Maryland Department of Agriculture

The Maryland Department of Agriculture follows many bills that may impact the agency and the customers it serves. Almost every day, a synopsis of bills MDA is tracking and a hearing schedule is updated from the Legislative Services' website.

The agency has presented several bills for consideration by the 2010 General Assembly:

SB 59 Agricultural Land Transfer Tax – Distribution and Use of Revenue (passed the Senate. Pending in the House Ways and Means Committee)
This proposed bill removes the dedication of $4 million per year of MALPF funds from the agricultural transfer tax (and real estate transfer tax if and when agricultural transfer taxes are inadequate) to interest payment obligations undertaken as part of a “leveraged” installment purchase agreement (IPA) program. This bill also resets the distribution of the agricultural transfer tax to go directly to MALPF for the acquisition of easements by whatever settlement option the landowner prefers. If landowners choose the IPA payments option, MALPF can fund it out of its standard allocation of funds using grants to MARBIDCO, including funds to cover MARBIDCO’s expenses. The “self-funded” (not the “leveraged”) approach is now being used to fund IPAs.

Justification
Legislation passed in 2008 secured $4 million of MALPFs revenues to meet future debt obligations undertaken by MARBIDCO on behalf of MALPF for a “leveraged” installment purchase agreement (IPA) program to help acquire preservation easements. Since passage, the Office of the Attorney General and the Treasurer’s Office have advised MALPF and MARBIDCO that this dedication of funds to leverage IPAs beyond 15 years is unconstitutional. This legislative proposal “undedicates” the $4 million of MALPF revenues to be used by MALPF for acquiring preservation easements now that it does not need to be dedicated solely to service future IPA debt obligations.

Note: MALPF and MARBIDCO can still settle on easements using a “self-funded” IPA program that meets the debt responsibility of an IPA by investments in State and Local Government Securities (SLGS), a U.S. Treasury obligation. This alternative does not require a dedicated funding source, but can be done by a grant from MALPF to MARBIDCO for each landowner choosing the IPA settlement option.

SB 62 Maryland Horse Industry Fund – Fees (Passed the Senate. Pending in the House Environmental Matters Committee)
The purpose of this bill is to direct revenue collected for licensing and inspecting horse stables to the Maryland Horse Industry Fund. The bill will also increase the fees for licensing and inspecting horse stables from $75 to $125 to cover the cost of the administration of the program.

Justification
The fee for inspection of stables had not increased in over 29 years, and the cost for licensing has not increased in 18 years. The overall cost for the actual administration of these programs has risen dramatically since those fees were last set. In order for this regulatory program to become self funded those fees will need to be raised.

SB 81 Maryland State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners(SBVME) – Penalties (Passed the Senate. Pending in the House Environmental Matters Committee)
Gives the SBVME the authority to increase the civil penalty for a licensee from $5,000 to $10,000 for any violation of Board laws or regulations for someone who has already paid the $5,000 penalty). This penalty may be in addition to suspension or revocation of a license. Monies collected would be paid into the General Fund of the State.

Justification
The SBVME is finding that the current maximum penalty of $5,000, unchanged in 25 years, is not serving as an effective deterrent of future violations, as evidenced by the fact that the SBVME is seeing an increase in the number of repeat violators of its laws and regulations. The average income increase for veterinarians between 1997 and 2007 is more than 46 percent.

SB 82 Maryland Commercial Feed Law (Passed the Senate. Pending in the House Environmental Matters Committee)
Makes Maryland’s Commercial Feed Law more consistent with the Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Model Bill and Regulations which have been broadly endorsed by the industry, other state departments of agriculture, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The definitions of “Commercial Feed” and “Adulterated” will be revised for clarity and compatibility to AAFCO recommendations.

Justification
Current Maryland law, unlike the AAFCO Model Bill and Regulations, does not explicitly prohibit persons from adulterating or misbranding a commercial feed. Current Maryland law also does not prohibit a person from removing or selling a feed under a “stop sale” order.

SB 90 Department of Agriculture – Farm Quarantine (Passed the Senate. Pending in the House Environmental Matters Committee)
Provides the Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to quarantine farmland and agricultural products and stop-sale on-farm agricultural products that have been contaminated by a chemical or radiological material or agent after consultation with the Governor and the Secretaries of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Environment.

Justification
Currently, the Secretary has quarantine authority over farmland and plants that have become infested by pests and stop-sale authority for a limited number of commodities that are adulterated. However, no explicit quarantine authority or stop-sale authority exists for farmland and farm products contaminated by chemicals or radionuclides. Widespread contamination of farmland, crops, and other farm products may occur during a fixed nuclear facility accident, an act of agro-terrorism, or misuse or accidental dispersion of agricultural chemicals. This authority granted in this bill would allow the Secretary to prevent the spread of harmful contaminants and strengthen the ability of the State to prepare, respond to, and recover from agricultural emergencies.

