skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Right to Farm or Right to Harm?

play audio
Play

Friday, April 3, 2015   

FRANKFORT, Ky. - A controversial "right to farm" bill died with last week's end of the 2015 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, but the pros and cons of the legislation still are being argued - and the bill's sponsor says it will not go away.

Sen. Robin Webb, D-Grayson, said her bill, Senate Bill 57, which would have placed right-to-farm protections in the state's Constitution, is a way to protect a big part of the state's economy. However, the Humane Society of the United States labeled it a right to harm, claiming that, if passed, the bill would have prohibited efforts to curtail animal abuse, food-safety issues and industrial agriculture.

Matt Dominguez, the Humane Society's public-policy manager, said the bill would have shielded the worst practices on factory farms from the democratic process.

"What you see is the industry desperately trying to keep people in the dark about animal abuse on these farms, and the public and legislators have been standing up and winning over and over again," he said. "It's time for the agriculture industry to pull their head out of the sand and see that there should be more transparency in their industry, not darkness."

The bill, which died without a vote in committee, proposed a constitutional amendment barring the Legislature from passing any law that "unreasonably abridges the right of citizens ... to engage fully in the practice of farming, now and in the future."

Webb said the Humane Society's labeling of her bill as a right to harm is disingenuous rhetoric.

"The language that I had was not extreme language," she said. "My measure is to make sure that individuals can feed themselves and sustain their families, whether it's your backyard beekeeper or fresh eggs for your family or fresh milk."

Webb defended factory farms as part of a North American agriculture model that, in her words, is very efficient. She said right-to-farm protections would be subject to accepted animal-welfare practices.

However, the Humane Society's newest report card on animal protection laws ranks Kentucky 43rd, which Dominguez said is shameful.

"Kentucky can do better," he said, "and the animals in Kentucky deserve better."

Webb dismissed that criticism.

"The Humane Society of the United States, their agenda is not to protect animals," she said. "Their agenda is to eliminate the utilization and ownership of animals."

Webb said she doesn't look at the death of her bill as a defeat because the debate over constitutional protections for agriculture will continue.

SB 57 is online at lrc.ky.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021