Colorado lawmakers prioritized protecting the state’s agriculture industry in some of their first bill requests Monday through the Colorado Legislature’s Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee. The Colorado Sun reports that the committee can request up to five bills for drafting, which offers an early glimpse into their water and agricultural priorities ahead of the legislative session. Lawmakers proposed four, all focused on agriculture topics, like taxing ranches, regulating farmers markets and keeping farmland in production. One measure would have expanded the definition of “ranch” to make more types of ranches eligible for tax exemptions. Currently, people who raise certain animals, like pigs and chickens, for profit are not eligible for the same property tax relief options as other livestock operations, like cattle ranches. The new bill will include more feedback from local officials, mainly county assessors.
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