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What's Happening With NAIS in States Across the Country, 4/15/08

*** Kentucky adopts a law limiting its agency to a voluntary non-coercive one, absent binding federal regulations!  Read more ***  

***Nebraska has adopted a law limiting its program to a voluntary program only and requiring the Agriculture Department to develop a procedure for people to withdraw from NAIS****

*** Illinois bill has passed both the House and the Senate unanimous, but with two different versions.  ACTION NEEDED!  Read more ***

ARIZONA: In 2006, Arizona adopted a law that allowed the Department of Agriculture to implement a mandatory NAIS.  On May 1, Governor Janet Napolitano signed SB1428, which bars the agency from making NAIS mandatory in Arizona!  The bill did not include all of the provisions we wanted, but it’s a good start.  The sponsor, Senator Johnson, has invited Arizona residents to let her know if the Department is pressuring people into NAIS, and is willing to work on future bills to strengthen the protections.  Senator Johnson learned about NAIS at the Freedom 21 Conference, when Judith McGeary and Karin Bergener (of the Liberty Ark Steering Committee) spoke about it.  Among other things, she used our Top 10 Myths to help educate members of the House Committee about the truth about NAIS. 

COLORADO: The Colorado State Fair Board is currently requiring children to register in NAIS in order to participate in the state fair.  HB 1129 would have reversed that policy.  HB 1129 passed the House, but died in the Senate State. Veterans & Military Affairs committee, on Monday, March 3. Click HERE for more information and to keep up the fight.

ILLINOIS:  Illinois HB 5776 was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate! Like Colorado, Illinois was requiring children to register in NAIS in order to compete in the fairs.  HB 5776 was introduced to reverse that policy.  More action is needed! Click here for more information.

KENTUCKY: HB 495 has become law!  This bill limits the agency to a voluntary program unless the USDA takes final action in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.  HB 495 also includes protections against coercion.   Click here for more information and to take action.

MASSACHUSETTS:  Last year’s anti-NAIS bills, HB 757 and SB 475, remain pending before the Joint Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and the Environment. HB 757 forbids the MDAR from accepting federal funds for NAIS in 2007, requires MDAR to stop uploading data to the federal database, and seeks removal for people who were involuntarily enrolled. SB 475 includes all of those provisions and also precludes MDAR from using other existing programs as a means to implement NAIS, and prohibits any person, whether private or governmental, from discriminating against people who do not participate in NAIS or programs like it. Click HERE for more information and to take action.

MISSOURI: The Senate has passed SB 931, and it is in the House, awaiting committee assignment.  It bars the agency from mandating or forcing anyone into the program, and provides an unrestricted right to withdraw.   Click HERE for more information.

NEBRASKA:  LB 632 has been signed by the Governor!!  Nebraska law had authorized the Department of Agriculture to implement NAIS, which means it could become mandatory at any time.  LB 632 now limits NAIS to a voluntary program only and requires the Department of Agriculture to establish a system for removing people from the premises registration database.  Thank you Nebraska!  Click HERE for more information.

SOUTH DAKOTA:   HB 1305 was voted down in the House.  HB 1305 would have prohibited the state of South Dakota from participating in the NAIS.  The activists in South Dakota have already committed to fighting for a bill next year, so keep educating people in your community!  Click HERE for more information, and stay tuned for anti-NAIS bills to be introduced in the 2009 session!

TENNESSEE: In addition to the carryover bills from last session, two new bills have been filed to limit NAIS.  HB 3668/ SB 3903 and HB 3660/SB3438 would exempt any farmer who does not receive state or federal farm subsidies or funds from NAIS and other regulations.  Another bill, HB 3662/SB 3437, would expand the exemption from the sales tax to farmers who produce $50 of agricultural products per year (instead of $1,000).  Click HERE for more information and to take action.

VIRGINIA: A bill to prohibit NAIS was filed (HB 1473), but died in Committee.   A budget amendment was introduced to disallow any funding for a mandatory NAIS, but also died.  Another bill,HB 1525, was introduced in response to proposed regulations to require premises registration and tagging under the scrapie program (which could then be rolled into NAIS in the future). HB 1525 would limit the agency’s authority to “infected and source flocks and high-risk animals.”   HB 1525 has been carried over to the 2009 legislative session.    Click HERE for more information.

WASHINGTON: HB 1151 was re-introduced, but never made it out of the "X file." This bill would have established a livestock identification advisory comittee to study the impact of NAIS.  Click here for more information.

WYOMING:  Representative Wallis introduced HB 119 to completely stop NAIS in Wyoming.  Because it's a short session, bills require a 2/3 vote to even be sent to committee.  On February 14, HB 119 died.  The bill will be re-introduced in the 2009 General Sesion.  Rep. Wallis also introduced HB 011, to allow cerain homemade products to be sold without a commercial kitchen license.  HB 11 passed the House, but was voted down in the Senate.  Click here for more information, and stay tuned for these bills to be brought back in the 2009 session!

last updated March 5, 2008