Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Agriculture Seed Commission topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House committee advances bill to change Alfalfa and Clover Seed Commission membership and assessment cap
Summary
The House Agriculture Affairs Committee voted to send House Bill 173 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation after sponsors and growers described shrinking membership and a request to raise the commission's assessment ceiling to one cent per pound to support research and industry representation.
Representative Sean Deigert introduced House Bill 173 to the House Agriculture Affairs Committee and the committee voted to send the bill to the full House with a due-pass recommendation.
The bill, as described by Representative Sean Deigert, would change the composition of the Alfalfa and Clover Seed Commission and increase the assessment ceiling paid on seed sales. "House Bill 173 is, relating to the alfalfa and clover seed commission," Deigert said, and described a membership structure of five growers, one University of Idaho representative and one dealer. He told the committee the proposal would move the assessment cap from "one fourth of a cent to a cap of 1¢." Deigert said growers themselves requested the change.
Rick Whateley, who identified himself as administrator of the Idaho Alfalfa Clover Seed Commission and executive director of the grower association, told the committee the industry had shrunk and the commission has had difficulty filling seats. "The commission can only do three things, education, research, and promotion," Whateley said, explaining why the commission has sought both tighter coordination with the growers association and more stable funding for research and outreach.
Grower testimony described how assessment revenue is used. Paul Raskershek, who said he farms south of Nampa, told lawmakers his organization relies on national association work to secure pesticide approvals and that those dues and research partnerships are a substantial part of the commission's budget. Raskershek said the industry has lost acreage and value over several decades, and the assessment helps cover the cost of maintaining entomology and other research support.
Committee members asked about mechanics of the assessment increase and caps. Members noted the current assessment was 0.005 (one-half cent) and asked how the bill's language would allow increases up to the new 1¢ ceiling. Representative Deigert clarified the bill sets the ceiling at 1¢ and that any intermediate increases would be subject to the existing process recorded in statute and administrative practice.
Representative Miller moved that the committee send House Bill 173 to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation; the motion passed on a voice vote. Representative Deigert will be the floor sponsor.
The committee also approved the minutes from the committee's prior meeting at the start of the session.
