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Committee adopts amendment limiting baiting, extends surveillance reporting for chronic wasting disease and advances Senate Bill 21-37
Summary
The committee approved an amendment to Senate Bill 21-37 that sets per-site bait limits, a 50-foot setback from pastures used for animal agriculture, and a reporting requirement on disease surveillance; the committee then reported the amended bill to the floor.
The committee took up Senate Bill 21-37, a bill that addresses rules for baiting and chronic wasting disease (CWD) surveillance and testing protocols. The sponsor explained that subpart 2 would set a 50-gallon-per-site limit for bait and that the amendment's setbacks had been revised to keep bait piles out of fenced pastures used for animal agriculture. The amendment (labeled 02/2008 in committee materials) also included a requirement that the Game and Fish Department continue disease surveillance and provide a report before Dec. 31, 2028; the surveillance authority in the bill expires in 2029.
Representatives debated the amendment’s specifics, including whether the 50-foot setback should apply only to occupied pastures and concerns about fence damage if animals smell and attempt to access bait. Representative Ruby questioned whether surveillance and testing were already occurring without explicit statutory authority and said he did not “support these” provisions except for the reporting requirement. Representative Anderson and others explained operational concerns about moving animals and the difficulty of enforcing an “occupied pasture” standard and supported the setback to reduce fence damage.
Representative Anderson moved the committee adopt amendment 02/2008; Representative Doctor seconded. The clerk called roll on the amendment; the transcript records the amendment as adopted (clerk announcement: “Motion carries. Committee, we have an amended bill in front of us.”). The committee then voted to recommend a due pass on Senate Bill 21-37 as amended; the roll-call sequence is recorded in the transcript but the final numeric tally is not consistently reported in the recording.
Why it matters: The amendment sets a per-site bait limit, creates a setback intended to protect pastures used for animal agriculture, and requires continued disease surveillance with a legislatively scheduled report. Committee members said those choices were intended to balance hunting access and wildlife-disease management while addressing livestock-protection concerns.
Next steps: The committee reported the amended bill for passage and scheduled remaining bills for a future meeting.
