With the Federal government ordering electric car manufacturers to make their cars noisier, don’t you think this sticker I found on a car in the man Algonquin Library parking lot is appropriate?
“Loud Pipes…Save Lives!!” says this sticker on a car window.
A press release from Distrcit 3 McHenry County Board candidate Michael Walkup:
Mike Walkup
The potential business climate in McHenry County is being stifled by outdated and overly restrictive regulations of all kinds.
A case in point is the use of agricultural property.
Not everyone in McHenry County lives on 160 acres of land that can be farmed with corn and soybeans. Many people have varying size properties that are currently unused.
When some of those people want to try to put their land to productive use, and help preserve open space in the bargain, they are often stymied by the County.
For instance, an apple orchard cannot take it’s blemished apples and make and sell apple sauce.
Someone who raises popcorn can’t pop it for customers to have a taste unless he or she puts in a certified kitchen.
You cannot have more than one person working for you in a home occupation unless they are a member of your family.
If you raise free range chickens or turkeys, you can slaughter up to a 1000 of them yourself in the back yard with minimal regulation and sell them to people who come over if you have agricultural zoning.
However, if you sell just one chicken that you have raised yourself and have taken to a certified inspected state or federal processor, you are violating the law.
If you do try to do one of these things, you are told that can apply for a Conditional Use Permit.
This requires hiring an attorney, but that is the least of your costs.
The county will also make you pave your driveway, no matter how long it is, so you can have one handicapped parking space that can be marked.
Then you have to put in male and female handicapped accessible bathrooms, on their own septic system, plus maybe a sprinkler system in your barn.
This brings the cost of a jar of apple sauce up to around $100,000.
You can. however, sell honey from your bees that are also in jars with no problem.
Attempts to develop an “agritourism” ordinance that would allow for more leeway floundered in committee at the County Board when the County attempted to force registrations and require each business to apply for Conditional Use Permits after three years of operation.
This assumes that everyone who wants to sell an apple corer at their orchard intends to try to become “AgriDisneyland”.
We need more common sense at the County. That’s why I am running for County Board, District 3, on March 20th, in the Republican Primary. Please be sure to vote.
Mile might be cheaper if Joe Walsh's bill becomes law.
Both of McHenry County’s congressmen have now weighed in on cow issues.
Yesterday Don Manzullo announced he would co-sponsor a bill to keep the Federal EPA from defining poop as a hazardous material.
Today Joe Walsh calls for elimination of a “pre-refrigeration” milk price setting law. The press release follows:
“Most taxpayers are unaware that they are paying for their milk twice…this is outrageous.”
Washington- Congressman Joe Walsh (IL-8) recently introduced the ‘Dairy Deregulation Act’ to phase out the government’s milk price setting regime, called the “Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO)”.
This program was established in pre-refrigeration 1937 to guarantee that there were no shortages of milk across the country.
Today 74 years later, milk is the only major agricultural product with government-mandated prices that differ according to product use.
Walsh stated:
Joe Walsh
“Most taxpayers are unaware that they are paying for their milk twice. Currently American families are taxed to pay for a federal program that directly increases the cost of their milk.
“This is outrageous. Innocent taxpayers are being taken advantage of on a daily basis by another out-dated, pointless government program.
“It costs American taxpayers roughly $68 million a year to run this program that keeps milk prices artificially high.
“The price of milk should be set through market demand not government regulations.
“Today we continue to identify and cut wasteful government policies and programs.
“The House has passed over twenty bills that cut regulations, create jobs, and reduce consumer costs during this Congress.
“Deregulating the dairy industry will not only achieve administrative savings, but will ultimately provide lower dairy costs for consumers.”
= = = = =
Harvard's Harmilda symbolizes the importance of dairy farms to McHenry County's past.
When I was McHenry County Treasurer from 1966-70, the office received Shoppers Service, a advertiser published in Harvard.
Every week dairy farmers were holding going-out-of-business auctions.
There are still dairy farms in McHenry County, but they are few and far between. Many local farmers have sold their farms and bought larger parcels of land in Wisconsin and elsewhere with the money they have received, usually from land speculators.
