News From

State Representative Ron Stephens

For Immediate Release: April 9, 2008

Contact: Rep. Stephens

618-651-0405

Stephens sponsors bill package designed to enhance Illinois agriculture

Springfield…. Representative Ron Stephens (R-Highland) is sponsoring a package of bills designed to enhance agriculture in Illinois. While the bills cover a wide variety of topics, Rep. Stephens says they all will positively impact the state’s agricultural situation.

“Agriculture is of vital importance, both to my district and the state as a whole,” Rep. Stephens said. “These bills can make the lives of farmers easier, and we should all support them fully.”

The agriculture package is comprised of four bills. The first, House Bill 4843, would create a veterinary student loan repayment program through the University of Illinois to help provide veterinarians in underserved areas of the state. The program is designed to provide encouragement, opportunities and incentives to those individuals interested in pursuing veterinary medicine.

“This bill will produce newly trained and educated veterinarians, which is something Illinois could desperately use,” Stephens said. “The program will focus on veterinary practice that is at least 51 percent devoted to large animal medicine, which will enhance agricultural productivity. It will also specialize in regulatory veterinary medicine, which will not only enhance our public health and safety, but also that of the livestock.”

House Bill 5940, which expands the Conservation Practices Program to include livestock operations, is another part of the agriculture package. Currently, the Partners for Conservation Fund may only be used to foster sustainable agricultural practices and control soil erosion, including grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts. This bill would extend the same cost-share grants to livestock operations.

The third bill in the package would prohibit the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency from accepting anonymous complaints for possible violations arising from agricultural production. Under this bill, whenever anyone files a complaint with the IEPA, the complainant must provide his name and mailing address. IEPA must then keep the name and address confidential.

“We’re not going to announce your name from the rooftops, but the IEPA should have it for their records,” Stephens said. “This bill originally came from a situation in my district. It is a common sense idea, and should be implemented.”

Finally, House Bill 5942, which will extend the Anhydrous Ammonia Security Grant Program for an additional year, rounds out the agriculture package. The bill will appropriate an additional $250,000 to the program for the 2009 Fiscal Year. The program provides grants to facilities to install locks on anhydrous ammonia tanks, purchase video surveillance cameras or blend approved additives into their anhydrous ammonia to render it useless in the production of methamphetamine.

“The Anhydrous Ammonia Security Grant Program is an important tool in eliminating methamphetamine production in Illinois,” Stephens said. “According to the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association there have not been any thefts of anhydrous ammonia at any of the facilities that installed security measures through this program. We need to keep this excellent track record going as long as we can.”

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