Gov Perry vetoes 2 urban farming bills

Houston area Rep sponsored

Jay Blazek Crossley, Jun 28, 11.

Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed two bills related to urban farming that were written by Houston area House Representative Borris Miles, according to the Governor’s website (HB 2996 & HB 2997).

The Governor explains his veto of HB 2996:

House Bill 2996 would create the Texas Urban Agricultural Innovation Authority, Urban Farmer Interest Rate Reduction Program and Urban Farmer Grant Program in the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). At a time when state agencies have been asked to tighten their belts in response to difficult budget times, House Bill 2996 would likely necessitate an entirely new division within TDA. While the Texas Urban Agricultural Innovation Authority is not appropriated state funds, it is given broad power and would likely require substantial agency staffing.

The Governor explains his veto of HB 2997:

House Bill 2997 would create the Select Committee on Urban Farming and the Urban Farming Pilot Program, to be administered by the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). While the goals of the pilot program are laudable, creating new unfunded programs in TDA at a time when the agency’s budget is being significantly cut is neither responsible nor acceptable. The select committee’s tasks can be addressed by the Senate and House Agriculture committees through interim studies in preparation for the next legislative session.

Representative Miles filed a series of food-related bills during this legislative session. A third bill on urban agriculture, HB 2994, “relating to the creation, operation, and funding of the urban farm microenterprise support program,” passed both houses and was signed into law by Governor Perry. This bill offers financial assistance - primarily in loans - to small urban farms that are engaged in research of technologies or processes related to production in urban settings, the production of tools or processes for production in urban settings, or other agricultural activities in an urban setting, according to the Houston Food Policy Workgroup.