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| Montana Administrative Register Notice 4-19-260 | No. 12 06/21/2019 | |
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BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
TO: All Concerned Persons
1. On July 17, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., the Department of Agriculture will hold a public hearing in Room 225 of the Scott Hart Building, at 302 N. Roberts, Helena, Montana, to consider the proposed amendment of the above-stated rules.
2. The Department of Agriculture will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this rulemaking process or need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, contact Department of Agriculture no later than 5:00 p.m. on July 12, 2019, to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that you need. Please contact Cort Jensen, Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, Montana, 59620-0201; telephone (406) 444-3156; fax (406) 444-5409; or e-mail agr@mt.gov.
3. The rules as proposed to be amended provide as follows, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:
4.12.106 INSPECTION OF APIARY EQUIPMENT (1) through (3) remain the same. (4) The Department of Agriculture must have at least two weeks' notice and preferably more, during the rush season of spring and early fall for the need of an inspection. (5) and (6) remain the same.
REASON: The Department of Agriculture regularly performs inspections after September 15th. Unnecessary language is stricken.
4.12.109 CIVIL PENALTIES – ENFORCEMENT (1) remains the same. (2) Each violation (3) remains the same.
AUTH: 80-6-201, MCA IMP: 80-6-303, MCA
REASON: A separate penalty amount typo is corrected, from $1,000 to $10,000, as written in ARM 4.12.110 Civil Penalties – Matrix: Failure to meet importation requirements specified in 80-6-202, MCA. A first offense is $5,000, a second is $7,500, and a subsequent offense is $10,000.
4.12.113 REGISTRATION AND CERTIFICATION FEES─APIARY FEES (1) The application fee for owners or applicants not currently registered in the department's apiary database is (2) The registration or reregistration fee for (3) The registration or reregistration fee for hobbyist and landowner apiary sites is $10 per site.
AUTH: 80-6-102, 80-6-106, 80-6-202, MCA IMP: 80-6-102, 80-6-106, 80-6-202, MCA
REASON: House Bill 443, sponsored by Rep. Ross Fitzgerald in the 2019 Session of the Montana Legislature, was signed by Governor Steve Bullock on May 8, 2019. HB 443 requires all hobbyist apiary sites register with the Montana Department of Agriculture. Registration requirements and a proposed $10 site fee are included in ARM 4.12.113.
Department of Agriculture staff met with members of the Montana Beekeepers Association (MBA) on May 10, 2019. Apiary site registration fees were discussed, and members supported increasing commercial site fees to $35. MBA members are interested in hiring a second state entomologist, and this increase would help with funding.
Because landowner apiary sites are often registered with less than 50 colonies, they are often considered small-scale businesses or hobbies, and their fee structure should be congruent with hobbyist sites. Pollination sites are usually temporary sites that commercial beekeepers are contracted out for. Since they are registered with commercial hives, it is appropriate for pollination sites to pay the same fee as permanent commercial sites.
ECONOMIC IMPACT: Proposed registration fees are shown below.
Commercial: 5,930 (commercial apiaries) * $35 (proposed site registration fee) = $207,550 5,930 (commercial apiaries) * $19 (current site registration fee) = $112,670
Pollination: 32 (pollination apiaries) * $35 (proposed site registration fee) = $1,120 32 (pollination apiaries) * $19 (current site registration fee) = $608
Hobbyist: 69 (registered hobbyist apiaries) (1,000 additional estimated apiaries) * $10 (proposed site registration fee) = $20,311 69 (registered hobbyist apiaries) * $19 (current site registration fee) = $1,311
Landowner: 160 (landowner apiaries) * $35 (proposed site registration fee) = $5,600 160 (landowner apiaries) * $19 (current site registration fee) = $3,040
4. Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or arguments either orally or in writing at the hearing. Written data, views, or arguments may also be submitted to: Cort Jensen, Department of Agriculture, PO Box 200201, Helena, Montana, 59620-0201; telephone (406) 444-3156; fax (406) 444-5409; or e-mail agr@mt.gov, and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., July 24, 2019.
5. Cort Jensen, Department of Agriculture, has been designated to preside over and conduct this hearing.
6. The department 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 that includes the name, e-mail, and mailing address of the person to receive notices 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 the contact person in 4 above or may be made by completing a request form at any rules hearing held by the department.
7. The bill sponsor contact requirements of 2-4-302, MCA, apply and have been fulfilled. The primary bill sponsor was contacted by email on June 10, 2019.
8. With regard to the requirements of 2-4-111, MCA, the department has determined that the amendment of the above-referenced rules will significantly and directly impact small businesses. Please refer to the estimated increased site registration calculations listed after ARM 4.12.113 above.
/s/ Cort Jensen /s/ Ben Thomas Cort Jensen Ben Thomas Rule Reviewer Director Agriculture
Certified to the Secretary of State June 11, 2019. |
A directory of state agencies is available online at http://www.mt.gov/govt/agencylisting.asp.
For questions about the organization of the ARM or this web site, contact sosarm@mt.gov.
