“(In Kelo vs New London) the (U.S) Supreme Court made it very clear in their decision that the states have the right to limit the purposes for which a municipality can take private property by eminent domain, and the Connecticut General Assembly will consider several bills on this subject next year (2006). The General Assembly’s Planning and Development Committee held a public hearing in August where I testified about our concerns. My testimony was picked up by the media, and we have since had several inquiries about the Grange’s position on the taking of interests in private property for economic development.

The Legislative Committee has always encouraged our Pomona and Subordinate Granges to become active in legislative affairs, and the Kelo case is a good example of how this can be accomplished. North Stonington Community Grange held an open meeting at which Suzette Kelo, the lead plaintiff in Kelo v. New London, explained what had happened and why the residents were fighting so vigorously to preserve their property. The media covered the meeting, which resulted in significant publicity for North Stonington Community Grange even though there was no proposal to take any property in North Stonington.”

“Since our departure last June, the legislative department has been busy at work drafting legislation and communicating with elected officials about the many issues of interest to our members. We successfully passed Initiative 872 in November (2004), defeated the much talked about change to the constitution to allow a simple majority for school levies, secured funding for the Alternative Dispute Resolution program that the Grange administers for the purpose of Agricultural Employment Disputes and defeated a number of bills relating to energy rates, water rights and telecommunications, that would have harmed our members. Although we couldn’t stop all bad legislation from passing this year, we were on record opposing some very controversial issues such as the gas tax, the inheritance tax and the California Vehicle Emissions Standards (greenhouse gases) bill. “

“This year in March we had another successful legislative trip with 48 NC Grangers visiting Philadelphia, PA, where we learned about the founding principals of democracy in our country.

Next, we traveled on to Washington, DC, where we networked and attended workshops with other Grange members from across the nation. We also visited with and distributed the updated NC State Grange Policy Book to all of North Carolina's Congressional delegation. This year we again partnered with the North Carolina Agribusiness Council in AG Day at the General Assembly on June 15 th with nearly one hundred Grange members from across the state taking part in the day's activities. I also traveled to different areas of North Carolina to organize and promote Grange membership rallies.”

During the State Grange Session past State Grange Legislative Director James Tetreault presented the annual Clesson “Junie” Blaisdell Award for Excellence in Government to Ray Buckley, former Legislator and current Co-Chair of the NH Democratic Party.

“Outstanding Legislator Awards” were presented to Representative Mary Jane Wallner of Concord and Representative Derek Owen of Hopkinton. State Master John H. West will present a third “Outstanding Legislator Award” to Barbara Hull Richardson of Richmond, who was unable to attend the convention.