The Ohio House of Representatives Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee accepted a substitute version of House Bill 276, which clarifies state zoning and tax laws for land used to grow crops for energy production. As introduced earlier this year, HB 276 revises the definition of "agriculture" for purposes of the statutes governing county zoning and township zoning to include biodiesel production, biomass energy production, electric or heat energy production, and biologically derived methane gas production, and defines "biodiesel," "biomass energy," "electric or heat energy," and "biologically derived methane gas."
HB 276 also revises the definition of "land devoted exclusively to agricultural use" for purposes of the statutes that govern current agricultural use valuation of real property for real property tax assessment to include land devoted exclusively to biodiesel production, biomass energy production, electric or heat energy production, or biologically derived methane gas production. Among other things, the substitute version of the bill adds a provision that the Ohio Department of Agriculture may permit a digester placed at a concentrated animal feeding facility, and adds provisions regarding agricultural production of algae.
