[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6628282,"mediaKeyId","2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6","parentId",2718415,"title","House Agriculture committee: quick concurrence on multiple Senate bills (votes at a glance)","audioSeconds",59,"startMs",2079000,"endMs",2138000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6&start=2079&end=2138","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6/thumbnail_2079000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6628282/Montana/House-Agriculture-committee-quick-concurrence-on-multiple-Senate-bills-votes-at-a-glance","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6628282-4eb6fb5d35bdf058cc0ff15ff6c99a6b/orig.mp4?Expires=1776632850&Signature=njl833UIcvjgIq4mSontXoakFps5zx6XEW6kpTjGA2EsRxDa70H2QFdkeyXtDCCj0jjxOfYzIURXci04FhjLoTYPdnWHDlV-yNFrGSv-kXyKATFDyojM~dkcYt1sDqN8Chjx2UTcKzcYl~n-SxlD1ddeSthppRuXux0wPmsH-I-BrqGOREmDNmP4QLFf4PG5PjdtaANJKDlXi2DSbYE1jKFUe~q5NL9ncO0XKvxyFUmyrbPOb5~LRMcU2DS9m5JceZM9UJgJr2u2-inEOrz-ld68JuSD0MOIAvE19soZNsYW-E-sBBRDX20R2FGcc~vzjr3Jr~AF6ybHFQAG6kZMsg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Montana Legislature","date","2025-03-20T00:00:00Z","article","The Montana House Committee on Agriculture held executive action and concurred in multiple Senate bills during the hearing.

Votes and short summaries

- Senate Bill 78 — Concurred 17-0. Removes the requirement that each dressed carcass be ink-stamped after slaughter; Department of Livestock testified the change is a code cleanup and inspections/ownership verification will continue.

- Senate Bill 79 — Concurred 17-0. Described in the hearing as a bill repealing inspection requirements and penalties related to dead animals and feedlots; committee took a voice vote and recorded 17 ayes.

- Senate Bill 80 — Concurred 17-0. The bill was acted on during executive action and the committee recorded 17 ayes and 0 noes; the hearing record in this transcript does not include an extended floor description of SB80.

- Senate Bill 161 — Concurred 17-0 (as amended). Defines aquaculture and controlled conditions, allows sale of aquaculture products produced under controlled conditions, and grants rulemaking authority; amendment 161.201 (listed in the hearing as 161.2 0.1) adding “ocean” to the list of excluded water bodies was adopted before final concurrence.

Procedure and proxies

Most motions were moved from the vice chair; votes were taken by voice with proxy votes recorded in the transcript (multiple representatives recorded as voting aye by proxy). The committee recorded final tallies for the above bills as 17 ayes and 0 noes, and sent each bill to the House floor with concurrence.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Agriculture - Mar 20, 2025 16:15 - 19:15","oneSentenceSummary","The House Agriculture Committee took executive action and concurred in four Senate bills during the session: SB78 (carcass stamping repeal), SB79 (repeal related inspections/penalties), SB80 (unspecified in hearing text), and SB161 (aquaculture). Most bills passed on voice/electronic tallies recorded as 17-0.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature MT, Montana","taxId",77694,"location","Montana","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6628286,"Committee concurs in bill repealing ink-stamp requirement on dressed carcasses",478,1530000,2008000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6&start=1530&end=2008","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6/thumbnail_1530000.jpg","/articles/6628286/Montana/Committee-concurs-in-bill-repealing-ink-stamp-requirement-on-dressed-carcasses","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6628286-4577421b2151d6415b985238093cff63/orig.mp4?Expires=1776632850&Signature=Rf54t0EAFdMqD5FpAccMT2NJyojmaeBZDOdRHbmYFR1fL4RbbhK5RhkJ06rIsGLQmFO~psfH4jsKdAtiA68jIgVgQ5l9b1fdQ-LBUNp8GFEqwf3vdlBkbs6RVyijnVu4rtKAPKDHCIRmkpErO69U-pdUTkSHIrFmIdTU6YJKrpq9lg~~c~aLQzWxt-vLiVDIb4ZXcop3Ct4WcTHu4cguBgzhBFNYL91wc9MUYF6TFxMUgQltXltg-UuHFtrDi4HcUk6VD-lIKdAM-lNWws2nflNxt3qtxd2dsuzcBe~B0VJxH7tA-A07qW4OlvIR2ySGEBC2e514GzwaO3vx8K-qkA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Montana House Committee on Agriculture on Monday concurred in Senate Bill 78, a bill that eliminates an outdated requirement that each dressed carcass be stamped after slaughter.

Senator Josh Kassmayer (Senate District 13), the bill’s sponsor in the hearing, said the ink-stamp requirement dated to earlier statutes and that current inspection practices already verify ownership and ensure animal inspection prior to slaughter. Jay Bodner, brands division administrator for the Montana Department of Livestock, told the committee the statute appears to date back to at least 1931 and that department practices already verify ownership through pre-slaughter and hide inspections.

