House Bill 1122

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM REGULATING CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL OPERATION ACTIVITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local government may not adopt any ordinance, regulation, rule or policy to prohibit, restrict, regulate or otherwise limit activities of an agricultural operation, including:

(a) Forestry activity on land that is classified as agricultural land; or

(b) Unclassified land where the activity is a traditional farm practice or is regulated and/or developed by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce or the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the terms "agricultural operation," "forestry activity" and "traditional farm practices" shall be defined as provided in Section 95-3-29(2).

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.