey says several procedural matters must be attended to before the bill lands on the Governor’s desk, at which point he will have 10 days to sign the bill into law. Lindsey is optimistic Governor Stitt will move forward to approve the bill.
You can listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping here.