Committee approves bill easing donation rules for wild meat with technical edits

The Judiciary chair told the joint committee that House Bill 1334 would permit donation of wild meat or wild meat products to charitable, religious or nonprofit organizations and recommended passage with technical amendments. "There'll be some extra committee language on that," the chair said, noting the need to clarify that wild meat not be intermixed with farm-raised animals.

The committee emphasized food-safety concerns raised in Department of Health testimony. "There's some danger in cross-contamination per the Department of Health testimony," the Judiciary chair said, and members agreed to add committee language to reduce that risk while preserving the bill's donation exemptions.

On a committee roll call the measure was advanced with textual amendments. Chair Rose recorded an aye vote and Senator Awa voted aye; one or more members were excused during the CPN concurrence vote. The Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection later confirmed the same recommendation and adopted the measure with the recorded amendments.

The committees did not specify exact regulatory text during the decision making; staff were directed to draft the clarifying language for inclusion in the committee report and the bill file. No formal implementation timeline was given during the session.