Armes: "This thing's been tough, ..."
One bill scheduled to be heard in a state House committee on Monday deals with the creation of the Emergency Drought Protection Special Fund.
Language of the bill as introduced by Representative Don Armes of Faxon calls for the fund to provide cost-sharing assistance, to help producers defray some of the expenses of drought response.
If it becomes law as written, it would help with providing water for livestock, pond clean-up, red cedar eradication and several other drought-response measures.
"This thing's been tough, and it's been tough a long time," Armes told KTOK. "We don't know if we're out of it or if we've another year or however long we've got. So, it's just kind of an attempt to help some of these guys stay alive."
Terms of the bill also call for the governor to first make a declaration of drought conditions, before any state money could be spent.
(Rep. Don Armes, (R) - Faxon.)
