BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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S.118 1
Introduced by Senator Ram Hinsdale 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Agriculture; economic development; stormwater permitting; land use; 5
property transfer tax; income tax 6
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to enact multiple 7
provisions related to economic development on farms. The bill would amend 8
the requirements for the seasonal application of manure to provide an 9
exemption from the ban when liquid manure is applied through direct soil 10
injection. The bill also would exempt farms in compliance with the required 11
agricultural practices from the three-acre stormwater permit. In addition, the 12
bill would amend the right-to-farm law to provide farms with additional 13
protection from nuisance or trespass claims. The bill also clarifies that farm 14
structures, including fences, are exempt from regulation under municipal 15
bylaws or ordinances. In addition, the bill provides that farm employee 16
housing is exempt from regulation under municipal bylaw or ordinance. The 17
bill would amend the eligibility criteria for accessory on-farm businesses and 18
for eligibility of agricultural land under the Use Value Appraisal Program. The 19
bill also would exempt certain transfers of property that is part of a farming 20
operation from the property transfer tax. In addition, the bill would exempt 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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from the Vermont income tax certain net income from farming and net income 1
from the sale of certain farm property. 2
An act relating to agricultural economic development 3
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 4
* * * Short Title * * * 5
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE 6
This act may be cited as “The Food Security Act.” 7
* * * Seasonal Application of Manure * * * 8
Sec. 2. 6 V.S.A. § 4816 is amended to read: 9
§ 4816. SEASONAL APPLICATION OF MANURE 10
(a) Prohibition on application. A person shall not apply manure to land in 11
the State between December 15 and April 1 of any calendar year unless 12
authorized by this section. 13
(b) Extension of prohibition. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and 14
Markets shall amend the Required Agricultural Practices by rule in order to 15
establish a process under which the Secretary may prohibit the application of 16
manure to land in the State between December 1 and December 15 and 17
between April 1 and April 30 of any calendar year when the Secretary 18
determines that due to weather conditions, soil conditions, or other limitations, 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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application of manure to land would pose a significant potential of discharge or 1
runoff to State waters. 2
(c) Seasonal exemption. The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets 3
shall amend the Required Agricultural Practices by rule in order to establish a 4
process under which the Secretary may authorize an exemption to the 5
prohibition on the application of manure to land in the State between 6
December 15 and April 1 of any calendar year or during any period established 7
under subsection (b) of this section when manure is prohibited from 8
application. Any process established for the issuance of an exemption under 9
the Required Agricultural Practices may authorize land application of manure 10
on a weekly, monthly, or seasonal basis or in authorized regions, areas, or 11
fields in the State, provided that any exemption shall: 12
(1) prohibit application of manure: 13
(A) in areas with established channels of concentrated stormwater 14
runoff to surface waters, including ditches and ravines; 15
(B) in nonharvested permanent vegetative buffers; 16
(C) in a nonfarmed wetland, as that term is defined in 10 V.S.A. 17
§ 902(5); 18
(D) within 50 feet of a potable water supply, as that term is defined in 19
10 V.S.A. § 1972(6); 20
(E) to fields exceeding tolerable soil loss; and 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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(F) to saturated soils; 1
(2) establish requirements for the application of manure when frozen or 2
snow-covered soils prevent effective incorporation at the time of application; 3
(3) require manure to be applied according to a nutrient management 4
plan; and 5
(4) establish the maximum tons of manure that may be applied per acre 6
during any one application. 7
(d) Exemption for liquid manure injection. The prohibition on the 8
application of manure to land in the State under this section shall not apply to 9
the land application of liquid manure directly injected to soils, provided 10
manure is not applied: 11
(1) in areas with established channels of concentrated stormwater runoff 12
to surface waters, including ditches and ravines; 13
(2) in nonharvested permanent vegetative buffers; 14
(3) in a nonfarmed wetland, as that term is defined in 10 V.S.A. 15
§ 902(5); 16
(4) within 50 feet of a potable water supply, as that term is defined in 10 17
V.S.A. § 1972(6); 18
(5) to fields exceeding tolerable soil loss; 19
(6) to saturated soils; or 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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(7) to snow covered soils, unless the application is approved by a 1
certified nutrient management technical service provider. 2
* * * Three-Acre Stormwater Permit; Agriculture * * * 3
Sec. 3. 10 V.S.A § 1264 is amended to read: 4
