Senate committee advances Wyoming Prime Act allowing custom-slaughter sales if federal law changes

Senators on the Senate Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee voted to advance Senate File 120, the Wyoming Prime Act, a measure that would allow the direct sale of meat from custom slaughter facilities to consumers and retailers in Wyoming if and only if Congress first amends federal law to permit such sales.

The bill would amend state law to opt in to a future federal Prime Act: meat would have to be raised, slaughtered, processed and sold inside Wyoming, sold directly to an "informed end consumer," and the product packaging would require a prominent written warning that it "was not inspected by the USDA," sponsors said. The proposal, a committee sponsor said, is a trigger bill and would become effective in Wyoming only after the federal change takes effect.

Supporters, including the bill sponsor and cosponsors, said the…