SARL Members and Alumni News
California issues 1st licenses for legal pot market
Capital Press | Posted on December 26, 2017California’s legal marijuana market is finally, fitfully, taking shape. The state on Thursday issued the first batch of business licenses to sell and transport recreational-use pot, just 18 days before legal sales will begin on Jan. 1.The 20 temporary licenses — some of which were for the previously existing medical marijuana industry — represent a fraction of the thousands of licenses expected to follow as the state embraces legal weed in 2018, but their release set off jubilation.The first distributor license for recreational pot was awarded to Pure CA, which does business as Moxie brand products, a company known for its cannabis extracts.
DowDuPont registers domains that could signal name of Delaware agricultural business
Delaware Online | Posted on December 26, 2017DowDuPont has registered domains that could provide a look at what the company's Delaware-based agricultural business will be called. The recently-merged organization has registered various website domains featuring the name Corteva
WSDA acts on goal to radio tag all cows
Capital Press | Posted on December 26, 2017The Washington State Department of Agriculture made the first formal move Wednesday to electronically follow every cow in the state from birth to slaughter. The department indicated it will propose replacing metal ID tags with radio-frequency identification, or RFID, on tens of thousands of cows. According to WSDA, electronic tags will be less prone to record-keeping errors and help track cattle as individuals, not just part of a branded herd.“Updating our rules to incorporate RFID devices is an important first step in strengthening our state’s animal disease traceability system,” State Veterinarian Brian Joseph said in a written statement.
California issues 1st licenses for legal pot market
Capital Press | Posted on December 26, 2017California’s legal marijuana market is finally, fitfully, taking shape. The state on Thursday issued the first batch of business licenses to sell and transport recreational-use pot, just 18 days before legal sales will begin on Jan. 1.The 20 temporary licenses — some of which were for the previously existing medical marijuana industry — represent a fraction of the thousands of licenses expected to follow as the state embraces legal weed in 2018, but their release set off jubilation.In general, California will treat cannabis like alcohol, allowing people 21 and older to legally possess up to an ounce and grow six marijuana plants at home.
Microchipping Law Looks to Help Reunite Lost Pets With Owners
My Twin Tiers | Posted on December 26, 2017There's a new law in New York that looks to help reunite lost pets with their owners. A New York law that went into effect this week requires that all animal shelters, rescue groups and other organizations that take in found pets check to see if the animal has a microchip in them. They then must try to contact the owner within 24 hours."We've been in compliance with this legislation for many years and microchipping is one of the most reliable ways to ensure that you reunite a pet with their owner in the shortest amount of time," Executive Director of the Chemung County SPCA Tom Geroy said.According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, about 52 percent of lost dogs who have been implanted with a microchip are reunited with their owners, and 39 percent of microchipped cats are returned home. But Geroy said the information associated with the device is just as important as the chip itself.
Ohio Supreme Court says CAUV woodland owners can appeal
Farm and Dairy | Posted on December 21, 2017A group of woodland owners who believe they have been overcharged for their property taxes can appeal the values to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals. The Ohio Supreme Court released a decision Dec. 7 that said landowners can challenge their Current Agricultural Use Value before the appeals board, because the values are considered a “final determination” and are part of Ohio’s law that allows for appeals.A group of landowners from 20 Ohio counties had previously appealed their CAUV values to the Board of Tax Appeals, arguing their taxes were too high because the state used too low of a cost for clearing woodlands, and that the board’s rules were unreasonable.
Georgia lawmakers propose tax breaks and fast internet for rural areas
Atlanta Journal Constitution | Posted on December 21, 2017A powerful group of state lawmakers approved sweeping proposals Wednesday designed to encourage people and businesses to move to rural Georgia.The group voted unanimously to support income tax breaks worth up to $6,000 a year, high-speed internet lines in unconnected areas and better health care access.
Panel signs off on plan to bolster rural Georgia
The Moultrie Observer | Posted on December 21, 2017A legislative panel focused on the challenges facing rural Georgia has proposed a slate of changes meant to spark job growth and reverse population declines in the state’s beleaguered counties.A report, approved Wednesday by the House Rural Development Council, takes on such mammoth issues as rural health care and spotty broadband Internet service. That document provides a framework for the initiatives that will be debated in the coming legislative session, which starts next month.Specific ideas include proposals such as creating a tax break for people who move to counties with a steady stream of residents leaving. It’s an incentive especially meant to attract high-wage professionals to rural communities.Or easing requirements in the state’s certificate of need program, which controls how many health care facilities can crop up in one area. That proposal is designed to give rural hospitals more flexibility to operate as small-scale “micro hospitals.”
Illinois Praised as Property Tax Model for Wind Farms
Tristates Public Radio | Posted on December 21, 2017Illinois' taxing model for wind energy companies is touted as one of the best in the country, bringing in $30.4 million in property taxes in 2016, according to economic experts. Barton DeLacy, a tax expert from Chicago, said that the Illinois system is a good model that is very close to the value he gives to wind farms and is much more consistent than in other states.
13 states sue to stop cage free eggs law in Massachusetts
Fox Business | Posted on December 21, 2017Massachusetts is being sued by 13 other states that claim a voter-approved law to ban the sale of eggs and other food products from farm animals that are confined in overly restrictive cages is unconstitutional.