§ 1264. STORMWATER MANAGEMENT 5
* * * 6
(b) Definitions. As used in this section: 7
* * * 8
(6) “Impervious surface” means those manmade surfaces, including 9
paved and unpaved roads, parking areas, roofs, driveways, and walkways, from 10
which precipitation runs off rather than infiltrates. 11
* * * 12
(10) “Regulated stormwater runoff” means precipitation, snowmelt, and 13
the material dissolved or suspended in precipitation and snowmelt that runs off 14
impervious surfaces and discharges into surface waters or into groundwater via 15
infiltration. 16
* * * 17
(14) “Stormwater runoff” means precipitation and snowmelt that does 18
not infiltrate into the soil, including material dissolved or suspended in it, but 19
does not include discharges from undisturbed natural terrain or wastes from 20
combined sewer overflows. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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* * * 1
(c) Prohibitions. 2
(1) A person shall not commence the construction or redevelopment of 3
one-half of an acre or more of impervious surface without first obtaining a 4
permit from the Secretary. 5
* * * 6
(7) In accordance with the schedule established under subdivision (g)(3) 7
of this section, a person shall not discharge stormwater from impervious 8
surface of three or more acres in size without first obtaining an individual 9
permit or coverage under a general permit issued under this section if the 10
discharge was never previously permitted or was permitted under an individual 11
permit or general permit that did not incorporate the requirements of the 2002 12
Stormwater Management Manual or any subsequently adopted Stormwater 13
Management Manual. 14
(d) Exemptions. 15
(1) No permit is required under this section for: 16
(A) Stormwater runoff from farms in compliance with the required 17
agricultural practices adopted by the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and 18
Markets, provided that this exemption shall not apply to construction 19
stormwater permits required by subdivision (c)(4) of this section. This 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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exemption shall apply to any farm subject to the permit requirement under 1
subdivision (c)(7) of this section. 2
(B) Stormwater runoff from concentrated animal feeding operations 3
permitted under subsection 1263(g) of this chapter. 4
(C) Stormwater runoff from accepted silvicultural practices, as 5
defined by the Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation, including 6
practices that are in compliance with the Acceptable Management Practices for 7
Maintaining Water Quality on Logging Jobs in Vermont, as adopted by the 8
Commissioner of Forests, Parks and Recreation. 9
(D) Stormwater runoff permitted under section 1263 of this title. 10
(2) No permit is required under subdivision (c)(1), (5), or (7) of this 11
section and for which a municipality has assumed full legal responsibility as 12
part of a permit issued to the municipality by the Secretary. As used in this 13
subdivision, “full legal responsibility” means legal control of the stormwater 14
system, including a legal right to access the stormwater system, a legal duty to 15
properly maintain the stormwater system, and a legal duty to repair and replace 16
the stormwater system when it no longer adequately protects waters of the 17
State. 18
* * * 19
* * * Right to Farm * * * 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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Sec. 4. 12 V.S.A. chapter 195 is amended to read: 1
CHAPTER 195. NUISANCE SUITS AGAINST AGRICULTURAL 2
ACTIVITIES 3
§ 5751. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE 4
The General Assembly finds that agricultural production is a major 5
contributor to the State’s economy; that agricultural lands constitute unique 6
and irreplaceable resources of statewide importance; that the continuation of 7
existing and the initiation of new agricultural activities preserve the landscape 8
and environmental resources of the State, contribute to the increase of tourism, 9
and further the economic welfare and self-sufficiency of the people of the 10
State; and that the encouragement, development, improvement, and 11
preservation of agriculture will result in a general benefit to the health and 12
welfare of the people of the State. In order for the agricultural industry to 13
survive in this State, farms will likely change, adopt new technologies, and 14
diversify into new products, which for some farms will mean increasing in 15
size. The General Assembly finds that agricultural activities are potentially 16
subject to lawsuits based on the theory of nuisance, and that these suits 17
encourage and could force the premature removal of the farmlands and other 18
farm resources from agricultural use. It is the purpose of this chapter to protect 19
reasonable agricultural activities conducted on the farm from nuisance 20
lawsuits. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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§ 5752. DEFINITIONS 1
For the purpose of As used in this chapter,: 2
(1) “agricultural Agricultural activity” means, but is not limited to: 3
(1)(A) the cultivation or other use of land for producing food, fiber, 4
Christmas trees, maple sap, or horticultural and orchard crops; the raising, 5
feeding, or management of domestic animals as defined in 6 V.S.A. § 1151 or 6
bees; the operation of greenhouses; the production of maple syrup; the on-site 7
storage, preparation, and sale of agricultural products principally produced on 8
