2756

VETOES

of $500,000 to fund a Farmer Disaster Loan Program
established by the bill- Under that program, the State
Department of Agriculture, from the proceeds of the
bonds, may make loans up to $15,000 to farmers who have
suffered losses to their farmlands, buildings, crops, or
livestocks as the result of a natural disaster. There
are four conditions of eligibility; namely,

(1)    The Governor must have declared a state of
emergency because of a natural disaster;

(2)    The applicant must have suffered an actual
loss;

(3)    The applicant must be unable to qualify for a
federal farm loan; and

(4)    The applicant must apply for the loan within
six months after the natural disaster.

I have no objection to a measure reasonably
necessary to help farmers recover from the effects of a
natural disaster; but I do have one major concern about
this bill.

My concern is over the use of general obligation
bonds to finance the program. Should a major disaster
occur, the $500,000 fund provided for in Senate Bill 349
would be wholly inadequate, as it would permit only
thirty-three loans at the $15,000 level. In addition, it
would be unlikely that any loans could be made until the
bonds were sold, which may involve a delay of several
months. A more appropriate method of funding this
program would be to create a revolving fund within the
Department of Agriculture, which can be done with general
funds.

For this reason, I have vetoed Senate Bill 349.

Sincerely,
Marvin Mandel
Governor

Senate Bill No. 364 — State Soil Conservation Committee

AN ACT concerning

Merit System — Employees of State Soil
Conservation Committee