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Lengthy committee hearing on meat‑inspection exemption exposes legal and practical obstacles
Summary
Representative Comteuil’s HB 396, which would ease intrastate restrictions on selling slaughtered meat cuts, prompted a long hearing. Agriculture and legal experts warned the bill would conflict with federal law; farmers and some senators urged the committee to seek federal solutions or carefully crafted pilot programs.
Lede: A large, often emotive hearing on HB 396 — a sponsor‑led effort to let New Hampshire consumers buy individual cuts of meat processed and sold in‑state — highlighted wide divisions between small‑farm advocates and state and federal legal officials.
Nut graf: Supporters said the bill would expand market access for small livestock producers and reduce burdensome waits at USDA processors; opponents, including the state agriculture commissioner and Farm Bureau, said the statute as drafted would run into federal preemption and legal risk, and urged the committee to pursue federal fixes such as the Prime Act or USDA pilot programs instead.
Body: Representative Barbara Comteuil, sponsor of HB 396, said the bill aimed to give…
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