Farmers may soon be allowed to sell home-grown products directly to local schools for use in school food programs. Students and farmers would both benefit from the Farm-To-School Procurement Act, which passed the House Education Policy Committee unanimously Wednesday.

Sponsor of HB 670, Rep. Elaine Beech, D-Chatom, said the bill would cut down the amount of processed foods served to students.

Rep. Elaine Beech, D-Chatom, describes HB 670 to the House Education Policy Committee.

"This will help our school children by providing a nutritious product," Beech said. "We always try to cut down on obesity, and I think fruits and vegetables are good for that."

Pursuant to federal guidelines, the bill would allow schools to purchase up to $100,000 worth of unprocessed, home-grown products from local farms. Certain handling and preservation techniques, such as freezing and packaging, would be allowed. The legislation covers locally grown foods, from fruits and vegetables to meat and fish.

The state departments of Education and Agriculture and Industries would be responsible for implementing the act, including identifying local farmers for the program and educating school food service directors about the new opportunity.

Committee member and farmer Rep. David Sessions, R-Grand Bay, applauded the legislation. He spoke about his experience trying to sell to school districts under federal contracts.

"You have to go through so many layers of bureaucracy, it's very difficult," Sessions said. "This (bill) is one small mechanism to help cut out some of that red tape and help local farmers and schools save money. When (schools) have to buy a product from (a third party), by the time it's shipped around and brought back to Grand Bay, they could have saved $6 a box or so if they would have bought directly from me."

The Alabama Farmers Federation supports the Farm-To-School Procurement Act.

A uniform set of rules for timber harvest notification is on its way to the governor for final approval. The House unanimously approved SB 409 Tuesday.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Tom Whatley, R-Auburn, said the legislation would replace various county ordinances with a voluntary, statewide-notice requirement.

"Counties do not have to opt-in, but if they do, they must conform to this uniform system," Whatley said. "Irrespective if the county opts in or not, the previous logging ordinances would be repealed."

The legislation requires timber owners to notify the county of operation before logging activities begin on county roads. An amendment to the bill clarifies the timber owner as the person or firm who owns the title to the timber at the time it enters a county road. A warning system and penalties for failure to notify are established. The Alabama Forestry Association and the Alabama Association of County Commissions worked together on the bill to address the concerns of both organizations.

In House debate, Rep. Elaine Beech, D-Chatom, questioned how the bill would affect liability of timber owners, landowners and county commissions in regard to damaged roadways. Rep. Mark Tuggle, R-Alexander City, sponsor of House companion bill HB 538, said this bill does nothing to change the relationship between those three entities, and any disagreements regarding liability and damages would continue to be worked out between the affected parties.

The Alabama Farmers Federation supports the legislation as it simplifies timber harvest notification rules and allows for voluntary adoption of the ordinances. Currently, at least 14 counties have enacted ordinances, some of which require a $25,000 bond and restrict road routes for trucks.

The Permanent Joint Legislative Water Policy and Management Committee met Wednesday to discuss current legislation addressing issues and concerns about Alabama's water. Topics covered irrigation, drought management, interbasin water transfers and the Alabama Water Sustainability and Security Act.

Top: The Permanent Joint Legislative Water Policy and Management Committee met Wednesday. Bottom: Committee chair and irrigation legislation sponsor Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, addresses the committee.

Rep. Chad Fincher, R-Semmes, provided an update on HB 328, an irrigation incentives bill which would provide up to $10,000 in tax credits to farmers who invest in water reservoirs or irrigation equipment, including conversion of diesel-powered irrigation to electric. The bill will be voted on Wednesday in the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee at 9:30 a.m. in Room 727 of the Alabama State House.

"The farmers are very excited about this," Fincher said. "I've heard from many of them. They think it's a move in the right direction for this committee and for this Legislature to promote this irrigation initiative. Thanks to the chairman for his work in actually drafting this legislation."

Water Policy and Management Committee Chair Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, is the sponsor of the Senate irrigation incentives companion bill, SB 153, which will be voted on Tuesday in the House Ways and Means Education Committee at 10:15 a.m. in Room 617 of the State House.

