![]() So maybe Iowa gets more farmland or grazing land. Some forest reserve landowners might bristle at the idea of paying more taxes and convert the land to an agricultural use or sell it to someone who will. Why would the Legislature want to target forest land? Well, it’s the same thinking that went into the bill limiting public lands. Sure, but not for a bunch of tree-huggers. The Legislative Services Agency say the bill will result in an $8.3 million property tax increase for those landowners by Fiscal Year 2027.Īnd here we thought Republicans were determined to cut property taxes. By 2025, under the bill, only 50 percent of the value of forested land would be property tax exempt. To the groups who backed the bill, including the Iowa Farm Bureau, which has been on a crusade to stop public land expansion, I offer thoughts and prayers.īut we’re still not out of the woods yet.Īnother bill, Senate File 548, repeals a property tax exemption for landowners with fruit tree or forest reserves on their property. You will begin to receive our Daily Opinion updates and our topical Pints & Politics newsletter. So it’s considered dead for the rest of the session. Neat trick.įortunately, HF 516 failed to receive consideration in the House State Government Committee ahead of a legislative funnel deadline. They’ve hobbled the department and now criticize it for limping. Not surprising, considering how the Legislature has been lowballing DNR funding for years. Never has been.īackers of the bill also claimed the DNR can’t afford to maintain the land it has. But that’s not a problem for our current Statehouse leadership. More farming means more dirty water, for example. Of course, curtailing the expansion of public lands and the conservation benefits they offer is bad for Iowa’s environment. ![]() Half of the public lands in Iowa are road rights of way, such as interstate medians.īut farm groups say that’s still too much, claiming farmers are being outbid for land by governments and groups that want to conserve the land for various public uses. Compare that the more than 30 million acres of cropland in this 36-million-acre state. Iowa ranks among states with the smallest percentage of public lands, with roughly 3 percent of the state publicly owned. Opponents of the bill, including environmental protection and outdoor recreation proponents, saw the bill as an effort to discourage the creation of new parks, trails and conservation areas. The bill, Senate Fill 516, would have required the Department of Natural Resources to focus on the maintenance of existing public lands, rather than acquiring new land to expand or create new public opens spaces. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |