Ms. Carla Petrrson of the Fiscal Research Division pre- 

 sented information on State tax incentives available for N, C. 

 farmers. Farmers receive tax advantages from the income, 

 sales, and property taxes with the largest advantages to 

 farmers coming from the sales tax. 



The meeting ended with a report from James Harrington, 

 Secretary of the Department of Transportation, on the abandon- 

 ment of the Albemarle Sound Railroad Bridge. The bridge is 

 obsolete and would cost $20 million to replace. He reported 

 that the Department of Transportation is considering several 

 alternatives to replacing the bridge. 



Whale the Agriculture, Forestry and Seafood Awareness 

 Study Commission was meeting, its Technical Advisory Committee 

 (TAC) , under the chairmanship of the former Senator Vernon 

 White, began holding its own meetings. They met five times in 

 1985 to develop recommendations for the Agriculture, Forestry 

 and Seafood Awareness Studv Commission. Initially, the Techni- 

 cal Advisory Committee prepared recommendations for the Commis- 

 sion before the 1986 Session of the General Assembly. 



These initia] recommendations were reviewed by the Commis- 

 sion at its September 10, 1986 meeting. Since many of the 

 TAC ' s recommendations were enacted by the 1986 General Assem- 

 bly, the Commission requested that the? Technical Advisory 

 Committee revise its recommendations and present them at the 

 next meeting of the Agriculture, Forestry and Seafood Av/areness 

 Study Commission. 



