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5 <br />submitted to member boards of county commissioners for review and comment prior to <br />being submitted to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. <br />6. Second Primary — Seek legislation to eliminate second primary elections. <br />7. Transfer of Development Rights — Support legislation to allow a county to implement <br />TDRs as another tool to promote good land -use policy. <br />8. Retired County Commissioner Health Benefits — Support legislation to provide that <br />former county commissioners are eligible to participate in health care benefits provided <br />by county government. <br />Agriculture <br />1. Fund Agricultural Research and Extension Services — Support legislation to increase <br />funding for Agricultural research and Extension services offered through North Carolina <br />State University and North Carolina A &T State University and to assure that existing <br />research stations are maintained at the current level of service. <br />Support Conservation of Working Lands and Farmland Preservation — Support <br />efforts to promote and conserve working lands, including 1) legislation that includes <br />horticulture, forestry and farmland as part of the state recreation and tourism plan, with <br />emphasis on the protection and support of private working lands; 2) legislation that <br />retains the present use value tax break for working agricultural, horticultural and forestry <br />lands but does not further dilute its status by expanding the tax break to non - agricultural, <br />non - working lands including non - working conservation properties; and 3) legislation to <br />expand funding of the Agricultural Development and Farm Land Preservation Trust Fund <br />and to create a dedicated revenue source to assure continued and stable fund <br />maintenance. <br />(See also Item #33 of Orange County's Legislative Matters <br />Resolution) <br />Orange County supports a conservation option under the Use <br />Value Program. <br />Orange County also supports a revision to the revenue and <br />acreage requirements of the Use Value Program. Many <br />operations can easily meet the revenue requirements but do not <br />meet the minimum ten acres threshold for agricultural <br />operations. It is suggested that a pilot program be established for <br />several counties including Orange that reduces the acreage <br />requirement and raises the revenue requirement from $1,000 to <br />$5,000. The results from a pilot program could then be evaluated <br />for implementation statewide. <br />