the farm; and the on-site production of fuel or power from agricultural 9
products or wastes principally produced on the farm; 10
(2)(B) the preparation, tilling, fertilization, planting, protection, 11
irrigation, and harvesting of crops; the composting of material principally 12
produced by the farm or to be used at least in part on the farm; the ditching and 13
subsurface drainage of farm fields and the construction of farm ponds; the 14
handling of livestock wastes and by-products; and the on-site storage and 15
application of agricultural inputs, including lime, fertilizer, and pesticides; 16
(3)(C) “farming” as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6001; and 17
(4)(D) “agricultural activities” as defined in 6 V.S.A. § 4802. 18
(2) “Generally accepted agricultural practices” mean: 19
(A) the requirements of 6 V.S.A. chapter 215, including permit 20
requirements or requirements of the Required Agricultural Practices; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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(B) the requirements of the Agency of Agriculture, Food and 1
Markets’ Vermont Rule for Control of Pesticides; and 2
(C) practices conducted in a manner consistent with proper and 3
accepted customs and standards followed by similar operators of agricultural 4
activities in the State. 5
§ 5753. AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES; PROTECTION FROM 6
NUISANCE LAWSUITS 7
(a)(1) Agricultural activities shall be entitled to a rebuttable presumption 8
that the activity does not constitute a nuisance if the agricultural activity meets 9
all of the following conditions: 10
(A) it is conducted in conformity with federal, State, and local laws 11
and regulations (including required agricultural practices); 12
(B) it is consistent with good agricultural practices; 13
(C) it is established prior to surrounding nonagricultural activities; 14
and 15
(D) it has not significantly changed since the commencement of the 16
prior surrounding nonagricultural activity. 17
(2) The presumption that the agricultural activity does not constitute a 18
nuisance may be rebutted by a showing that the activity has a substantial 19
adverse effect on health, safety, or welfare, or has a noxious and significant 20
interference with the use and enjoyment of the neighboring property No 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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agricultural activity shall be or become a nuisance or trespass when the activity 1
is conducted in accordance with generally accepted agricultural practices. 2
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of State 3
or local boards of health to abate nuisances affecting the public health A 4
plaintiff alleging that an agricultural activity is a nuisance or trespass shall 5
have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the 6
agricultural activity is not conducted in accordance with generally accepted 7
agricultural practices. 8
(c) The nuisance and trespass protection for an agricultural activity 9
provided for under subsection (a) of this section shall not apply whenever a 10
nuisance or trespass violation results from the negligent operation of an 11
agricultural activity. 12
§ 5754. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION; SEVERABILITY 13
(a) This chapter is remedial in nature and shall be liberally construed to 14
effectuate its purposes. 15
(b) An agricultural activity shall not lose the nuisance or trespass protection 16
under section 5753 of this title due to: 17
(1) a change of ownership or a cessation of operation, in whole or in 18
part, of not more than 10 years; 19
(2) a change of crops produced; or 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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(3) a change of a farming method or conversion of farming practices or 1
agricultural activities to other farming methods, practices, or agricultural 2
activities on a farm. 3
(c) If any provision of this chapter is held invalid, the invalidity does not 4
affect other provisions of this chapter that can be given effect without the 5
invalid provision, and for this purpose, the provisions of this chapter are 6
severable. 7
§ 5755. REQUIRED MEDIATION PRIOR TO SUIT 8
(a) A person shall not bring a court action based on a claim of nuisance or 9
trespass arising from an agricultural activity unless the person and the operator 10
of the agricultural activity, at least once, attempt to resolve through mediation 11
the issue or dispute that the person has concerning operation of the agricultural 12
activity. The mediation shall be conducted according to the provisions of the 13
Uniform Mediation Act set forth in chapter 194 of this title. 14
(b) The parties to the mediation may agree upon the use of a mediator to 15
assist in the resolution of the agreed upon issue or dispute, and the parties shall 16
share the cost of the mediator. If the parties to the mediation are unable to 17
resolve the relevant issue or dispute through mediation, the parties may agree 18
to submit the issue or dispute to binding arbitration pursuant to chapter 192 of 19
this title and shall share the cost of the arbitration. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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(c) A person bringing a court action based on a claim of nuisance or 1
trespass arising from an agricultural activity shall provide the court with a 2
sworn statement of an attempt to resolve the issue or dispute through 3
mediation. 4
* * * 5
