Lawmakers approved a bill Thursday that could grant some protection to Alabama farmers.

“We passed the Family Farm Preservation Act,” said Rep. Alan Boothe, D-Troy.

Boothe said that the bill has been in the Legislature for several years, but Thursday it passed both the house and senate and now awaits approval by Gov. Bob Riley.

“That will help a lot of people,” he said.

Alabamian farmers, whose land is becoming surrounded by city sprawl, will be protected from complaints by parties like subdivision developers against animals or farm equipment.

Boothe said that if the farm was there first, it takes precedence.

“I support it 100 percent,” Boothe said. “We need to do all we can to preserve the farm systems we have. We depend so much on farming.”

In other Legislative action, the house received the recently senate-approved bill regarding electronic gaming.

Boothe said significant studying and debate would be required before he could determine his stance on the proposal.

“Something that big is not something I take lightly,” he said.

“There’s a lot of things I need to find out before I can say how I’m going to vote on that bill.”

The bill will be assigned to a house committee next Wednesday before being brought to the house for a second reading.