What We're Working On» February 2024

The Farm Bureau Board of Directors established the 2024 State Legislative Priorities at the December Board Meeting.

State Legislative Priorities for 2024 are as follows:

• Estate Tax To keep family farms together, reform the Illinois Estate Tax to reflect modern farm estate values to ensure farm estates that produce a typical Illinois income are not subject to the estate tax.
• Eminent Domain Advocate to repeal eminent domain authority allowed for CO2 pipelines under current law.
• Agritourism Tax Credit Extend the agritourism tax credit against liability insurance costs that sunsets after the 2023 tax year.
• Navigable Water Advocate against legislation that grants public access to private waters, as this is a violation of private property rights.
• Engage in conversations to promote the use of biofuels as a mechanism to reduce the transportation sector’s carbon footprint.
• Private Property Protection Advocate for balancing the protection of private property rights with the appropriate development of projects impacting farmland, especially as demand for renewable energy and carbon capture projects increase. Maintain eminent domain authority specifically for public utilities only. Eminent domain authority should not be expanded to private, for-profit wind, solar, and energy developers. These types of developers, by definition, do not have a public responsibility, but rather only a fiduciary responsibility to their ownership.
• Agricultural Funding Work to maintain adequate State funding for key Illinois Department of Agriculture programs like meat/poultry/egg inspectors, environmental programs, warehouse oversight, and veterinarian programs. This includes advocating for a viable and independent Illinois Department of Agriculture.
• Livestock Management Facilities Act Maintain a balanced process for siting livestock farms through the Livestock Management Facilities Act (LMFA) that protects both the environment and farmers’ ability to raise livestock.
• Nuisance Deer Population Management Advocate to reform Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ deer management policies to allow farmers the ability to better manage nuisance deer that cause damage to their operations.

Updates regarding priorities and legislation Farm Bureau is working on will be provided throughout the legislative session.