A member of the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1991 radically changed the original intent of legislation that was to establish the licensing and bonding of grain dealers in the state.
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As a consequence, Senate Bill 254 never became law.
This year, Turner Grain Merchandising of Brinkley stopped making payments on contracts with Arkansas farmers, after receiving grain valued at possibly tens of millions of dollars, based on current estimates by state agriculture officials.
The Legislature is expected to take up a measure in January to protect grain farmers from such business catastrophes. Many states require licensing and bonding of grain dealers.
Though he was not a member of the Agriculture and Economic Development Committee, which took up the bill, Rep. L.L. "Doc" Bryan, D-Russellville, introduced an amendment in 1991, according to records in the secretary of state's office. Bryan died in 1995.
The bill as approved by the Senate 32-0 read:
"'Grain dealer' or 'dealer' means any person who buys grain ... for processing, including, but not limited to, feed, seed and products for human consumption as defined ... under this act."
The amendment said:
"Amend Senate Bill No. 254 as originally introduced by striking the word and comma 'feed' on line 28 of page 1 AND by inserting a new sentence after the period at the end of line 29 of page 1 to read as follows:
"The term 'grain dealer' or 'dealer' shall not include any person buying grain for processing into animal feed or other commercial food stuffs."
Current state Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, said, "I do think it substantially weakened the bill. What I gathered was that it was a hostile amendment ... with the intent of killing it."
Darryl Little, director of the state Plant Board, said that the amendment would "essentially exempt anything" from oversight.
Bryan, who became speaker of the House in 1993, had been criticized for serving in the House while he was a staff member of the Arkansas Poultry Federation, one of the state's most politically influential organizations at the time, and a major consumer of grain. The Legislative Directory for the 1991 session listed him as retired.
Marvin Childers, president of The Poultry Federation, as it was renamed in 1998 when Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma merged their organizations, said Thursday that "naturally, we want to take a long look" at any legislation.
About 150 million chickens are fed every day in Arkansas, Childers said.
Lu Hardin, who was a state senator then, recalled that he introduced SB 254 at the request of the Farm Bureau, a state association of farmers.
Hardin said in an interview this week that it was a "basic, straightforward" bill designed to protect farmers. Nevertheless, he said he pulled the bill. Yet, "if the bill had gone through the House, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
It was not resubmitted in following legislative sessions. Bell said, "The Legislature dropped it like a hot potato."
But the Legislature will pick up the issue in the legislative session that starts in January.
Business on 09/06/2014