House Agriculture Committee approves multiple ISDA rule dockets, advances chemigation licensing changes from HB 549

The Idaho House Agriculture Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved a series of administrative rule dockets from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA), including updates to multiple incorporation-by-reference manuals, an update to NIST Handbook 44 for weights and measures, a CFR update for the state organic program, produce safety rules under the Food Safety Modernization Act and a new chemigation licensure framework to implement House Bill 549.

ISDA Director Chanel Tewalt prefaced the rule package by urging the committee to view rules as an opportunity to work with regulated communities. "Zebra is as good as you make it," she said, summarizing the department's approach to negotiated rulemaking and incorporation by reference. She described chemigation as one example where the department revisited statute and rule to simplify state requirements for producers.

Key actions taken Thursday included approval of:

- bonded warehouse/seed and commodity buyer licensing rules (presented by Jared Stewart);

- an update to weights-and-measures rules to incorporate the 2024 edition of NIST Handbook 44 (Jared Stewart);

- pesticide management plan and ground-water protection rule updates (presented by Brian Slabaugh) described as removals of duplicative language found in Title 22, Chapter 34 of the Idaho Code;

- a temporary rule and subsequent permanent rule language creating a standalone chemigation license category to implement House Bill 549 (2024); Slabaugh said the rule allows multiple pathways to licensure, including an exam, a training module developed with the University of Idaho, or a demonstration-style on-site inspection to verify competence;

- produce safety rules that allow ISDA to perform FSMA inspections on behalf of FDA (Jared Stewart);

- registration and license incorporation-by-reference updates for feed, fertilizer and soil/plant amendments (Andrea Thompson);

- an update to the state organic certification rules to incorporate the most recent USDA organic program CFR language.

Committee members asked about stakeholder outreach and participation during negotiated rulemaking. Brian Slabaugh and Deputy Director Lloyd Knight said ISDA held negotiated meetings and outreach; Knight told the committee the department sent a June 5 email to more than 5,000 license holders and also worked with commodity groups (Farm Bureau and others) to publicize the rule changes. For the chemigation temporary rule, Slabaugh said one negotiated rulemaking meeting (July 11, 2024) drew eight public attendees and that the division received one written comment in support.

The committee approved each docket by motion and voice vote; presenters told the committee the majority of edits were removal of duplicative statutory language or simple incorporation-by-reference updates and that the changes posed no negative impact on the public.