Brief (1)
SB 334 would amend provisions of the commercial feeding stuffs law to allow the Secretary of Agriculture to issue and enforce written or printed stop sale orders for any commercial feeding stuff which contains or may contain any substance injurious to the public health. The bill also would make it a violation of the law to sell, offer or expose for sale, or distribute any commercial feeding stuff which may be injurious to public health.
The bill also would give the Secretary civil penalty authority for violations of the commercial feeding stuff law or any rules and regulations adopted under the law. The civil penalty would be in an amount of not more than $1,000 per violation, with every day being a separate violation. The civil penalty would be subject to review in accordance with the Act for Judicial Review and Civil Enforcement of Agency Actions. The bill would make violations of the law or its rules and regulations a class A, nonperson misdemeanor.
Further, the bill would give new authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to seize in place any commercial feeding stuff until such time as that the final disposition of the affected feeding stuffs has been determined by sampling and analysis. Within 30 days of seizure in place, the Secretary would issue an order establishing measures to prevent further contamination or the threat to public or animal health. The Secretary would have the authority to order the destruction of contaminated feeding stuffs if no alternative assures that further contamination or health hazards are averted.
Background
This bill was introduced in order to provide the Secretary of Agriculture additional authorities with respect to the emerging issue of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Europe. The Secretary explained that commercial feeding stuffs is the first line defense in the control and detection of BSE and that the prohibition of feeding of animal proteins to ruminants was a necessary action. The additional authority would ensure that rendering plants and feed mills are complying with the law. BSE has never been found in the United States and several federal actions have been put into place to help assure that it never does. Also appearing in support of the bill was a spokesperson from the Kansas Livestock Association and a representative of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association. Several other conferees appeared on the bill and requested amendments to the Commercial Fertilizer Law.
The Senate Agriculture Committee made an amendment to the violation section of the bill by making a violation of the Commercial Feeding Stuffs Law a class A, nonperson misdemeanor.
No fiscal note for this bill was available.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/fulltext.cgi