* * * Municipal Land Use Regulation of Farming * * * 6
Sec. 5. 24 V.S.A. § 4413(d) is amended to read: 7
(d)(1) A bylaw under this chapter shall not regulate: 8
(A) required agricultural practices, including the construction of farm 9
structures, as those practices are defined by the Secretary of Agriculture, Food 10
and Markets; 11
(B) accepted silvicultural practices, as defined by the Commissioner 12
of Forests, Parks and Recreation, including practices that are in compliance 13
with the Acceptable Management Practices for Maintaining Water Quality on 14
Logging Jobs in Vermont, as adopted by the Commissioner of Forests, Parks 15
and Recreation; or 16
(C) forestry operations. 17
(2) As used in this section: 18
(A) “Farm structure” means a building, enclosure, or fence for farm 19
employee housing, housing livestock, raising horticultural or agronomic plants, 20
or carrying out other practices associated with accepted agricultural or farming 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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practices, including a silo, as “farming” is defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6001(22), but 1
excludes a dwelling for human habitation. 2
(B) “Forestry operations” has the same meaning as in 10 V.S.A. 3
§ 2602. 4
(C) “Farm employee housing” means housing owned or controlled by 5
the farm employer, located on the farm premises and provided for the 6
occupancy of a farm employee and the farm employee’s family or household 7
members for no payment other than the farm employee’s labor. Payment of 8
utility and fuel charges paid by a farm employee does not affect the 9
designation of housing provided as a benefit of farm employment. Farm 10
employee housing shall meet the U.S. Department of Labor standards for 11
housing of H-2A temporary agricultural employees. 12
(D) “Farm employer” means a person earning at least one-half of the 13
person’s annual gross income from the business of farming as that term is 14
defined in Section 1.175-3 of the regulations issued by the U.S. Department of 15
the Treasury under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, as amended. 16
(3) A person shall notify a municipality of the intent to build a farm 17
structure and shall abide by setbacks approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, 18
Food and Markets. No municipal permit for a farm structure shall be required. 19
(4) This subsection does not prevent an appropriate municipal panel, 20
when issuing a decision on an application for land development over which the 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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panel otherwise has jurisdiction under this chapter, from imposing reasonable 1
conditions under subsection 4464(b) of this title to protect wildlife habitat; 2
threatened or endangered species; or other natural, historic, or scenic resources 3
and does not prevent the municipality from enforcing such conditions, 4
provided that the reasonable conditions do not restrict or regulate forestry 5
operations unrelated to land development. 6
(5) If a municipal bylaw or ordinance purports to regulate a practice 7
regulated under the required agricultural practices or to regulate a farm 8
structure, the owner or operator of a farm within the municipality may request 9
an opinion from the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets as to whether 10
the municipal bylaw violates this subsection. If the Secretary of Agriculture, 11
Food and Markets determines that the municipal bylaw or ordinance does 12
regulate a required agricultural practice or a farm structure, farms withing the 13
municipality shall not be required to comply with the municipal bylaw or 14
ordinance. 15
(6) When farm employee housing is unused by a farm employee, the 16
farm employer may rent the farm employee housing as a short-term rental 17
subject to the State laws for short-term rentals. 18
Sec. 6. 10 V.S.A. § 6081(t) is amended to read: 19
(t) No permit or permit amendment is required for the construction of 20
improvements for an accessory on-farm business for the storage or sale of 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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qualifying products or the other eligible enumerated products as defined in 1
24 V.S.A. § 4412(11)(A)(i)(I). No permit or permit amendment is required for 2
the construction of improvements for an accessory on-farm business for the 3
preparation or processing of qualifying products as defined in 24 V.S.A. 4
§ 4412(11)(A)(i)(I), provided that more than 50 percent of the total annual 5
sales of the prepared or processed qualifying products that come from products 6
not produced on the farm where the business is located do not exceed 7
$250,000.00 in annual sales. No permit or permit amendment is required for 8
the construction of improvements for an accessory on-farm business for 9
educational, recreations, or social events that feature agriculture practices or 10
qualifying products, as those terms are defined in 24 V.S.A. 11
§ 4412(11)(A)(i)(II). This subsection shall not apply to the construction of 12
improvements related to hosting events or farm stays as part of an accessory 13
on-farm business as defined in 24 V.S.A. § 4412(11)(A)(i)(II). 14
* * * Use Value Appraisal * * * 15
Sec. 7. 32 V.S.A. § 3752(1) is amended to read: 16
(1) “Agricultural land” means any land, exclusive of any housesite, in 17
active use to grow hay or cultivated crops, pasture livestock, cultivate trees 18
bearing edible fruit, or produce an annual maple product, and that is 25 acres 19
