We are back with another weekly round up of agricultural law news from around the country.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 
on Unsplash
* Texas law requires confirming homestead exemption status every 5 years. A new law, passed in 2023, requires appraisal districts in Texas to determine eligibility for a homestead exemption every 5 years. Appraisal districts will do this by sending out a letter seeking confirmation of homestead status. It is critical that homeowners do not ignore this letter! [Read article here.]
*Senate agriculture committee advances nomination of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. A unanimous vote of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry has advanced USDA Secretary nominee Brooke Rollins to a full Senate vote. [Read article here.]
* Federal funding pause enacted, rescinded by a memo, enjoined by court. In what was a whirlwind situation, the Office of Management and Budget issued a memo on January 27 requiring federal agencies to temporarily pause certain federal funding activities. The next day, the D.C. District Court issued a stay of the memo until February 3. Then, on January 29, the OMB issued another memo rescinding that initial memo. On the same day, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a TRO against the freeze. On February 3, the D. C. District Court issued a temporary restraining order ordering agencies to release funds on open awards and requiring OMB to provide a status report by February 7 on its compliance with this order. The result from this has been a good deal of confusion across the country for many federal programs.
*Colorado Supreme Court holds elephants not subject to habeas corpus. In January, the Colorado Supreme Court sided with the defendants in Nonhuman Rights Project, Inc v. Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society. In this case, an animal rights group sought a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of five elephants. The court held that the liberty interest protected by the writ of habeas corpus applies to humans and is not extended to nonhuman animals. [Read Order here and blog post here.]
*Legal fight over Corporate Transparency Act continues. As we have covered in numerous prior blog posts, the legal fight over the constitutionality of the Corporate Transparency Act’s Beneficial Ownership Requirement continues. I was recently interviewed by Successful Farming about where things currently stand. [Read article here.]
*How to preserve harmony with your farm and ranch estate plan. I’ve come across two articles over the past couple of weeks aimed at keeping peace when working through an estate plan. The first, published by Farm Progress, focuses specifically on farm and ranch families. [Read article here.] The second, while not agriculture-specific is a great article that offers 6 practical tips for folks to think through when setting up an estate plan. [Read article here.]
Upcoming Programs
I’ll be hitting the road again on February 17 to speak in Ft. Worth at the Greater Ft. Worth Association of Realtors. The following day, I will be in Tyler for the Northeast Texas Land Summit. To see a complete list of my upcoming presentations, click here.
