Corbett Talks ACRE to Grangers

Charlene M. Shupp
Espenshade
Special Sections Editor

CAMP HILL, Pa. — “Your profession, agriculture, is what drives our state economy,” said Pennsylvania State Attorney General Tom Corbett at the Grange Day Luncheon.

Several hundred Grangers gathered at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel on Monday to conclude the state-long celebration of National Grange Month and to hear updates on rural issues.

One of the key duties of Corbett’s office is the legal review of questionable township ordinances called through the ACRE (Agriculture Communities Rural Environment) legislation. Since his office took on the duties of this program staff has reviewed 40 cases. Under ACRE if his office believes a municipal ordinance violates the normal production practices of agriculture, they can sue the municipality on the behalf of the farmer. If Corbett’s office decides not to take action, the farmer still can through his own finances.

Corbett said his office takes this law very seriously and will continue to make sure that ordinances remain fair to all Pennsylvanians.

Of the 40 requests, 20 have been denied, 16 accepted and four under review.

“I hope we can resolve most of these disputes without ever having to file a lawsuit,” he said. So far, that has been the case. The majority of the cases have been solved through repeal of the local law and/or revisions to the ordinance.

Three of the requests are under review at the state Supreme Court. Another two are pending ruling in the Commonwealth Court.

The Supreme Court has been requested to re-review the cases with the selection of two new judges to the bench. The problem with the appealed cases, Corbett said, is not if the ordinance is illegal, but if the township has enforced it. The original Commonwealth Court ruling decided if the township did not enforce the illegal ordinance, they could not be sued.

Even if a farmer does not have a lawsuit against him, if he knew an ordinance allowed the possibility of a lawsuit, he wouldn’t build another barn or a facility unless the ruling was changed. Corbett said, the farmer would not place himself in that financial risk until the problem was resolved.

Corbett believes the rulings by the court sent the message “we don’t want to deal with it.”

Pending the results of the second review of the Supreme Court, if they continue to uphold the rulings, Corbett is prepared to go back to the General Assembly to correct the law noting that illegal is illegal and the law applies to all ordinances.

“We are committed to making sure that Pennsylvania is a safe and attractive place to live, to work as you wish and to raise a family,” he said.

Corbett also presented an update on other programs in his office. He said the goal of his office is safety for all Pennsylvanians.

“If people live in fear, we will not prosper,” he said. Drugs, identity theft, crime prevention and fraud are just a few of the areas his office is tackling. He noted that the nature of crime has changed because of technology. Today, most offenders do not have to come out of the shadows, just work through a computer remotely to commit the crime.

Brian Ebersole of the Pennsylvania Department of Health updated members regarding the challenges of rural health care, noting that only about 13 percent of physicians serve the rural areas leading to a shortage of local health care for many Pennsylvanians. He outlined Gov. Ed Rendell’s Prescription for Pennsylvania, a health care reform package to address the rural health care shortage and proposals to help control health care costs.

Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff commended the Grange for its work on agricultural and rural issues. He noted that the agriculture industry is in “uncharted waters” as food prices and civil unrest increases internationally because of food shortages. The industry needs to work together to address these issues he said.

Rep Art Hershey (R-13), Republican Chair of the House Rural and Agricultural Affairs Committee, agreed that this marked a time of change for agriculture. He also noted that the Grange is a “useful tool” for the General Assembly in understanding rural issues.

Both Wolff and Hershey presented a “Grange Month” proclamation to State Master (president) Betsy Huber.