Bill Text: NJ A5176 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Dept. of Agriculture to publish information on its website about how to assist farmers impacted by agricultural natural disasters.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-08-24 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee [A5176 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A5176-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PARKER SPACE
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Assemblyman BOB ANDRZEJCZAK
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Dept. of Agriculture to publish information on its website about how to assist farmers impacted by agricultural natural disasters.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning agricultural natural disaster relief coordination for farmers and supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Department of Agriculture shall establish an agricultural natural disaster assistance donation Internet webpage that will:
(1) provide information concerning which counties throughout the State and nation are experiencing agricultural natural disasters, including but not limited to those counties designated as disaster areas by the United States Department of Agriculture; and
(2) facilitate the donation of funds, agricultural products, agricultural supplies, agricultural equipment, and other needed assistance to farmers in these disaster areas by providing information about what types of relief that farmers in a particular disaster area may require, how to coordinate donations to an impacted area, or by providing any other information that the Department of Agriculture may deem relevant to help individuals and business to more easily donate to farmers in need.
b. The Department of Agriculture may coordinate with governmental, not-for-profit, or similar organizations to best create and maintain the webpage required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, including using information provided by those organizations to determine where agricultural natural disasters may be occurring, and listing organizations that may be coordinating or accepting donations for a particular agricultural natural disaster area.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Department of Agriculture to create a webpage to facilitate donations to farmers in the State or nationwide who are experiencing agricultural natural disasters.
Few businesses are as vulnerable as farms are to natural disasters such as drought, flooding, fire, and similar events. Weather and other disasters cause crop, livestock, and equipment losses that can impact farms for years to come and force families off their land. This not only takes a devastating toll on individual farmers, but also decreases the total amount of family-owned farmland. These smaller-scale farms are at particular financial risk from natural disasters, and are crucial for building local and sustainable food systems.
Despite the fact that the Department of Agriculture provides a list of resources on its website for farmers experiencing disasters, including access to federal grants and programs, there is no space for individuals and businesses to learn how to donate to needy farmers. By creating such a webpage, the State will better ensure that farmers experiencing agricultural natural disasters will quickly and efficiently receive the help they require from the generosity of others.