Alabama Rivers Alliance Program Director Mitchell Reid gave an overview of the proposed Alabama Water Sustainability and Security Act as detailed in HB 674, also sponsored by Fincher. The bill would require the Alabama Office of Water Resources, the Water Resources Council and the Water Resources Commission to draft comprehensive water and drought management plans. It would also provide legal protection for the right to use water. Fincher said this bill is meant to initiate dialogue, and he anticipates changes being made. The bill is currently assigned to the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee.

Brian Atkins, the division chief of the Office of Water Resources in the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), spoke about the work of his office in developing a drought management plan and researching water transfers between in-state basins.

Established in 2008 by a Senate Joint Resolution, the committee is charged with addressing water resource challenges in Alabama and developing an Alabama Water Management Plan to recommend to the governor. The committee plans to meet again in late summer to continue work on future water legislation and water resource planning. The Federation will monitor subcommittee meetings over the next several months.

A filibuster on HB 658 was broken Thursday afternoon, forcing a vote on revisions to Alabama's controversial immigration law. The bill passed 64-34.

Sponsor Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, said he believes the changes will make the law easier to enforce while easing the burden on businesses, schools and religious organizations.

The bill removes the requirement for schools to inquire about the citizenship of students, but allows the State Department of Education to determine the costs of educating illegal aliens. It also clarifies definitions in the bill, most of which are intended to limit application of the law to Alabama businesses.

House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee discusses HB 658 Tuesday. The bill passed committee 6-3.

The requirements for employers to register with and use the E-Verify system remain unchanged.

The House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee accepted an amendment strengthening an exemption for religious organizations before approving the bill in a 6-3 vote Tuesday.

The Alabama Farmers Federation supports the revisions included in HB 658 as a means of clarifying sections of the law and continues working with state and federal officials to change the current H-2A program into a more effective agricultural guest-worker program.

In support of legislative efforts ensuring the nation's immigration laws are followed, the Federation has educated farmers about the immigration law with seminars featuring businesses specializing in assisting farmers with the complicated federal H-2A guest-worker program.

A package of insurance bills with broad-based support stalled in the Senate Tuesday when a controversial bill was added, prompting a filibuster.

In response to pleas from coastal residents for insurance reform, the insurance industry worked with lawmakers for more than a year to reach agreement on a package of bills for policyholders. The package included three bills sponsored by Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, as well as the "Clarity Bill" championed by coastal homeowners groups and legislation that would modernize state regulations for insurance investments.

Concerns about the bills were resolved over the course of several months as coastal lawmakers and industry representatives worked toward the legislative leadership's goal of developing a package of bills that could be passed on an "Insurance Day." Those plans were derailed Tuesday when Brooks insisted on including SB 231, a bill requiring insurance companies to send a disclosure that would outline potential savings for windstorm mitigation on the policy application and annual renewal notice.

Insurance industry representatives voiced concerns that the bill was ineffective in promoting discounts for retrofitting and would drive up costs to policyholders because it would require companies to incur additional programming and printing costs. Additionally, discounts are not generally listed on an insurance contract unless the policyholder has already qualified for and is receiving the discount. Requirements like these could discourage insurance companies from writing policies in Alabama, resulting in decreased competition and increased rates.

Meanwhile, the insurance industry continued to work in good faith with lawmakers about concerns with other bills, eventually reaching agreement on those in the package as well as a policyholder bill of rights in the House, which insurance companies previously opposed.

The three Brooks-sponsored bills included in the package were SB 227, which would allow homeowners to make tax-deductible deposits into catastrophe savings accounts to pay for uninsured losses; SB 229, which would make certain actuarial information for homeowners policies public record; and SB 230, which would provide premium tax credits for insurance companies that write policies in coastal zones. The package also included SB 210 by Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose. Known as the Clarity Bill, the measure would require insurance companies to provide additional information about policies and claims to the Department of Insurance, which would aggregate the data and make it available online. It also included HB 189 by Rep. Mike Hill, R-Columbiana, which would modernize Alabama laws related to insurance investments and make them consistent with similar laws in other states.

While the Senate failed to act on the insurance package, the House Insurance Committee passed the Homeowners Bill of Rights on Wednesday. HB 166 by Rep. Steve McMillan, R-Bay Minette, would primarily require insurance companies to provide customers a coverage checklist annually.