Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development - Senate

And the other day I presented an amendment in here that I didn't do correctly. And I need to resubmit that to. Amendment the members only at the end up I think from signature house bill sixteen thirty six own amendment we need to expunge of but which you pass the hair motion. Motion second all in favor say aye. You're recognized to present your man with a correctly but yet this is actually Senator hammers us his amendment by now and it's the same one as the other day we just took out or lease the. Okay. Anyone have a question. Anyone here to speak for against this bill. If not to forty players Committee do do pass the bill this is only amendment. I have a motion second all in favor say aye All opposed nay no congratulations. Thank you Sir the do you want to present the bill is that all hog bill that we have presented the other day in committee and go head ask for an amendment to be put on it and that was the amendment that you just adopted and I would appreciate a good vote for this bill. Any other questions from the committee. If not does anyone hear speak for against the bill. Know what pleasures Committee do pass and so all in favor say aye All opposed congratulations thank you I will be back to buggy anymore thank you ma'am. Okay we've got a. Senate bill two two six. Your shirt walking or running for a plea. It should concurrent hash member voted. The. We will ensure that everyone but in finance. What's the reduction of the record you're recognized thank you Mr chairman Dave Wallace state senator district twenty two. This is a. To concur with the house amendment I think Senator of Beckham had a question we'll try to ensure that. I will. My question is why are we. Basically substituting advisory and oversight with everything it seems like we're. Not going to have any say so or any input into the process just give suggestions is that correct. What might. You come out my Senate bill two to six no five six six on or not present Senate bill five six will stay where you are we do do Senator Churchill check back about try to answer that question for you is because this came back from the attorney general's office called medical marijuana fast on its constitutional amendment it to conflicted with the Amendment only powers it's legislature would have in the the Attorney General came back and said it to that it would be to be advisory. Media should over five that that **** collection centers right it is one five from the current general. So. With that that if it were an oversight committee would probably be unconstitutional the would be challenged. Any other questions. In the lecture this is a concurrent The Amendment with the Without tripping something changes in the bill. But for any other questions we can to try to get other answers. If not much pleasure committee. A motion tabled. All in favor say aye I. I will tell you will get some answers and get folks down here in this matter for. Okay Senator Wallace is Senate bill. Five sixty six. Members and two thousand seventeen we we passed an act Zacks for sixty five the established invest Arkansas which gave a seven percent tax credit for major construction. And and that all has gone very very smoothly but we did not. He would know that COVID was round the corner and what's happened is with COVID our projects have slowed up. It has been disrupted and what we will do what this bill does is extend the sunset which was will be in twenty twenty one until twenty twenty three. And just for background investor consult about a seven percent tax credit for major reconstruction in excess of five million dollars is held or larger companies the ticket in Mississippi County which is my new Cory big river still projects. no applications have been accepted since June thirtieth two thousand seventeen and produce approval for this cut off date are still working through the process they just got slowed up because of covid. This bill extends the credit when for projects covered by two thousand seventeen but two years which means a business would have until twenty twenty three to complete the approved projects and pay for qualified expenses. They should not be a budget impact because this Chris I've already been approved it would just showing this into Another two years now D. if they may disagree with me on that. But this example. This is going very will force new court still of Arkansas. Expects to complete. The process qualify for this credit CRISIL twenty six to thirty million dollars. And with that we don't complete with one point eight two point one million dollars. Nucor Yamato very similar had a tax credit of eight to ten million and with that we're going to. There was credits of five or six to seven thousand dollars. thanks about Nucor they've been in Mississippi County for thirty years no big river still has joined them. And over thirty years. Nucor has not ever laid off a team member the roll call on workers employees a call to members. And Senate bill five sixty six when we pass it extend this will allow us to continue to live big river steel and Nucor grow right I'm speaking out is a second. Most larger still producing county in the state of or in the whole country. This will let us grow even better. It members with that I'll stand by for questions back. This bill extends the sunset of the investment timeline to twenty twenty five three three twenty three and they can continue to use unused credits up till twenty twenty eight. Hello my that my understanding is twenty twenty three. The. I as reasons the revenue impact on DFA's as the newspapers can be carried forward for up to five years beyond the year in