Text: SCR00103 Text: SCR00105 Text: SCR00100 - SCR00199 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN 1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___ 1 2 BY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 1 3 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 3082) 1 4 A Senate Concurrent Resolution urging that the Iowa 1 5 Agricultural Industry Finance Corporation 1 6 immediately begin implementing the Iowa 1 7 Agricultural Industry Finance Act in a manner that 1 8 encourages local agricultural producer-led ventures 1 9 to expand production and processing of high value 1 10 agricultural products, including agricultural 1 11 processed products. 1 12 WHEREAS, agriculture is undergoing rapid 1 13 transformation that poses a clear and immediate threat 1 14 to the economic viability of traditional farm 1 15 families, including a crisis caused by disastrously 1 16 low agricultural commodity prices and by the 1 17 development of large scale integrated systems for 1 18 producing and processing agricultural commodities, and 1 19 for marketing these agricultural processed products, 1 20 and that increasingly removes autonomy and control 1 21 from the hands of farm families; and 1 22 WHEREAS, in 1998, the General Assembly enacted 1 23 Senate File 2415 (1998 Iowa Acts, chapter 1207) 1 24 establishing the Iowa Agricultural Industry Finance 1 25 Act in order to allow farm families to control their 1 26 own destinies; and 1 27 WHEREAS, the fundamental purpose of the Act is to 1 28 assist persons actively engaged in farming, and 1 29 specifically individual farmers and family farm 1 30 businesses, to acquire capital in order to expand 2 1 production, processing, and marketing of high value 2 2 agricultural products, to organize new business 2 3 structures within the state to carry out these 2 4 ventures, and to market and deliver increasingly high 2 5 value agricultural products to consumers around the 2 6 world; and 2 7 WHEREAS, in order to ensure that farm families are 2 8 provided a stake in their own future, the Act created 2 9 the Iowa Agricultural Industry Finance Corporation, 2 10 requiring that 51 percent of the corporation's common 2 11 stock and voting stock be held by farmers; and 2 12 WHEREAS, the General Assembly expects that as long 2 13 as the corporation carries out a public purpose and is 2 14 supported with public moneys, it will conduct business 2 15 in an open manner and that its board of directors, 2 16 officers, and employees will be available to the 2 17 committees and members of the General Assembly, as 2 18 well as to any inquiry by legislative agencies and 2 19 staff; and 2 20 WHEREAS, since the success of any private 2 21 corporation depends upon initiative and responsibility 2 22 to its shareholders when acting in compliance with its 2 23 purpose, and since the transition period for the Iowa 2 24 Agricultural Industry Finance Corporation should be 2 25 concluding, the General Assembly fully expects the 2 26 corporation to immediately provide for the ownership 2 27 of the corporation by agricultural producers, greater 2 28 representation on the board of directors by 2 29 agricultural producers, and the relocation of the 2 30 corporation to permanent headquarters; and 3 1 WHEREAS, the purpose of the Act is to create new 3 2 wealth in this state beginning on the farm, by 3 3 capitalizing new ventures that provide for the 3 4 processing of value-added agricultural products and 3 5 that provide fundamental opportunities for farm 3 6 families to participate and financially benefit; and 3 7 WHEREAS, the purpose of the Act is not to create a 3 8 corporation for the purpose of investing public moneys 3 9 in order to enrich agribusiness corporations or 3 10 entities associated with the initial board of 3 11 directors to the exclusion of farm families; NOW 3 12 THEREFORE, 3 13 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF 3 14 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the General Assembly 3 15 insists that the Iowa Agricultural Industry Finance 3 16 Corporation and its initial board of directors comply 3 17 with the purpose of the Act, and urges the board to 3 18 begin immediately implementing the provisions of the 3 19 Iowa Agricultural Industry Finance Act in a manner 3 20 that is consistent with the Act and this resolution; 3 21 and 3 22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of the 3 23 Senate mail a copy of this resolution to the President 3 24 of the Iowa Agricultural Industry Finance Corporation 3 25 for presentation to its board of directors. 3 26 LSB 6600SV 78 3 27 da/as/5
Text: SCR00103 Text: SCR00105 Text: SCR00100 - SCR00199 Text: SCR Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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