Category: Legislative Updates

More Federal Help on the Way for Rural America?

Posted on
by LICA-National

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in Congress that would create a permanent office in the White House for rural prosperity issues. According to its proponents, the office would improve lives and livelihoods over time in rural America.

Earlier this month, U.S. Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced the Rural Prosperity Act, which aims to streamline federal services for rural America and eliminate bureaucratic obstacles by establishing the Office of Rural Prosperity. The Office would be a permanent fixture in the White House tasked with coordinating federal efforts to support and connect America’s rural communities to federal programs and resources.


View More →

Congress Hears From Farmers On Climate Change Solutions

Posted on
by LICA-National

More technical assistance and streamlined application processes for conservation programs would help farmers adopt practices to reduce greenhouse gases, lawmakers were told at a hearing on how the next farm bill should address climate change.

“It is about workforce,” former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota told the House Agriculture Committee on Thursday, recommending that the Natural Resources Conservation Service increase the use of partnerships with land-grant universities and other entities to get needed technical help to farmers.


View More →

Congress/States Look to Reduce Gas Taxes

Posted on
by LICA-National

Elected officials in Washington and State Capitals are looking at reducing the federal gas tax in response to increasing prices at the pump. Industry and transportation planners counter that they need federal funding certainty for projects and forecasting. Stopping the federal gas tax (already at a 1993 rate) would impede these processes, said David Martin, President of the Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in a recent interview.

The gas tax generates revenue for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), which provides federal dollars for the nation’s transportation system. Because America’s infrastructure requires assured investment, stakeholders are emphasizing that legislation to cut the gas tax threatens the momentum America is trying to make to improve infrastructure.

Reducing investment can actually negatively impact the United States’ fiscal health and mobility. Each dollar invested in infrastructure adds double to triple benefits to the economy overall, and crumbling infrastructure costs every American household. Furthermore, because there are fuel market forces policymakers cannot control, experts are cautioning against this move.

More Industry Inflation News – Construction Costs Soar

Posted on
by LICA-National

Prices of construction materials used in new nonresidential construction jumped more than 21 percent from February 2021 to February 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. The association noted that more recent price announcements made after the February data was collected suggest contractors are experiencing even worse cost pressures this Spring.


View More →

New Study Reveals Increasing Rate of Erosion In Midwest

Posted on
by LICA-National

A new study in the journal Earth's Future led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that, since Euro-American settlement approximately 160 years ago, agricultural fields in the midwestern U.S. have lost, on average, two millimeters of soil per year. This is nearly double the rate of erosion that the USDA considers sustainable. Furthermore, USDA estimates of erosion are between three and eight times lower than the figures reported in the study. Finally, the study's authors conclude that plowing, rather than the work of wind and water, is the major culprit.


View More →

KIM LAFLEUR SELECTED NACD PRESIDENT ELECT

Posted on
by LICA-National

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) Board of Directors elected Kim LaFleur of Plympton, MA to serve as the association’s President-Elect. She will serve a one-year term as President-Elect alongside current NACD President Michael Crowder, and will assume the role of NACD President in 2023.


View More →

Asphalt Big Winner in Infrastructure Bill

Posted on
by LICA-National

Capitol Hill and industry interests are abuzz over a recent New York Times article on how the asphalt industry appears to be the biggest winner in the infrastructure bill approved by Congress. The article highlights the effective lobbying by asphalt interests despite limited direct contact with congressional staff and elected officials due to COVID restrictions.


View More →

Agriculture Key to California Climate Plan

Posted on
by LICA-National

Pressure is mounting to overhaul California’s cap-and-trade program to ensure the state will meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. Yet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) must first update its AB 32 Climate Scoping Plan, which informs cap-and-trade and many other regulatory and incentives programs.


View More →

New Infrastructure Law Needs Congressional Funding to Achieve Goals

Posted on
by LICA-National

An industry coalition of public and private sector stakeholders in the transportation industry recently wrote to Congress to extend their appreciation for the robust transportation infrastructure funding included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).


View More →