which the credit was first turned okay I did not have that front of me okay. I'll let if they answer that anyone if they hear. Good morning if you would to introduce yourself for the record. Then you'd be recognized thank you yep take management where we year. Good morning thank you Mr chair Alicia Austin Smith with DFA. D. if they did release a fiscal impact statement for the bill our understanding is that would just extend these credits or extend the sunset date essentially for these credits for two years Senator Beckham is correct that there is a five year carry forward so while it would extend the credits to twenty twenty three they they could actually be used for five years past that date to twenty twenty eight we're just here to speak to the revenue impact as you can see in the fiscal it's at up to nine point eight million and state sales and use tax loss because the companies can use these credits to all state offset their set state sales and use tax liability and we'll be happy to answer any questions. The US nine point nine twenty million is not over the next two years it's over the next seven potentially seven years. That is correct okay. Okay but any other questions. Well I'm I wanted to descend back before we do this in region I want to say this is because fiscal impact statement I would want to refer this to the tax revenue committee with the due pass recommendation is is what we'll do and and I say that because of for those that have attended any tax revenue meeting you will understand that we have a we have a lot of uh revenue the bill down there and we just don't know how much money we won't have in which tax credits we can allow the other thing that we need to look to see is if whether or not the money coming in from the the body ministration would be affected by this because at one point to the they stated that we couldn't give any new tax credits out there we would have to take that money out of the federal dollars are sitting down here so we need to have another set of eyes on this. before we pass it out and. now I ask you for any questions about that. Should you. Okay alluding that I'm going to go along with senator Wallace doing this this right here is already being set aside one time would be stretching it out should not be any new also well it orders I'll let me do the tax credits when they put in place the forecast of one big river steel when in for instance they had fourteen years of tax credits and they forecasted in the next fourteen years so what you've got here you're sending these out and those have not been forecast and we just wanna be sure that. Yeah I agree with that I agree with agree with that but we also have less of an impact on the previous years because they were not used. Okay. I'd like to say aye I don't. I don't want to get something after that we can't pay for it I mean I'm all in favor this is on the parent backing it quick. Gilmore. I just like to hear the sponsors thoughts on referring it to the committee if we could offer yeah I members I came down here with the understanding that we recall referred to a revenue tax I had witnesses that would have come here today and I held off on bringing them because my understanding was. You know frankly the big fight which will be in the revenue tax not here. The manager there there is a real issue is for that we will have a balanced budget in and again we I'm all in favor of this and I want to do this and and we usually to. You will. five nipped sponsor is no issue then obviously. No. My my intent here is to ask you all to let me to get to revenue tax with they'll make decisions you you have a question on the other okay okay. You will make a motion what serve also if you make you make a motion second okay is there anyone here with wishing to speak for this bill against this bill. If not we have a motion second all in favor say aye hi All opposed congratulations bill that. Thank you members will require that the simple if you would go to the floor and chamber and asked that it be re referred to revenue tax. Yeah. President Hillman. If you would pleasure introduce yourself for the record you're recognized. We'll look at the house bill sixteen forty four. Of David Hillman state representative district thirteen I make it my computer going here. I'm sure this is a bill that already all been white non I've got Scott Bray with that department here to answer any questions that we might that you might have about it a little bit of background on I think it was four years ago we passed the a bill in the legislature to allow him to be grown in Arkansas and about time we got all the rules and regulations done the federal government change their law on it. And so I've been working on this bill probably since the middle of summer trying to get everything right all the tease crossed and I's dotted and I want I want to thank the Department agriculture for the work that they have done on this course Scott is being good at it but Caleb has he's a guru on hang up at now it was with his with their advice and and the consent and it's been vetted by the state police and up until this point to. there's there's been no opposition that I've heard from doing this the hamburger or Joint know when it's when it's going to get done and can we use it this year and the answer is no because we have got to rules breaks done and no one other thing in developing this bill I asked the department agriculture to only put in the bill that that what was necessary that we can be done on the rules and rex of I ask him to put in rules and rags that way if there is changes that need to be made we can do that without come back to the legislature and I'll be glad to answer