Iowa State Senator Annette Sweeney of Alden says lawmakers are reviewing a proposed amendment to a bill concerning landowner property rights.
This grew out of the debate over the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline project.
“We shouldn’t be so narrowly focused on one industry, one thing, because one, is that going to hold up in court? Probably not. Let’s look at the whole picture. Let’s make sure that when whatever transmission line, windmill, pipeline, whatever it might be coming onto your property, you have rights as to where if they make sure
that they restore the soil the way it was found. And right now, anything above ground doesn’t have to. And with that amendment, it includes that everybody’s feet is held to the fire to restore our soils the way they found it. We also have other ways that if a company comes in and wants to put a particular thing into that property, that there’s a plan A, plan B, and to where the landowner can say, no, I don’t want it here, why don’t you reroute it? That even gives the landowner that opportunity.”
Sweeney says work also continues on a property tax reform bill.
“Has some different types of exemptions and wants to get rid of the rollbacks. We’ve talked about the rollbacks before. As for ag land, we’re going to be on the rollbacks in five-year averages, rolling averages. And one nice thing about keeping agriculture the way it is right now is that if we didn’t have this type of system in place, which was put in place by Governor Branstad years ago, there would have been a lot more farmers not being able to stay on the farm in the 80s. The 80s were rough. And a lot of us remember that. And if it wasn’t for the rollback and the five-year rolling averages on farm ground, a lot of that farm ground would not have gotten to stay in family farm hands.”
Sweeney says at the present time, lawmakers probably won’t adjourn until at least into the first week in May.
