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Legislature addresses Animal
Health Commission fees...
A series of bills has been introduced regarding the Texas Animal Health Commission's (TAHC) authority to establish a Premise Identification (ID) Program in preparation for a National Animal ID Program, as well as increasing fee revenue. The legislation is the result of the Texas Legislature directing all regulatory agencies, including the Animal Health Commission (TAHC), to investigate alternatives to fund their services. In the case of the TAHC, they have been directed to raise $500,000. Additionally, the bills accomplish cost savings by reducing unnecessary agency expenditures.
The first bill, HB 1361 by House Agriculture and Livestock Committee Chairman Rick Hardcastle, establishes parameters for identifying locations associated with animal agriculture, specifies the limited uses of this information, and provides for the protection of producer data. The overall intent is to provide for more rapid response and control of animal disease problems by improving traceability. The data would be made available to agencies or authorities for the purpose of protecting human or animal health and national security. Criminal charges are authorized for any misuse of the private information of livestock producers in the legislation.
This bill also includes authority for the TAHC to charge premise registration fees in response to the Legislature's requirement the agency collect additional revenue. The TAHC would be authorized to charge a fee for every registered premise or group of associated properties. The fee is estimated to be either $5 or $10 per year. However, there is no limit in the legislation. Registration is voluntary until federal law is in place mandating producer participation in the National Animal ID Program—the logic being that every livestock and poultry producer would uniformly contribute to the operation of the TAHC, rather than a piecemeal approach of raising fees on every service the agency provides. Without direction from the legislature indicating otherwise, the TAHC will implement these fees.
Companion bills, HB 1363 by Hardcastle and SB 590 by Senator Jackson, authorize the TAHC to increase fees for "Certificates of Veterinary Inspection." These fees currently cost livestock producers 25 cents. These certificates actually cost the Commission about 50 cents per certificate. In the bills, the expected charge for certificates is $1, but there is no limit on the ability of the Commission to charge for these services.
The final companion bills, HB 1362 by Hardcastle and SB 591 by Jackson, allow the Commission to better manage the visual inspection of every animal sold through a livestock market. Many times animals are inspected by the TAHC, the livestock auction's veterinarian, and a brand inspector. Under the legislation, the Commission will still be authorized to inspect animals for health issues, but not duplicate the efforts of other qualified individuals. This change should provide considerable costs savings for the TAHC.
Our policy opposes allowing the Commission assess user fees, but if the legislature requires fees, they should be assessed proportionally. Our policy also encourages agencies to eliminate or modify programs for cost savings. Please consider these proposals as well as the requirement by the Legislature for the Commission to raise $500,000 in fee revenue. Let your elected Representative and Senator know of any concerns you may have. As you are aware, producers are `price takers, not "price makers" and cannot pass increased costs on to their customers. Input from you as livestock producers is important as the legislature addresses this issue.
NOTE: This is the language from the policy book: We oppose user fees being assessed to finance the TAHC or any other agricultural regulatory agency; however, if the legislature requires that agricultural regulatory agencies assess user fees, we encourage the fees be assessed proportionally and for all services provided and not to exceed the cost of providing the service. Rather than requiring fee increases, we encourage agencies to review their existing services to determine which services may be ended or modified for cost savings. We support legislation which would provide that the TAHC be exempt from provisions of the Freedom of Information Act in matters related to animal health, animal identification, and disease control to protect information related to individual producers, locations and animal health traceback from unnecessary harassment, invasion of privacy, and to enhance the provision of homeland security in the agricultural sector.