any questions is based on the first twelve pages of the bill. Richard you take the first bill pages out the and. Because it. It was easier to delete it and that was to leave and there is this pretty much mirror in the federal absolutely that that that was what we do because our template and we look at what other states have done and and there's there's a little bit of wiggle room and in the federal law and we chose to take the more conservative route on The production happen Arkansas. Other questions. Anyone here speak for against the bill. Know what players Committee. Motion to pass second all in favor say aye All opposed congratulations. House Bill sixteen seventy nine. When you're recognized for that okay. Two years ago we did the transformation. And that affected all state agencies and we we renamed a lot of different eight season and then there was a the separation of duties and responsibilities and this bill. Cleans up. Of the rules and rags on the department of agriculture specific that Plant Board and of we try to. We try to get all the names correct with the way that are functioning now so this is called a cleanup bill for the department of culture and if if you read it and you just about need to to datagram and of to to see that the. Everything's done on one page it talks about the plant board this and then on the other page it talks about the plant board that but they have assured me that everything in there is correct and the way that it should be the boy there operate now. I'll be glad to take any questions. Questions from committee. If not is there anyone here to speak for or speak against this bill. Ninety close for your bill representative yes Sir. Motion. Question sure we are pretty sure you will. A reserve Hillman on page one the. Section one line twenty four that paragraph can you. Maybe explain that. If I can't I can get someone up here that can. Okay hi section one yes section. Section one store. Four twenty five. Yeah twenty four down through that whole paragraph thirty two okay of. I think I see what it's doing but I just wanna make sure that maybe in your words what we're doing okay and at one time the the plant board basically was the department of agriculture and so there are a lot of a lot of references in and state law to the plant board and what this is doing is removing those references to the plant board and putting concerning department agriculture. It's making the law confirmed to conform to what we've of the what we're really doing now as per the transformation Act. Okay okay I just I see in there was talking about. I don't know if it was shifting some no not shift any duties or anything like that okay all right of. The. The the plant board is kind of an agency out here now more more than it ever had been before and they have the Plant Board is really that the the sixteen eighteen members of the board that function as a board rather than as a state agency. Anyone else. Okay pleasures Committee. Do pass all in favor say aye All opposed to regulation bill passes. All right next we're gonna go to is half bill seventeen seventy three and it has a fiscal impact statement. And if you look down the bottom it says none. That's good parted that's good part. Of. Back I think it was in. Nineteen ninety five. When this the tax credit was first put in and We we we work Rock along for twenty years and didn't have any problems really longer than that. And then we realized that the state law says that they have to complete these and and file for their tax credit within three years and the federal law is five years and everyone was conforming to the five year plan because of the these projects typically what you do on these is you go down to the conservation office and and they might work at several plans several projects for you so you apply for the tax credit. And the and then you do one up one year and maybe get enough money the two of them and maybe they take two three years or maybe even four years to get done and then when you go back to it to claim the tax credit they say well the time is running out so the federal law is five years in the state law is three years so we're asking to the extent that help eligibility tab on state law to three years to conform with the same thing if it's got. Question. But so you have a retroactivity call Clause in here. What's the what's the reason for not just change it to current. Well because of some of the some of the people that applied for the tax credit earlier of when when they discovered the discrepancy in it I think it was last summer sometime over the this the state said that if you have completed within that the last three years I mean if you completed within three years they were going to accept that until we can get the law changed. So that. If you go back to route twenty at the beginning of twenty twenty one that a pick up any of those people that might have missed out on an opportunity to to to do it within the three year period. I don't know how many that would affect honestly. Do you know when this was put in place that when the law was passed in ninety five. So we we've added working for twenty two years and then know any changes to five yes years because the state had always adhere to the five year until last summer when they discover they weren't doing it right. Good. Any other questions. Anyone here speak for against this bill. If not to close the bill I'm closer. Motion to pass their second. Second all in favor say aye. All opposed regulation bill passed I'm not gonna be like chairman vault so I'm not gonna be back. I want to thank the committee for but what what you've done this time for us thank you thank you appreciate members we're Jr.