BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

 

In the matter of the amendment of ARM 4.13.1001A relating to State Grain Lab Pricing

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT

 

TO:  All Concerned Persons

 

            1.  On June 1, 2011, at 9:00 a.m., the Montana Department of Agriculture will hold a public hearing in Room 225 of the Scott Hart Building, 302 N. Roberts at Helena, Montana, to consider the proposed amendment of the above-stated rule.

 

            2.  The Department of Agriculture will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this rulemaking process and need an alternative accessible format of this notice.  If you require an accommodation, contact the Department of Agriculture no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 25, 2011, to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that you need.  Please contact Cort Jensen at the Montana Department of Agriculture, 302 North Roberts, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201; phone: (406) 444-3144; fax: (406) 444-5409; or e-mail: cojensen@mt.gov.

 

3.  The rule as proposed to be amended provides as follows, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:

 

4.13.1001A  GRAIN FEE SCHEDULE  (1)  The effective date of this rule is July 7, 2006 July 1, 2011.

(2)  General provisions applying to all sections of this rule are as follows:

(a)  Normal office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. All other hours and holidays will be considered overtime.

(i)  Sampling hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday Friday. Sampling hours will need to be scheduled the day before if required outside the normal office hours. All other hours and holidays will be considered overtime.

(b) and (c) remain the same.

(d)  Holidays are as adopted in 1-1-216, MCA. (e.g., New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day, and Election Day).

(e) through (g) remain the same.

(h)  Actual postage or delivery service charges will be added to sampling and other fees.

(i)  The priority service fee shall be $2.50 per submitted sample in addition to the fees set forth in this rule.  Submitted priority samples shall be done within 48 hours or less, on a first arrival basis. Priority service includes telephone report electronic report. Priority service will be automatically suspended if backlog of regular samples exceeds two weeks. If priority service is suspended, all submitted sample fees will be assessed at the appropriate rate.

(j) remains the same.

(3)  Fees for official services provided under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) – includes federal grain inspection services (FGIS)  supervision fees.

(a) through (h) remain the same.

(i)  additional statements, factors, or results as requested by the applicant, per statement..........  $2.50

(j) through (l) remain the same.

(4)  Fees for official services provided under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (AMA)  as amended – beans, peas, and lentils.

(a) through (d) remain the same.

(e)  falling numbers only determination........................................  $11.00

(e) (f)  additional statements, factors, or results as requested by the applicant, per statement..........  $2.50

(5)  Fees for laboratory services not performed under the USGSA or AMA:

(a) through (i) remain the same.

(j)  malting barley:

(i)  germination, 48 72 hour hydrogen peroxide, 48 hour blotter, or 72 hour blotter, per determination ..............................................  $7.00

(k)  vomitoxin (DON)  per quantitative analysis test ...................... $23.50

(k) (l)  falling numbers only determination, per determination........ $11.00

(l)  oil, per determination ............................................................... $11.00

(m)  DHV, HVAC or factor only determination, per factor .............  $2.50

(n)  additional statements, factors, or results as requested by the applicant, per statement..........  $2.50

 

AUTH: 80-4-403, MCA

IMP: 80-4-721, MCA

 

REASON: Changing the hours of service will align the service hours to the normal business hours of the State Grain Lab. This alignment eliminates the disparity between the hourly wage for the sampler and the fees charged to the applicant during overtime period. For example under the current fee schedule, if the sampling occurs on a Saturday, the State Grain Lab is typically paying overtime to employees and billing straight time to the applicant. This disparity results in a potential financial loss to the State Grain Lab. This change will affect relatively few producers and businesses as very few sampling service requests fall outside the proposed service hours.

With the change in our certification system to the online certificates, the telephone report is obsolete. In current practice the telephone report is rarely used. The State Grain Lab currently discourages reporting results over the phone because of potential miscommunication and the lack of a permanent record.

The term "statements" has been confusing to certain customers. This term has been interpreted as meaning additional printouts of certificates and/or additional billing statements, when in reality the term is intended to mean additional factors that are determined and reported on the original certificate. The term "statement" is used in the FGIS certification handbook with specific examples of information.  When this change is approved, the accounting software will be updated to reflect this clarification.

Modifying the fee schedule for falling number determination is necessary as it is a critical factor for determining the potential milling quality of wheat exported from Montana. On average, the State Grain Lab performs 2500 falling number evaluations annually, during Harvest Year 2010 that number will exceed 10,000 evaluations. This test is currently conducted under the "Montana Standards" and therefore is under limited supervision by FGIS.

The State Grain Lab is moving to FGIS official falling numbers program. This will provide a high level of service to our customers and give them a higher level of confidence with our results. The results from this test will be reported under the AMA, so statement of the fees for falling numbers needs to be listed under this section of our fee schedule. 

The 48-hour blotter test was never performed. This item was a typographical error from the previous version.  The correct number is and was supposed to be 72-hour.  The State Grain Lab does not have the proper safety systems in place to perform the eliminated oil test. 

These changes will have no cost impact on producers and businesses. The changes are anticipated not to increase or decrease revenue to the lab.

 

4.  Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or arguments concerning the proposed action orally or in writing at the hearing.  Written data, views, or arguments may also be submitted to Cort Jensen at the Montana Department of Agriculture, 302 North Roberts, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201; fax: (406) 444-5409; or e-mail: agr@mt.gov.  Any comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 9, 2011.

 

            5.  The Department of Agriculture maintains a list of interested persons who wish to receive notices of rulemaking actions proposed by this agency.  Persons who wish to have their name added to the list shall make a written request which includes the name, e-mail, and mailing address of the person and specifies for which program the person wishes to receive notices.  Notices will be sent by e-mail unless a mailing preference is noted in the request.  Such written request may be mailed or delivered to Montana Department of Agriculture, 302 North Roberts, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, MT 59620-0201; fax: (406) 444-5409; or e-mail: agr@mt.gov or may be made by completing a request form at any rules hearing held by the Department of Agriculture.

 

6.  An electronic copy of this Notice of Proposed Adoption is available through the department's web site at www.agr.mt.gov, under the Administrative Rules section.  The department strives to make the electronic copy of the notice conform to the official version of the notice, as printed in the Montana Administrative Register, but advises all concerned persons that in the event of a discrepancy between the official printed text of the notice and the electronic version of the notice, only the official printed text will be considered.  In addition, although the department strives to keep its web site accessible at all times, concerned persons should be aware that the web site may be unavailable during some periods, due to system maintenance or technical problems.

 

            7.  The bill sponsor contact requirements of 2-4-302, MCA do not apply.

 

 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

 

 

 

 

/s/ Ron de Yong                                                  /s/ Cort Jensen                                    

Ron de Yong, Director                                        Cort Jensen, Rule Reviewer

 

Certified to the Secretary of State, May 2, 2011.