Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) legislation in the Iowa
General Assembly!!!

The leadership of both parties has formed a 12 member committee to work on
CAFO legislation this session.  The members of that committee are: Rep.
Marcie Frevert (D), Rep. Bill Witt (D),  Rep. Mark Kuhn (D), Rep. Ralph
Klemme (R), Rep. Russ Tieg (R),  Rep. Gene Manternach (R), Sen. Betty Soukup
(D), Sen. Jack Kibbie (D), Sen. Gene Fraise (D), Sen. Jerry Behn (R), Sen.
Jeff Angelo (R), and Sen. Mary Lundby (R).  Sen. Stewart Iverson (R) is
facilitating the committee's discussion.

So far, non-committee members or attendees have been told that all items
regarding CAFO regulation are on the table for discussion.  Rep. Mark Kuhn
has said that the committee is making progress on a wide range of issues and
he remains very encouraged by the bipartisan process and the effort by
members of the committee to bring about meaningful changes.

The House Agriculture Committee passed a shell bill out of committee
yesterday (2/19).  This means the bill passed by the committee didn't
actually say anything except that the General Assembly would address CAFOs
this session.  The Senate Ag Committee is expected to pass a similar shell
bill tomorrow (2/21).

What will be most important is to contact your legislator and legislators on
the Senate and House Ag Committees once the work on bill substance begins in
those committees.  Our legislators need to hear that Iowans want (DEMAND)
real, comprehensive legislation on CAFOs, THIS SESSION!

Once it comes time to contact legislators about CAFO legislation, go to the
Iowa General Assembly homepage at www.legis.state.ia.us/

On that page, under the "Legislators" heading you will find information about
figuring out who your legislators are ("Finding Your Legislator"), how to
contact them ("Senators" and "Represenatives," which lead to a list of
legislators that you can click on to go to their websites, which list their
contact information), and who is on which committee ("Standing Committees,"
both "Senators" and "Representatives").
That explanation was kind of confusing, so contact me if you have questions.

I will keep you updated on when action is needed on CAFO legislation.  Until
then, keep your eyes and ears open to news about this issue in the media.

Thanks for your leadership on conservation issues in Iowa!


Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]