For immediate release: March
6, 2006
For more information, contact: Iowa CCI at 515-282-0484
CCI blasts bill – calls
it undemocratic and unconstitutional
Des Moines, IA - The House
Judiciary committee voted 12 to 8 to pass an amended version of
House File 701, the “Chronic Agricultural Complainer”
bill, out of committee on March 1. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement,
a statewide citizens’ group denounced the legislation, including
the new amendment, calling it ‘reprehensible’, and are
strongly working to defeat it.
“The point of this legislation is
obvious; it’s designed to intimidate rural Iowans who report
factory farm environmental problems into silence,” said Iowa
Falls family farmer and CCI member Kurt Kelsey. “The new amendment
doesn’t change the fundamental problems with the bill. It
needs to be scrapped and we need to start addressing the real issue
-- the problems factory farms are creating in our countryside.”
HF 701 would designate any citizen as a
‘Chronic Agriculture Complainer’ if they file a complaint
against a factory farm three or more times within two years that
was did not result in a violation of Iowa Code. The DNR would then
be restricted from investigating any complaint from a designated
‘complainer’ unless the citizen put up a financial bond
for the investigation.
The legislation will now move before the
full House for consideration. In 2005, HF 701 passed the House Agriculture
committee 15-5 in 2005 but was never voted on by the full House.
Iowa CCI led the efforts to defeat the legislation last session
and are leading a similar charge this year.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
is a 30-year old organization with thousands of members across the
state from all walks of life who talk, act and get things done on
critical issues affecting everyday Iowans. For more information,
visit www.iowacci.org.
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