Governor Cooper’s veto of House Bill 467, a bill that would limit liability in agricultural nuisance cases, is halfway to being overridden. The N.C. House voted 74–40 in favor of the override; the vote was mostly along party lines, with Republicans voting for it. The timing is interesting, given that less than a week ago, […]
Ken Fine and Erica Hellerstein
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Court Documents: DNA Samples Indicate That N.C. Hog Farms Sprayed Pig Feces on Neighbors’ Homes
During a debate last month over House Bill 467which contained a failed provision to shield hog farms owned by a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods from twenty-six federal nuisance lawsuits brought by their neighborsstate Representative Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin and Wayne, called claims that hog waste was ending up on people’s homes preposterous. “These allegations are at […]
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UPDATED: Study Shows N.C. Hog Farms Spray Hog Poop on Neighbors’ Homes; Cooper Vetoes HB 467
During a debate last month over House Bill 467—a failed proposal to shield hog farms owned by a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods from twenty-six federal nuisance lawsuits brought by their neighbors—state representative and bill sponsor Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin and Wayne, called claims that hog waste was ending up on people’s homes preposterous. What’s more, he […]
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The Hog-Farm-Protection Bill Passed the House Monday, But Twenty-Six Lawsuits Against a Smithfield Foods Subsidiary Can Proceed
A controversial hog-farm-protection bill that’s quickly moving through the legislature passed its third House reading Monday and is now headed to the Senatewith one important change. As the INDY previously reported, HB 467 would protect hog farmers from lawsuits filed by their neighbors. It would shield agricultural operationsincluding hog farmsfrom myriad legal claims and cap […]
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House Poised to Send Controversial Hog-Farm-Protection Bill to Senate
A vote that could send a controversial hog-farm-protection bill to the state Senate is scheduled for this afternoon at five o’clock. The INDY has previously reported that state Representative Jimmy Dixon—who has received $115,000 in campaign contributions from the pork industry—is the chief sponsor of HB 467, which would protect hog farmers from myriad legal […]
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Big Pork Has Given $272,000 to House Republicans Who Voted in Favor of Hog-Farm-Protection Bill
The INDY has previously reported that state Representative JimmyDixon—who has received $115,000 in campaign contributions from the pork industry—is the chief sponsor of a controversial hog-farm-protection bill that passed its second reading in the House Thursday under strange circumstances. And if you’ve been following this story, you know that HB 467 would protect hog farmers […]
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Hog Farm-Protection Bill Passes State House Under Weird Circumstances
A controversial hog-farm-protection bill—cosponsored by State Representative Jimmy Dixon, who has taken more than $115,000 from Big Pork during his political career—passed its second reading Thursday in bizarre fashion. The vote for the bill, HB 467—which protects farmers from myriad legal claims, including twenty-six active lawsuits filed against Murphy-Brown LLC, the hog division of China […]
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State Representative Jimmy Dixon Collected $115,000 from Big Pork, Then Tried to Make the Industry’s Legal Troubles Go Away
State Representative Jimmy Dixon, R-Wayne and Duplin, the first to speak during a packed committee hearing inside the legislature last Wednesday, kicked things off with a strange request. “I want to take us back a few years, to 1859, when soon-to-be President Abraham Lincoln addressed the opening day of the Wisconsin Agriculture Fair,” he said. […]