A32—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Way 16,1981
House Ag Committee says
HARRISBURG - Personal
satisfaction must have swept
through Joseph V. Gneco’s mind
on Monday when House Bill 1351,
which designates milk as the of
ficial beverage of Pennsylvania,
was unanimously and favorably
voted out of the House Agriculture
Committee.
Grieco, the Ag Committee
chairman, introduced the bill,
according to his office staff, after a
discussion with three 4-H’ers from
his 84th District (Lycoming,
Northumberland-parts) who were
touring the legislative halls in
Harrisburg during 4-H Capital
Days.
At their suggestion, Gneco
checked with the Pennsylvania
Department of Agriculture to see
whether there was a state
beverage. Finding none, Gneco
drafted and sponsored the
legislation proposing milk as the
state beverage.
The bill is on the House agenda
and should be voted on sometime
in June.
Also voted favorably out of the
House Ag Committee was Senate
Bill 512, which amends the Penn
sylvania Harness Racing Law. It
too is on the House Calendar for its
second reading and should be
voted on next month.
A new introduction to the House
THINK AHEAD...
Read Futures Markets on Page 3.
Legislative Roundu^
“Milk’s the one”
of Representative is House Bill
1429. This legislation, introduced
on May 12, will identify multiflora
rose as a noxious weed.
HB 1429 was sponsored by
Representative Samuel D. Hayes,
Jr., a republican for the 81st'
District (parts of Blair, Centre,
and Huntingdon) and House
Majority Leader.
House Bill 1429 will provide the
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture with a way to establish
weed control areas, make
recommendations for control and
destruction of noxious weeds, and
help bring about the destruction of
harmful weeds. The bill has gone
to the Agriculture and Rural Af
fairs Committee.
“The multiflora rose, once
planted as a cover crop for game
and as hedgerows for fencing, has
become a serious problem for
many Pennsylvania farmers,”
Hayes stated. “House Bill 1429 will
help the agricultural community
control or destroy the multiflora
rose and other noxious weeds.”
This legislation has the backing
ot both the Grange and Penn
sylvania Farmers’ Association.
Senate Bill 161, introduced by
Senator Clarence F. Manbeck {R
48th District) was passed by the
Senate on May 5 with a vote of 48-0.
This legislation, which deals
primarily on transportation, was
passed with an important amen
dment.
According to Linda Boyer of the
State Grange, the farm
organization has been working on
this bill because the amendment
allows for transportation of
“implements of husbandry bet
ween farms with just a slow
moving vehicle sign during
daylight hours.” She noted the
present law requires lights.
She explained this legislative
action resulted from a recent in
cident in which a Granger was
arrested for failure to have lights
on the back of his farm vehicle
during daylight hours.
Since its unanimous acceptance
by the Senate, the bill has moved to
the House Transportation Com
mittee.
Rural living
these counties are being
redesignated as metropolitan as
people move out from the cities
and commute.
The problem is that some of
these counties that technically
qualify as metropolitan actually
have thousands of people still
living in completely rural areas
and small towns.
At the same tune, the population
count may be inflating the number
of people living in truly rural
areas. Some suburban counties
that are fast absorbing the urban
overflow don’t yet qualify as
metropolitan.
So what appears to be rural
population growth is, m reality,
urban expansion. In addition, the
definition of metropolitan areas is
being broadened, so some people
now shown to be living in rural
areas will soon be officially con
sidered urban dwellers.
These subtleties of classification
become significant when program
funds are passed out. Census data
help state and federal agencies
distribute billions of dollars in
benefits to 39,000 local jurisdic
tions. The growth m rural areas
should bring them more seats in
Congress, money for health
care and housing, and community
development programs, and ex
tended credit from federal lending
(Continued from Page A 29)
But population figures can’t tell
the whole story about an area’s
needs. A growing suburban county
that is beginning to experience the
problems of the city—heightened
unemployment, congestion, drug
and alcohol abuse, need for ex
panded services—may still be
ineligible for the benefits a city
receives because it is officially
regarded as rural.
In areas of metropolitan ex
pansion, priorities can conflict, as
when the newer residents call for
more spending on schools or on
roads to meet their commuting
needs, expenses that the older
residents may not think justifiable.
The other side of the problem
can occur when a county is shown
to have a low population density,
and funds are allocated on that
basis. But the services deemed
adequate for the area may not take
into account the distance people
have to travel to obtain those
services. In this case, the locality's
specific needs are not met.
These problems aren’t being
ignored. A study of rural com
munity facilities, in which USDA is
participating, is one attempt to
find better guidelines for awarding
federal funds and credit. The study
should help pinpoint which ser
vices are needed by and available
to rural areas.