AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 3 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE AGRICULTURAL LANDS PRESERVATION ACT.
Summary
HB 371 amends Delaware’s Agricultural Lands Preservation Act to remove the statutory requirement that each county establish a Farmland Preservation Advisory Board. Under current law, those boards are made up of local farmers or agribusiness representatives and a county legislative member, and they advise the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation on regulations and on applications to create Agricultural Preservation Districts. The bill would eliminate the mandate for counties to maintain those boards, while leaving the broader farmland preservation framework in place.
The bill also makes conforming and technical changes to Title 3. It updates language describing the Foundation’s duty to adopt a statewide agricultural lands preservation strategy, including consultation with county planning and zoning commissions and other agencies, and it retains the process for identifying productive agricultural lands and growth zones. The synopsis states that the measure is intended both to remove the county-board requirement and to make technical corrections consistent with the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
Impact
If enacted, HB 371 would change the Delaware Code by deleting the requirement that county legislative bodies create Farmland Preservation Advisory Boards, which would reduce a formal county-level advisory structure in the farmland preservation process. The bill would also affect the procedures by which the Foundation receives advice on regulations and agricultural preservation district applications, since those provisions are tied to the existence of the county boards. The measure does not appear to alter the core authority of the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation or the state’s farmland preservation program, but it would streamline local participation requirements and update statutory language.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and available context, the overall sentiment appears neutral to mildly supportive, with the measure presented as an administrative cleanup and simplification rather than a major policy shift. The bill has bipartisan sponsorship, which suggests some cross-party agreement on the need to revise the advisory-board requirement and make technical corrections. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no evidence in the available record of organized opposition or debate.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the elimination of county Farmland Preservation Advisory Boards. Supporters may view the boards as unnecessary bureaucracy or a duplicative layer in the preservation process, while opponents could argue that removing them reduces local farmer and county input on farmland preservation decisions and regulations. A second possible issue is the effect on the Agricultural Preservation District application process, because the bill preserves a default-approval mechanism if a board fails to act, but the removal of the board requirement could change how county recommendations are obtained or whether they are needed at all.
An Act To Amend Title 7 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Environmental Control By Repealing The Delaware Advanced Clean Car Program Under Regulation 1140 Of Title 7 Of The Delaware Administrative Code And Adopting The Delaware Low Emission Vehicle Program.