That Walsh has introduced this bill may be a leading indicator that he is running for re-election in the 8th district, because the price of milk is most assuredly designed to court consumer, not farmers.
Randy Hultgren
Two comments on national events were issued by Congressman Randy Hultgren:
Hultgren Statement On UNESCO’s Vote To Admit Palestine
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today issued the following statement after the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to admit Palestine as a member of the organization.
“In granting Palestine membership, UNESCO acted recklessly and undercut the prospects for lasting peace in the region,” said Hultgren. “Instead of unilaterally seeking recognition through the United Nations, Palestinian leadership should return to the negotiating table and work to advance its cause through discussions with Israel.”
Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Department of State complied with U.S. law and announced that it was ending its funding of UNESCO.
“I also applaud the State Department’s rapid response to the UNESCO vote; withho
Hultgren: Senate’s Failure To Act Results In More Red Tape On America’s Farmers
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today released the following statement regarding the Senate’s failure to act on H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which the House passed with bipartisan support on March 31st.
“Seven months ago, the House passed H.R. 872, a commonsense bill to protect farmers, ranchers, and other Americans from duplicative and burdensome red tape,” said Hultgren, a member of the Agriculture Committee. “Since then, the Senate has failed to consider our bill – Harry Reid has refused to schedule a vote on it – so today, thanks to a court order, the new avalanche of red tape we had tried to prevent is descending upon farmers, ranchers, and others.”
For more information on H.R. 872, see the House Agriculture Committee’s website. More information about the Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators is available here.
A press release from Congressman Randy Hultgren:
Hultgren To Senate: Pass Bipartisan Bill Easing Regulatory Burdens On Agricultural Community
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (IL-14) today released the following statement calling on the Senate to take up H.R. 872, The Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, which the House passed with bipartisan support on March 31.
Randy Hultgren
“I am beyond disappointed by the inaction of the do-nothing Senate. Their refusal to consider the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, a commonsense, bipartisan bill, is threatening our agricultural community with a new avalanche of red tape as soon as the end of this month.
“I recently joined nineteen of my colleagues in sending a letter to Senate leadership, urging them to quickly consider H.R. 872 or similar legislation, and reminding them of the impending regulatory consequences. If they fail to act by the end of this month, the Environmental Protection Agency will hit farmers, ranchers and others who use safe, registered pesticides in the regular course of their business with burdensome new rules.
“If the Senate is serious about getting our economy moving, they should take the commonsense step of passing H.R. 872 to help create regulatory certainty for a critical sector of our economy.”
An email from Congressman Randy Hultgren:
Dear friend,
From the vidoe to which the email from Randy Hultgren links.
Recently, I spoke on the House floor about what regulatory uncertainty is doing to small business owners like Rock Katschnig, a farmer and resident of the 14th District. Click here to watch my floor speech.
Unfortunately, Rock’s situation isn’t unique – I’ve heard similar stories over and over again as I travel throughout the area.
That’s why this fall, I’m joining my colleagues to fight for a pro-growth environment where small businesses and job-creators can hire new workers and invest without fearing what Washington will do to them.
Our efforts are focused on creating a reasonable, stable regulatory environment that gives our economy the confidence it needs to grow.
Right now, Washington regulators don’t consider what impact a new rule or regulation will have on Americans’ jobs and livelihoods before they impose that rule on small business owners and job-creators.
On Friday, the House passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation, or TRAIN, Act of 2011 to change that. I was proud to support it because I believe that the TRAIN Act represents an important step towards ensuring the economic certainty we need to get Americans back to work.
I’m also looking for input from you, to see if you feel that small business owners operate in a reasonable regulatory environment and your opinion on H.R. 2401. So please take a few moments to please answer the questions to the right of this email.
As always, it is truly an honor to serve you in Washington. Please contact me at 630.232.7104 or 202.225.2976 if I can be of assistance, or if you’d like to share your thoughts on the issues before Congress.
In service,
Randy Hultgren
Member of Congress
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