Tag Archives: Sen. Bill Cook

Commentary: Questions abound with industrial oyster farm bill, It’s dirty – plain and simple.

Wonder what all the heartburn is about with the oyster restoration bill sponsored by local legislators Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, and Rep. Beverly Boswell, R-Dare? It’s dirty – plain and simple. And although the who, what and how parts are now visible, there are a ton of questions about various entities that are yet to be answered. The North Carolina Coastal Federation is taking the heat for the oyster aquaculture bill, H361, that contains a few needed fixes but primarily was written to benefit one company – a foreign company with a murky record in other states where it does business. But the Coastal Federation and the collaboratory that was appointed to map out a plan to grow the state’s oyster industry didn’t write the bill. >click to read<10:14

Bill’s changes would allow industrial-scale oyster farming in N.C.

Should oyster farming in North Carolina be a cottage industry or marine industrial operations owned by nonresident corporations? That is the question facing legislators working on changes to the state’s oyster aquaculture statutes enacted in 2017. Senate Bill 738, sponsored by Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow and Sen. Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico, drew strong opinions when it was discussed on May 30 at a meeting of the Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee co-chaired by Cook and Sanderson. >click to read<11:46

 

Boswell, Cook sponsor bills aimed at shrimping rule petition

Two bills were introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly last week in response to the Marine Fisheries Commission’s recent endorsement of a petition for rule-making that could limit the shrimp industry in coastal waters. On Wednesday, Sen. Bill Cook (R-Beaufort) filed Senate Bill 432, which would require the completion of a study of shrimp gear. It also calls for gathering viewpoints from all sides. On Thursday, Rep. Beverly Boswell (R-Dare) introduced House Bill 545, which calls on the Fisheries Commission to follow the recommendations of advisory committees when exercising its rule-making powers. The bill would also require the commission to formally adopt a resolution of rejection when it acts against recommendations from the advisory panels. continue reading the article here 10:13