Committee clears six additional agriculture rules including produce safety, weights and measures, registration and organics

The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee approved a set of routine and incorporation-by-reference rule updates covering bonded warehouses, weights and measures, produce safety, commercial registration and licensing for feed/fertilizer/soil amendments, and the state organic certification rule.

Presenters told the committee most of these dockets were 0-based regulation reviews or incorporation-by-reference updates that removed duplicative language and updated referenced publication dates. No public comments were reported during the negotiated rulemaking meetings for these dockets.

Jared Stewart, administrator for the Agricultural Inspections Division, presented the bonded warehouse rules (docket 202122401). Stewart described the rewrite as removing language duplicated from statute and adding a clarified acronym. A motion to approve the docket was made by Senator Lakey and the committee approved the rule by voice vote.

Stewart also presented an incorporation-by-reference update to the weights and measures rule (docket 202142401) that updates the NIST Handbook reference to the 2024 edition. Committee members asked about whether references to the "latest" specifications would allow the state to follow future updates without a rule change; Stewart said the underlying code specifies standards and the rule references the most recent standards.

The department presented a produce safety chapter rewrite (docket 205012401) intended to maintain Idaho’s state-run implementation of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act requirements. Stewart said some commodities (for example, onions) are covered by the produce safety rule while others (for example, potatoes) are not, consistent with federal definitions. The committee approved the docket by voice vote.

Andrea Thompson, Administrator for the Plant Industries Division, presented registration and licensing updates (docket 2622401) for commercial feed, commercial fertilizer, and soil/plant amendments. The changes update incorporation-by-reference publication dates for the American Association of Feed Control Officials and the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials manuals. Thompson said the updates contain largely definitional clarifications and carry no new regulatory impact. The committee approved the docket by voice vote.

Deputy Director Lloyd Knight presented an incorporation-by-reference update to the organic food products rule (docket 206332401), which updates the USDA national organic standards publication date the department uses for state certification. Knight noted the organic certification program is voluntary for producers who choose state certification and that the state typically incorporates the federal national organic program (NOP) text for certification consistency. The committee approved the docket by voice vote.

All dockets were approved by voice vote with no roll-call tallies recorded; movers and seconds are recorded where provided in the transcript. Those dockets were: 202122401 (bonded warehouse) — approved; 202142401 (weights and measures) — approved; 205012401 (produce safety) — approved; 2622401 (registration and licenses for feed/fertilizer/soil amendments) — approved; 206332401 (organic food products) — approved.