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Committee approves anthrax protocol bill after stakeholders say board already adopted guidance
Summary
House Bill 90 would codify an anthrax outbreak notification and response protocol. Livestock board staff and industry groups said the board has already developed the requested protocol, but committee members amended a minor testing term and advanced the bill.
Representative Davis presented House Bill 90, which sponsors described as creating an established notification protocol for anthrax outbreaks and giving the Livestock Board authority to coordinate notification among livestock producers, veterinarians, brand inspectors and other agencies. The sponsor said the recent anthrax outbreak near Elk Mountain, which included human infections, highlighted the need for a protocol.
Steve True, director of the Wyoming Livestock Board, told the committee the board and the state veterinarian had already developed a protocol and a fact sheet after the Elk Mountain outbreak. True and several industry witnesses said the board's guidance meets the bill’s intent; they recommended only a textual change to the draft. Representative Davis and the board recommended replacing a draft phrase "non negative" with the word "positive" in several places because "non negative" is used in brucellosis testing and is not appropriate for anthrax.
Veterinary and industry witnesses supported the bill's public-health coordination aim while urging that statutory language match veterinary testing practice. Dr. Hazel (state veterinarian) clarified that the Board handles zoonotic-disease notification and that the Department of Health handles human health responses. Veterinarian Donald O'Toole, who said he worked for more than 40 years in diagnostic laboratories, recommended the state evaluate past outbreak response practices — including carcass disposal and site documentation — but said he supported a standard protocol. The Wyoming Stockgrowers Association and sector associations said the Livestock Board already had adopted suitable procedures but did not oppose codifying them.
The committee approved a sponsor-proposed change to replace "non negative" with "positive" in the engrossed bill and then voted to advance House Bill 90. The roll-call vote recorded four ayes and one no. During committee discussion members acknowledged the Livestock Board's existing work and said statutory language should not duplicate necessary procedures but could provide a reference for future outbreaks.
