Brief ⁽¹⁾

HB 2101, as amended, would create the Plant Pest Emergency Response Fund in the State Treasury. The fund would be funded by a fee assessed to nursery dealers or to holders of nursery certificates issued by the Kansas Department of Agriculture. The fee would be fixed by rule and regulation, except that the fee could not exceed $5. The fee would be imposed until there is $15,000 in the fund and then the fee would be suspended until the balance of the fund is less than $15,000 when the fee may be reimposed by the Secretary.

Under the bill, the Secretary of Agriculture would be authorized and empowered to make expenditures from the fund in order to mitigate plant pests that have been identified as having the potential to damage agriculture, horticulture, or the environment.

Background

This bill was introduced at the request of the Secretary of Agriculture. At the hearing on the bill, the only conferee was the Secretary of Agriculture. The Secretary stated that the bill would allow the Department through the plant pest and weed control program to more effectively fulfill its responsibility to protect the state's natural and cultivated resources from plant pests by providing the capability to rapidly respond to the introduction of harmful plant pests whether they be insects, plant disease, or weeds. She indicated that rapid mitigation would reduce the potential harm to Kansas agriculture, horticulture, and the environment. The Secretary's testimony indicated some of the pests which such a fund could help address. Included were the pine pitch moth, Grecian foxglove, and the oriental beetle.

The House Committee on Agriculture added the language which established the cap on the fund and allowed for the fee to be reimposed when the fund balance is reduced because of expenditures.

The Senate Agriculture Committee amended the bill to make the reimposition of the fee permissive rather than mandatory when the fund is less than $15,000.

The fiscal note on the bill indicates that approximately $7,000 would be raised annually by the fee imposed in the bill.

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