House committee approves ISDA rule packet: chemigation licensing, produce safety, weights & measures and other technical updates

The House Agriculture Affairs Committee approved a packet of administrative rule dockets presented by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. Committee members approved rules covering bonded warehouses and commodity/seed buyer licensing, weights and measures, pesticide management plans and ground water protection, a new chemigation applicator license created to implement House Bill 549, produce safety (FSMA implementation), feed and fertilizer registration updates, and organic certification CFR updates. Motions to approve each docket passed by voice vote; the transcript records no roll-call tallies.

ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt prefaced the packet with remarks on the agency's use of incorporation by reference and customer-focused rulemaking. "When a customer calls and says I have a problem the agency can take one of two answers ... or to say let us take a look at it and thoughtfully and truthfully think about if that is meeting a customer service level that folks expect," she said, summarizing the agency's approach to updating rules where federal manuals or statutory changes affect…