Senate committee backs bill to raise brand board fee caps after stakeholder plan to shore up funding

The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1016 to the floor with a do‑pass recommendation after the Idaho Brand Board and livestock industry stakeholders described a multi‑year plan to stabilize the board's finances.

Cody Berlisle, director of the Idaho Brand Board and Idaho state brand inspector, told the committee that Idaho is home to more than 2,500,000 cattle and that brand inspectors verified ownership on 2,200,000 head of livestock last year. "We recovered and returned livestock valued at over $250,000 and prevented more than $600,000 of questionable ownership funds from being wrongfully distributed," Berlisle said, adding the board has a 98% return rate on livestock that are found.

The bill would amend provisions in Title 25, Chapter 11 of the Idaho Code that govern brand recording and brand inspection, increase statutory caps on service fees the board may charge, and allow the board to retain interest earned on its dedicated fund rather than reverting that interest to the state general fund. Berlisle told senators the fee caps have not been broadly adjusted since 2011 and some date to 2006.

Nut graf: The Brand Board says inflation — primarily higher personnel costs, vehicle replacement and fuel — produced a cash shortfall of roughly $500,000 over two fiscal years and left the board operating deficits ($85,000 in FY23 and $340,000 in FY24). A stakeholder working group representing the cattle, dairy, farm bureau and market associations worked for about 18 months and roughly 20 meetings to produce the fee‑cap adjustments in S 1016 as a 10‑year plan to keep the program solvent.

Committee members asked about how the stakeholder group was formed and whether the horse industry was affected. Berlisle said the stakeholder working group included the Idaho Cattle Association, Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, Idaho Dairy Association and Livestock Market Association, and that participants took proposals back to their memberships before returning to the working group. He said the bill's adjustments are focused on cattle; the horse inspection program would not see the same fee changes except for a brand recording and renewal fee that applies across livestock owners.

Industry witnesses told the committee they supported the bill. Bob Nierbald, government affairs representative for the Idaho Dairymen's Association, said the proposal uses dedicated industry funds and that the stakeholder process included debate and limits on how fast fees could increase (for example, a 10¢ annual cap on a specific charge). "There was a lot of debate," Nierbald said of the 18‑month process. Spencer Black, president of the Idaho Cattle Association and a producer, said the board had presented to membership and earned industry support.

Ted Vanderskoff, chairman of the Idaho Brand Board, said the brand board is a producer board that oversees a state agency housed in the Idaho State Police and that the board had tried to anticipate the shortfall. "We understand no one likes a fee increase," Vanderskoff said. "We thought this was probably where the department needed to go." He described the package as a long‑term plan contingent on future inflation.

The fiscal notes cited in testimony estimate a roughly $40,000 negative impact to the state's general fund and about a $300,000 positive impact to the brand board's dedicated fund, with additional indeterminate impacts as fee adjustments take effect over time.

Ending: Senator Leahy moved the committee recommendation; the motion carried with a do‑pass recommendation and the bill will proceed to the full Senate. No recorded opposition was made during the committee vote.