By Marlee Moore
(334) 613-4219

As the Legislature’s Regular Session wrapped late Monday night, the Alabama Farmers Federation celebrated key victories impacting rural Alabamians. Highlights include the small farm winery bill; farm and forest products tag bill; and the police jurisdiction bill.

These wins were months — or years — in the making, said Federation External Affairs Department Director Matthew Durdin.

“In each of these cases, our farmers saw a problem, approached our team and showed us the importance of passing legislation,” Durdin said. “That’s the value of a grassroots organization.”

Small Farm Winery Bill

• Allows licensed small farm wineries to sell their products directly to retailers and consumers.

• SB 294 by Sen. Andrew Jones, R-Centre, defines a Small Farm Winery as one producing fewer than 50,000 gallons of wine a year from fruit that’s at least 50% Alabama-grown.

Farm and Forest Products Tag Bill

• Eases restrictions on the purchase of license tags for farm and forest-product trucks. 
• HB 460 by Rep. Wes Allen, R-Troy, lifts limits on the purchase of F4 farm tags for larger trucks. It also allows log trucks to purchase L tags and be exempt from the International Registration Plan. This new law puts Alabama farmers and loggers on a level playing field with counterparts in neighboring states. 

Police Jurisdiction Bill

• Limits enforcement of regulations and planning ordinances outside city limits.

• SB 107 by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Fairhope, freezes cities’ police jurisdictions at current lines and limits planning jurisdictions to 1.5 miles beyond city limits. Formerly, municipalities could enforce regulations up to 5 miles beyond city limits, making farmers and rural landowners subject to rules enacted by city councils where they have no vote.