28/08/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 29/08/2024 03:10
Tennessee Farm Bureau's voice is easily recognizable in the Tennessee General Assembly and in Congress, advocating for bills supporting agriculture and against potentially harmful ones. However, an area where TFBF's impact may not be seen but is equally as important is through the regulatory process, specifically by submitting public comments.
The federal government's regulatory process is lengthy. Once an agency is given the statutory authority to issue specific regulations, it develops a proposed rule - a draft proposal for how the agency intends to execute its regulations. This is made public on the Federal Register's website, and the public may provide comments for a pre-determined period - 30 to 120 days depending on the extent of rule. Once completed, the agency is required to read and consider all the comments submitted. The agency then releases a final rule, making any changes needed and responding to all comments provided.
TFBF tracks this process for multiple federal and state agencies, including the USDA, EPA, FDA and others, and provides comments on behalf of our members. After thoroughly evaluating the merits of a proposal, TFBF provides input when necessary, using both existing TFBF policy and by seeking input from commodity advisory committees, farmers and other stakeholders.
In the past year, TFBF has submitted comments or sent letters on more than 30 different regulatory actions. Some examples include:
To access comments submitted by TFBF, click here.