Topeka — A measure that would increase protection of agricultural research is winding its way through the Legislature.
Sen. Stephen Morris, R-Hugoton, said Monday that his bill is designed to deter eco-terrorists from trying to destroy research crops in Kansas.
"We are trying to be proactive," Morris said. "Hopefully this will be a deterrent."
The bill would make it a felony offense to damage or destroy a research crop valued at $25,000 or more, and would allow the offender to be sued for triple damages.
The measure sailed through the Senate and is now being considered by a House committee.
The bill would protect crop development programs associated with private or governmental research, in much the same way that state law already protects using animals for research.
Morris, who is a farmer, said he doesn't believe there have been any instances of eco-terrorism in Kansas, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.
Morris is co-chairman of an agricultural task force for the Council of State Governments. The group has been studying instances of violence by extremist environmental groups at universities and technological companies involved in crop research.
The council has proposed "model" legislation for other states to follow to combat the problem. The agricultural task force, according to the council's Web site, is sponsored by agribusinesses, some of which have been hit with vandalism.
"The benefits and potential of crop biotechnology are much too valuable to a hungry world to be jeopardized by the senseless actions of a few misguided people," Morris recently wrote in an article on eco-terrorism for the council's monthly magazine.
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