or more in size, except as provided in this subdivision (1). Agricultural land 20
shall include buffer zones as defined and required in the Agency of 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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Agriculture, Food and Markets’ Required Agricultural Practices rule adopted 1
under 6 V.S.A. chapter 215. There shall be a presumption that the land is used 2
for agricultural purposes if: 3
(A) it is owned by a farmer and is part of the overall farm unit; 4
(B) it is used by a farmer as part of the farmer’s operation under 5
written lease for at least three years; or 6
(C) it has produced an annual gross income from the sale of farm 7
crops or the equivalent value of donated farm crops in one of two, or three of 8
the five, calendar years preceding of at least: 9
(i) $2,000.00 for parcels of up to 25 acres; and. 10
(ii) $75.00 per acre for each acre over 25, with the total income 11
required not to exceed $5,000.00. 12
(iii) Exceptions to these income requirements may be made in 13
cases of orchard lands planted to fruit-producing trees, bushes, or vines that are 14
not yet of bearing age. As used in this section, the term “farm crops” also 15
includes animal fiber, cider, wine, and cheese, produced on the enrolled land or 16
on a housesite adjoining the enrolled land, from agricultural products grown on 17
the enrolled land. 18
* * * Vermont Income Tax * * * 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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Sec. 8. 32 V.S.A. § 5811(21) is amended to read: 1
(21) “Taxable income” means, in the case of an individual, federal 2
adjusted gross income determined without regard to 26 U.S.C. § 168(k) and: 3
* * * 4
(B) decreased by the following items of income (to the extent such 5
income is included in federal adjusted gross income): 6
* * * 7
(ii) with respect to adjusted net capital gain income as defined in 8
26 U.S.C. § 1(h) reduced by the total amount of any qualified dividend 9
income: either the first $5,000.00 of such adjusted net capital gain income or 10
40 percent of adjusted net capital gain income from the sale of assets held by 11
the taxpayer for more than three years, except not adjusted net capital gain 12
income from: 13
(I) the sale of any real estate or portion of real estate used by 14
the taxpayer as a primary or nonprimary residence; or 15
(II) the sale of depreciable personal property other than farm 16
property and standing timber; or stocks or bonds publicly traded or traded on 17
an exchange, or any other financial instruments; regardless of whether sold by 18
an individual or business; and provided that the total amount of decrease under 19
this subdivision (21)(B)(ii) shall not exceed 40 percent of federal taxable 20
income or $350,000.00, whichever is less; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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* * * 1
(v) the amount of any federal deduction or credit that the taxpayer 2
would have been allowed for the cultivation, testing, processing, or sale of 3
cannabis or cannabis products as authorized under 7 V.S.A. chapter 33 or 37, 4
but for 26 U.S.C. § 280E; and 5
(vi) the amount of interest paid by a qualified resident taxpayer 6
during the taxable year on a qualified education loan for the costs of attendance 7
at an eligible educational institution; and 8
(vii) the amount of any net farm profit, provided the taxpayer’s net 9
farm profit during the taxable year did not exceed $10,000.00; and 10
(viii) notwithstanding subdivision (ii) of this subdivision (21)(B), 11
adjusted net capital gain income from the sale of real estate that is part of a 12
farming operation, provided: 13
(I) the buyer continued using the real estate as part of a farming 14
operation and is related to the seller by blood, marriage, civil union, or 15
adoption; or 16
(II) the buyer was an employee of the farming operation for a 17
minimum of 10 years prior to the sale; and 18
* * * 19
* * * Property Transfer Tax * * * 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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Sec. 9. 32 V.S.A. § 9603 is amended to read: 1
§ 9603. EXEMPTIONS 2
The following transfers are exempt from the tax imposed by this chapter: 3
* * * 4
(5) Transfers between two spouses, or parent and child or child’s 5
spouse, or grandparent and grandchild or grandchild’s spouse, without actual 6
consideration therefor; and also transfers in trust or by decree of court to the 7
extent of the benefit to the donor or one or more of the related persons named 8
in this subdivision; and transfers from a trust named in this subdivision 9
conveying or releasing the property free of trust as between those related 10
persons and without actual consideration therefor. 11
* * * 12
(29) Transfers of property that is part of a farming operation, provided: 13
(A) the transferee will continue using the real estate as part of a 14
farming operation and is related to the seller by blood, marriage, civil union, or 15
adoption; or 16
(B) the transferee was an employee of the farming operation for a 17
minimum of 10 years prior to the transfer. 18
* * * Effective Dates * * * 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.118
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Sec. 10. EFFECTIVE DATES 1
This act shall take effect on July 1, 2025, except that, notwithstanding 1 2
V.S.A. § 214, Sec. 8 (reductions to taxable income) shall take effect 3
retroactively on January 1, 2025 and shall apply to taxable years beginning on 4
and after January 1, 2025. 5