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Idaho brand board seeks higher fee caps, authority to retain interest to close budget shortfalls
Summary
The Idaho Brand Board told the Senate Agricultural Committee that Senate Bill 1016 would raise statutory fee caps and allow the board to retain interest on its dedicated fund to cover multi-year shortfalls; the committee voted to send the bill to the floor with a do-pass recommendation.
BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Brand Board asked the Idaho Senate Agricultural Committee on Thursday to approve Senate Bill 1016, a package of statutory changes that would increase fee caps for brand-inspection services and allow the board to retain interest earned on its dedicated fund.
The changes are intended to restore the board’s purchasing power after several years of deficits driven by inflation and rising personnel and vehicle costs, the board’s director told the committee. “Idaho is home to more than 2,500,000 cattle,” said Cody Berlisle, director of the Idaho Brand Board and state brand inspector. He added the board verified ownership on about 2,200,000 head last year and that the board has a “98% return rate on livestock that are found.”
The brand board, a self-governed entity housed administratively within the Idaho State Police, operates on industry-dedicated funds, not general tax dollars. According to Berlisle, last year the Brand Board collected and processed over $3.3 million in assessment fees for multiple industry programs, and it registered more than 18,000 brand recordings and more than 300 livestock dealer licenses.
Why it matters: Supporters said the board’s specialized inspections and title-verification work protect producers’ property rights and reduce losses from theft; they argued changes in fee caps and allowing the board to keep interest will preserve those services without tapping the state’s general fund. Berlisle told senators the proposed changes were the product of roughly 20 stakeholder meetings and 18 months of negotiated work with industry groups.
What the bill does: Senate Bill 1016 amends provisions in Title 25, Chapter 11 of the Idaho Code to (1) increase statutory caps on certain brand-inspection and recording fees that have not been updated since as far back as 2006 and 2011; (2) clarify the board’s process for setting service fees under those caps; and (3) allow the Brand Board to retain interest earned on its dedicated fund rather than reverting that interest to the state general fund. Berlisle told the committee the change to retain interest would have an estimated negative impact of about $40,000 on the general fund and an estimated positive impact of about $300,000 to the Brand Board’s dedicated fund, with additional indeterminate gains as service fees are phased in.
Questions from lawmakers focused on stakeholder outreach and the drivers of the shortfall. Senator Zito asked how industry representatives were chosen for the stakeholder group; Berlisle said the group included representatives from the Idaho Cattle Association, Idaho Farm Bureau, Idaho Dairymen’s Association and the Livestock Market Association, and that each group brought proposals back to their memberships during the roughly two-year process. In response to a question about why the program ran deficits, Berlisle cited inflation, competitive pay adjustments to retain staff, higher vehicle replacement costs and fuel as primary causes.
Industry support and testimony: Testimony supporting the bill came from multiple industry representatives. Bob Nierbald, government affairs for the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, told the committee the proposal had been thoroughly debated in industry meetings and said the funding comes from industry-dedicated fees, not the general fund. Spencer Black, president of the Idaho Cattle Association and a producer, said the stakeholder group had treated the changes as a long-term, precautionary plan and urged lawmakers to approve the bill. Ted Vanderskoff, chair of the Idaho Brand Board and a producer, said the producer board had overseen the process and viewed the proposal as a “prudent” 10-year plan to maintain services.
Committee action: Senator Leahy moved to send Senate Bill 1016 to the Senate floor with a do-pass recommendation; the motion received a second and the committee approved the motion by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.
The brand board and the industries that fund it said the adjustments are intended to prevent future interruptions in inspection services that producers use to establish and transfer legal ownership of livestock.
