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What’s At Stake With The Disaster Relief Bill?

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With dozens of bills passing through Congress every month, it can be hard to keep track of the current state of land laws. One bill that has been particularly hard to follow has been the Disaster Relief Bill. This bill has been debated about and changed for months. As hurricane season approaches, it’s important to know the impacts that the disaster relief bill could have on the land industry.

To understand why the disaster bill is important requires an understanding of the massive impact that natural disasters have had on the land industry in recent years. A series of natural disasters in 2017 destroyed countless crops, livestock, land, and lives. According to a study from Texas A&M, 27% of the state’s cattle population were affected by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Then, 2018 wasn’t any easier – The estimated agricultural losses from 2018 are estimated to be $5.5 billion for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and over $3 billion for Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. We’re only halfway through 2019, but have already faced widespread flooding, wildfires, and more.

The most recent draft of the bill (which you can read in full here) is still being debated over issues such as disaster relief funding for Puerto Rico and money for emergency boarder security. If the most recent draft is signed into law by President Trump, here is how it will impact the land industry.

Crops and Livestock

With farm debt and bankruptcy on the rise in many areas, the damage on crops from natural disasters has taken a huge toll on farmers. The cold snap in mid-March of 2017 froze thousands of crops and caused $1 billion in agricultural losses. The impacts of these natural disasters last beyond a single crop. Floods can deplete the soil of its natural nutrients, which can take a long time to recover.

The impact of natural disasters on livestock has also put a strain on the rancher’s wallet. Not only is the financial impact of having livestock die bad for the farmer’s bottom line, if the dead animals are not removed in a properly and timely manner, it could impact water quality, the other living livestock, or other natural resources.

The disaster relief bill is expected to provide $3 billion to help recover losses of crops, trees, and vines that were impacted by natural disasters. This will help ease the financial loss for farmers. The grants will also help farmers pay for livestock losses and future crop insurance.

Forests

Wildfires claimed countless trees, properties, and lives in the past few years. Part of the Disaster Relief Bill sets aside money that will go towards forest restoration, hazardous fuel management, and other expenses related to protecting trees from natural disasters; including $720 million for urgent wildfire suppression and $480 million for an Emergency Forest Restoration Program.

Clean Up and Prevention

Preventing and cleaning up the impacts of natural disasters can be extremely costly. Large sections of the most recent draft of the bill include funds for marine debris removal, improving hurricane and flood intensity forecasting, restoring and rebuilding national wildlife refuges, helping rebuild national parks, fixing local roads, and more.

While this bill has been mulled over for months, there may be good news on the horizon. The House recently passed a multibillion-dollar disaster aid package on Friday, May 10th, and the Senate is expected to vote on the bill before a weeklong Memorial Day Recess. This means it is one step closer to getting the final approval from President Trump. Be sure to reach out to your elected officials to make sure they know how important disaster relief is to the land industry, especially private property owners.

One great way to stay on top of the latest land laws is by following us on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We cover the most important land laws and news that you need to know!

About the Author: Laura Barker is a freelance writer based out of California for the REALTORS® Land Institute. She has been with RLI since October 2017.

Land and Congress: Just The Facts

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It seems like the more news there is, the harder it is to find out the facts. Important news about land legislative issues, such as tariffs and WOTUS, can get lost in a sea of opinion pieces. Let’s take a look at the simple facts surrounding five of the most pressing issues in the land industry.

Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule

WOTUS is one of the most controversial land legislative issues in the land industry. This law was written to clarify water resource management but sparked a debate about property rights.

“Many (wetlands) are already covered under the Clean Water Act,” said Russell Riggs, RLI’s Government Affairs Liaison for  the National Association Of REALTORS® (NAR) and Senior Regulatory Representative for NAR, in an interview with REALTOR® magazine. “This expands it beyond navigable waterways to little streams, ditches, and isolated wetlands that were never really intended to be covered by the Clean Water Act. WOTUS would sweep in thousands of smaller water bodies under the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency and now you’re talking about all kinds of different permitting, regulatory burdens, as well as infringements of property rights.”

Many land organizations, including RLI, opposed the rule and have been avid advocates for its repeal and reform. In response to the land industry, the Trump Administration put the rule under review. At time of publication, WOTUS has been revived in 26 states.

Russell Riggs will be speaking on key land legislative issues at the 2019 National Land Conference in Albuquerque, NM, giving an update on the latest legislation affecting the land real estate industry.

The 2018 Farm Bill

On September 30th, 2018, the 2014 Farm Bill expired. The Farm Bill expired because Congress couldn’t reach an agreement on the many influential land legislative issues that this bill governs, such as:

This bill covers dozens of incredibly important and complex land legislative issues. Changes made to this bill will impact every corner of the land industry. Landowners, investors, and consumers will all be impacted. It’s important that your representatives in D.C. hear what you have to say about the Farm Bill. RLI has a strong voice in D.C., thanks to our member-driven Government Affairs Committee and by keeping members informed on the latest land laws in blog posts, social media, and D.C. Updates.

Update: The Farm Bill Passed

Tariffs

Tariffs are a tax a country puts on a product made abroad. The intention is to motivate Americans to buy local products at a cheaper price. At the time of publication, there is a ten percent tariff adding up to $200 billion on Chinese imports. President Trump is expected to raise tariffs in the future.

In retaliation, China imposed tariffs on American products, including soybeans, pork, milk, fruit, and many other crops. Soybeans, in particular, have struggled. The Chinese tariffs have driven soybeans prices down and some soybean farmers are struggling to pay the bills.

“Farmers see that pain right now,” said American Soybean Association CEO Ryan Findlay in an interview on CNBC. “You have to have the prices to pay the bill — and the prices aren’t there right now.”

During a record production year, many farmers are storing soybeans in the hopes that the trade war will soon end.  The long-term impacts, good or bad, are unknown right now.

Bailout

To help ease the economic stress of the ongoing tariff war, the USDA authorized a $12 billion bailout plan for farmers.

Farmers who met the criteria would receive incremental payments from USDA programs. The first $6 billion was distributed in late August. Additionally, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) set up the Food Purchase and Distribution program to buy $1.2 billion in American goods that were impacted by the tariffs.

Endangered Species Act

In an 8-0 vote, the Supreme Court ruled to limit which habitats can be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The central point of the debate was if lands where endangered species weren’t currently living, but might one day, protected under the law.

“Only the ‘habitat’ of the endangered species is eligible for designation as critical habitat,” the chief justice said highlighting how the scope of the law as written now is limited. “Even if an area otherwise meets the statutory definition of unoccupied critical habitat because the secretary finds the area essential for the conservation of the species, [the law] does not authorize the secretary to designate the area as critical habitat unless it is also habitat for the species.”

Staying up to date on land news is tricky, especially when so many key land legislative issues are always being updated or debated. We hope this article offered a no-nonsense look at the current state of several pressing land laws. If you’d like to get more involved with the Advocacy side of RLI, consider applying for our Governmental Affairs Committee and make sure to check back regularly to our DC Updates page for the latest news about the latest legislative issues affecting the land industry. Remember – your voice deserves to be heard in Congress!

About the Author: Laura Barker is a freelance writer based out of California for the REALTORS® Land Institute. She has been with RLI since October 2017.