Committee keeps pet-food fee funding for statewide spay-and-neuter program, adds farm-product permitting exemption

The West Virginia Senate Agriculture Committee voted to report the engrossed committee substitute for House Bill 2158 to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass as amended and, under the bill's double reference, first be referred to the committee on Government Organization.

Committee counsel told members that HB 2158 would amend West Virginia Code §19-4-5 to remove the June 2027 sunset on registration fees charged on bulk and non-bulk pet food packages; those fees are used to fund the West Virginia spay-and-neuter program. Removing the sunset would allow that funding mechanism to continue indefinitely.

Counsel said a strike-and-insert amendment before the committee incorporates changes from Senate Bill 686 (which passed the Senate the day before) to clarify that a person who sells products produced entirely on his or her own farm is not required to obtain a commercial feed distributor permit from the Department of Agriculture. Committee counsel explained the amendment prevents a code conflict between the fee statute and the permit requirements.

The vice chair moved the strike-and-insert amendment and the committee adopted the amendment by voice vote. The vice chair then moved that the engrossed committee substitute for HB 2158 be reported to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass as amended and first be referred to the Government Organization Committee; the chair put the question by voice vote and declared the motion adopted. Committee members did not record individual roll-call votes in the committee transcript.

Committee counsel noted the current measure is identical to Senate Bill 578, which the committee had reported earlier, and that prior amendments from Senate Bill 686 were incorporated into the substitute before the panel.

With the committee's recommendation, HB 2158 will proceed to the Government Organization Committee under its double reference and then to the full Senate for further consideration.

Votes at a glance: HB 2158 (engrossed committee substitute) — Strike-and-insert amendment adopted; motion to report to full Senate with recommendation that it pass as amended and to refer first to Government Organization; mover: Vice Chair (Senate Agriculture Committee); outcome: adopted by voice vote; vote tally not specified.