Committee members asked whether the change would affect ownership verification or daily compliance; witnesses and the sponsor said inspections and brand verifications will continue, and the code cleanup removes a redundant stamping requirement rather than eliminating inspection. Representative Griffith noted language on the second page deleting a provision exempting those who kill livestock in good faith for personal use; Bodner said that provision is redundant because the statute already refers to the exemption earlier in the code.

Vice Chair Carter moved concurrence; the committee recorded a voice/electronic tally of 17 ayes and 0 noes. Representatives Romano and Lynch were recorded voting aye by proxy, as were other members noted in the record. The committee sent the bill to the House floor with concurrence.

Committee members described the measure as a cleanup of archaic code rather than a change to current inspection practice.","The House Agriculture Committee concurred 17-0 in Senate Bill 78, which removes an outdated requirement that each dressed carcass be ink-stamped and cleans up related redundant provisions; the Department of Livestock supported the change as a code cleanup.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6628291,"Montana committee backs bill to regulate and allow sale of farm-raised shrimp",1515,760000,2275000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6&start=760&end=2275","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2718415-d6b099e8c96a942477bcaf74c043eea6/thumbnail_760000.jpg","/articles/6628291/Montana/Montana-committee-backs-bill-to-regulate-and-allow-sale-of-farm-raised-shrimp","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6628291-ab6281ddbaec74975f27eacab4325514/orig.mp4?Expires=1776632850&Signature=ojP8d8h2qFCRWIS9KHTz-yKZ-cTU203pMjNcPI-g6CtBTX47CGbF25JiqeGtvyj6jE67p1MkCNQgyXlviM6aJbz2QKZ1mNx4xGPSYqvxllVnZLiZ9ujqUzJTx4t3A1FHUKQcCKyn580Hny2qByAsK8qqwltHOVbWX0L~eh2L3qxWJDzJ4H9Oyv~~g30SHH3QhWhsQyJXsVkcshYJuEbKp5CmE-CDXh~Wuy4sdY~O1LZ5ZZyP-LrmuKEIeqVzVy43jsNuzzqSbpN6226Hm-blSMHLdE2e11J1FmfiA4YhJHPvVLbjd-81R2HkMJR4kU83GD9pxrlQ7h9gPfAqioU8MA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Montana House Committee on Agriculture on Monday concurred in Senate Bill 161, a measure that defines aquaculture and clears a statutory path for producers to sell farm-raised aquatic products in-state, including shrimp raised in controlled indoor systems.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Greg Hertz, R-Polson (Senate District 7), told the committee he drafted the bill after meeting with a Montana grower who raises shrimp in above-ground, controlled systems. Hertz said the bill recognizes aquaculture as an agricultural product, adds definitions for “aquaculture” and “controlled conditions,” and creates an exemption that will allow aquaculture products to be treated as raw agricultural products for sale.

The bill’s supporters said the change will let small producers sell to restaurants and retailers year-round, not only at seasonal farmers markets. Clayton Elliott, representing Montana Charter Unlimited, said he had asked for and supported narrowly tailored definitions in the Senate to avoid creating loopholes similar to prior bills on private fish ponds. Jim Vaughan, owner of Mission Valley Shrimp, described his indoor, tank-based system and explained that shrimp reach market size within months, allowing producers to stagger cycles and maintain year-round production.

Mercedes Oberlie of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services spoke as an informational witness and offered to provide the committee with the department’s perspective on licensing, inspection and food-safety approaches. Anna Kechkes, agency legal counsel for the Department of Agriculture, was also present to answer technical questions.

Committee members adopted amendment 161.201 (listed in the hearing as 161.2 0.1), which adds “ocean” to the list of water bodies excluded from the statutory definition of “controlled conditions.” After the amendment passed, Vice Chair Carter moved concurrence on the bill as amended. The committee recorded an electronic/voice tally of 17 ayes and 0 noes; proxies included representatives recorded as voting aye by proxy. The committee sent the bill to the House floor with concurrence.

The bill text referenced statutory cross-references and specific definitions; during discussion Hertz quoted a numeric reference used in the draft (noted in the hearing as “83 3 0 2”) to illustrate where the bill inserted aquaculture into existing code lists. The bill also grants rulemaking authority to implement the new definitions and exemptions.

Supporters framed the bill as enabling a new small-scale agricultural enterprise in Montana and as consistent with how other states treat aquaculture; informational witnesses offered to help the committee and the implementing agencies coordinate on inspection and food-safety implementation.

The committee closed the hearing after agreeing who would carry the bill to the House floor.","The House Agriculture Committee concurred in Senate Bill 161, which creates a statutory definition for aquaculture and allows sale of aquaculture products produced under controlled conditions in Montana; an amendment adding “ocean” to the list of excluded water bodies was adopted before final concurrence (17-0).","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

House Agriculture committee: quick concurrence on multiple Senate bills (votes at a glance)

Committee concurs in bill repealing ink-stamp requirement on dressed carcasses

Montana committee backs bill to regulate and allow sale of farm-raised shrimp