Not Ethanol & Carrying Guns

Not Ethanol & Carrying Guns. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Back in the 1800’s it was commonplace to carry a weapon. Today, it is a much different story. Idaho’s Senate State Affairs Committee approved a bill to shield companies from any civil liability if they let employees store guns lawfully in their cars at work. The 5-3 vote overcame trial lawyer complaints the bill was discriminatory because it didn't extend similar protections to businesses with policies forbidding workers from leaving firearms in cars parked on an employer's private property. The bill, which won objections from the panel's Democrats, has already passed the Idaho House.

A report released last week by the Congressional Budget Office proved that high energy costs had a greater impact on food prices than the use of ethanol. Key industry leaders discussed the reports findings that corn prices from expanded ethanol production only contributed between five and eight-tenths of a percentage point to the 5.1-percent increase in food prices from April of 2007 to April of 2008. American Farm Bureau’s Bob Stallman.

STALLMAN: The Congressional Budget Office report that recently came out stating that certain other factors, things like higher energy costs had a greater effect on food prices than did the use of ethanol as a motor fuel we thought was very important. The results come as no surprise to us as we have been saying that ethanol’s role in food price increases was minimal.

Now here’s today’s Washington Grange Report.

(GRANGE)

That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.