The Senate Agriculture and Revenue Committee, of which I am the chairman, held a public hearing this week on several legislative proposals.

One of the bills, SB 1084, would allow for the sale of state-owned land that is adjacent to, or within one mile of, a commercial egg farm to help prevent the spread of avian flu.

This clarification is needed because it enables the Natural Resources Board to deal with land-use conflicts and biosecurity concerns that are not addressed in current state statutes.

For example, one of the largest egg-laying facilities in the country, located in Palmyra, experienced an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in September of 2025. That egg farm shares a property boundary with a recently developed wild bird sanctuary owned by the Department of Natural Resources.

The proximity of a wild bird habitat to a sizeable commercial poultry operation presents significant biosecurity risks and highlights the need for more compatible land-use planning. I decided to author this legislation with Rep. Cindi Duchow because we believe it is necessary to take these steps to better protect our supply chain and the affordability of eggs.

Other bills that we heard include:

• SB 1009: relating to the sale, service and labeling of food products containing lab-grown milk and providing a penalty
• SB 986: relating to requirements for state lottery drawings
• SB 900: relating to terms and conditions of gift certificates, gift cards and other gift obligations
• SB 865: relating to a tax credit for certain sales and use taxes paid on services sold through an amusement device