Senate File 447 - Reprinted SENATE FILE 447 BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE (SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1144) (COMPANION TO HF 468 BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE) (As Amended and Passed by the Senate March 14, 2017 ) A BILL FOR An Act providing for certain court actions involving an 1 allegation of a public or private nuisance or the 2 interference with a person’s comfortable use and enjoyment 3 of life or property caused by an animal feeding operation, 4 providing for the award of damages, costs, and expenses, and 5 including effective date provisions. 6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 7 SF 447 (2) 87 da/rj/jh

S.F. 447 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 657.11A Animal agriculture —— 1 promotion of responsible animal feeding operations. 2 1. a. Findings. The general assembly finds that important 3 public interests are advanced by preserving and encouraging the 4 expansion of responsible animal agricultural production in this 5 state which provides employment opportunities in and economic 6 growth for rural Iowa, contributes tax revenues to the state 7 and to local communities, and protects our valuable natural 8 resources. 9 b. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to encourage 10 persons involved in animal agriculture to adopt existing 11 prudent and generally utilized management practices for their 12 animal feeding operations, thereby enhancing the fundamental 13 role of animal agriculture in this state by providing a 14 reasonable level of protection to persons engaged in animal 15 agricultural production from certain types of nuisance actions. 16 c. Declaration. The general assembly has balanced all 17 competing interests and declares its intent to preserve 18 and enhance responsible animal agricultural production, 19 specifically animal agricultural producers in this state 20 who use existing prudent and generally utilized management 21 practices reasonable for their animal feeding operations. 22 2. Except as otherwise provided by this section, an animal 23 feeding operation, as defined in section 459.102, found to 24 be a public or private nuisance under this chapter or under 25 principles of common law, or found to interfere with another 26 person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or 27 property under any other cause of action, shall be conclusively 28 presumed to be a permanent nuisance and not a temporary 29 or continuing nuisance under principles of common law, and 30 shall be subject to compensatory damages only as provided in 31 subsection 3. 32 3. Compensatory damages awarded to a person bringing 33 an action alleging that an animal feeding operation is a 34 public or private nuisance, or an interference with the 35 -1- SF 447 (2) 87 da/rj/jh 1/ 3

S.F. 447 person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or 1 property under any other cause of action, shall not exceed the 2 following: 3 a. The person’s share of compensatory property damages due 4 to any diminution in the fair market value of the person’s real 5 property proximately caused by the animal feeding operation. 6 The fair market value of the real property is deemed to equal 7 the price that a buyer who is willing but not compelled to 8 buy and a seller who is willing but not compelled to sell 9 would accept for the real property. The person’s share of any 10 compensatory property damages must be based on the person’s 11 share of the ownership interest in the real property. For 12 purposes of this section, ownership interest means holding 13 legal or equitable title to real property in fee simple, as a 14 life estate, or as a leasehold interest. 15 b. The person’s compensatory damages due to the person’s 16 past, present, and future adverse health condition. This 17 determination shall be made utilizing only objective and 18 documented medical evidence that the nuisance or interference 19 with the comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or 20 property was the proximate cause of the person’s adverse health 21 condition. 22 c. The person’s compensatory special damages proximately 23 caused by the animal feeding operation, including without 24 limitation, annoyance and the loss of comfortable use and 25 enjoyment of real property. However, the total damages awarded 26 to a person under this paragraph “c” shall not exceed one and 27 one-half times the sum of any damages awarded to the person for 28 the person’s share of the total compensatory property damages 29 awarded under paragraph “a” plus any compensatory damages 30 awarded to the person under paragraph “b” . 31 4. This section shall apply to an animal feeding operation 32 in the same manner as section 657.11, subsections 4 and 5. 33 5. This section shall not apply if the person bringing 34 the action proves that the public or private nuisance or 35 -2- SF 447 (2) 87 da/rj/jh 2/ 3

S.F. 447 interference with another person’s comfortable use and 1 enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other 2 cause of action is proximately caused by any of the following: 3 a. The failure to comply with a federal statute or 4 regulation or a state statute or rule which applies to the 5 animal feeding operation. 6 b. The failure to use existing prudent generally utilized 7 management practices reasonable for the animal feeding 8 operation. 9 6. This section does not apply to a person during the 10 time in which the person is classified as a habitual violator 11 pursuant to section 459.604. 12 7. This section does not apply to a cause of action that 13 accrued prior to the effective date of this Act. 14 Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 15 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 16 -3- SF 447 (2) 87 da/rj/jh 3/ 3