SB 93 Department of Agriculture – Pesticide Applicator’s Law (EHEA)
Allows the Department of Agriculture to charge a $10 fee to retake pesticide applicator certification examinations. Requires pest control businesses to annually pay a $30 fee to register pest control employees with the department. Requires $30 late fee payments for license, certificate or registration renewal under the Pesticide Applicator’s law.

Justification:
The proposed legislation is necessary to recover administrative costs associated with these activities. The legislation would also serve as a disincentive to those who continue to retake the exam or who fail to renew their licenses.

SB 94 Weights and Measures – Registration Fees (EHEA)
Increases the current cap on small scales from $225 to $300 annually and increase the current cap on retail motor fuel meters from $275 to $350 annually.

Justification
The fee on gas pumps has not been increased since 1992 when it was first implemented and the fee on small scales has not increased since 2005. Special funding operating expenses now exceed special fund revenue. The Department has reviewed the existing fee schedule established in the law and compared those fees with the actual time spent by our field inspector. There are 9600 gas pumps in Maryland that translate into $144,000 in absorbed costs. There are 3300 small scales that are over the cap translating into $66,000 of free tests. The cap increase proposed will generate $94,000.

SB 95 Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation – Farmland Preservation Partnership Program and Annual Report Deadline(Passed the Senate. Pending in the House Environmental Matters Committee)
Gives the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation explicit authority to acquire preservation easements on farmland in partnership with outside public and private entities. There will be no state funds in the purchases of these easements or for additional staff needed; therefore, the legislation authorizes the use of different ranking criteria, valuation methods and easement provisions than what is used in the standard MALPF program. Changes the due date for the MALPF Annual Report from November 1 to January 15.

Justification
The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation is currently not able to take advantage of opportunities for funding from other entities, that typically have complementary, but supplemental goals, such as carbon offsets, habitat protection, or environmental management. The Foundation could broker matching funds from two outside entities and be the holder or co-holder of these easements. In addition, extending the reporting deadline would allow MALPF to get a more accurate number to report for the use of the fiscal year’s appropriated funds. The later deadline (January 15th) also makes sense because MALPF can report end-of-calendar-year land preservation data from other programs.

HB 420 Secretary of Agriculture – Mosquito Control (Passed the House. Pending in the Senate EHEA Committee)
Gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to enter private and public property when an activity or use causes or permits mosquito activity to occur. It allows the Secretary to inspect property and determine if and how activities conducted on property or the use of property is causing or permitting mosquito activity. The proposal permits the Secretary to abate mosquito activity through direct action or the issuance of an order. It also allows the Secretary to bring an injunction against any person violating an order issued by the Secretary. Finally it allows for penalties upon conviction of any person who fails to comply with any order served under a provision of this Bill.

Justification
This Bill will provide a necessary instrument in the effort to stem the proliferation of peridomestic mosquitoes. Expected results include a reduction in the reliance on chemical controls, reduction of the potential for mosquito transmitted diseases in humans and animals, and a vast improvement in the quality of life and the enjoyment of outdoor activities. A subsidiary effect of this Bill may be in pleasing landscapes, common areas and proper land use as a result of removing and proper disposition of solid waste items that provide habitat for mosquito development.

HB 421 Advertising or Identifying Agricultural Products as Local or Locally Grown (Passed the House. Pending in the Senate EHEA Committee)
The legislation authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to adopt standards to regulate the use of the terms “locally grown” and “local” to advertise or identify an agricultural product.

Justification
As the interest in “locally grown” agricultural products continues, so does the increase in advertising of products as locally grown. While consumers are interested in purchasing produce that is near to their homes, advertising, particularly in retail stores is not so clear. There should be some guidance in place. Similar issues occurred several years ago regarding the term “organic.” Eventually federal legislation was passed to establish uniform requirements. We believe that the same issue needs to be addressed regarding the term “locally grown”, so that consumers are not mislead in terms of where their produce comes from.

Nutrient Trading – Voluntary Agricultural Nutrient Credit Certification Program (House Environmental Matters Committee)
Gives the Maryland Department of Agriculture the authority to implement a nutrient credit trading program by verifying and certifying tradable agricultural nutrient credits, reviewing technical elements and approving those practices subject to additional procedures, and facilitating transactions between participating parties by reviewing contracts and establishing a web-based registry to post, trade and track, credits and assist users in the management of their accounts.

Justification
As regulatory requirements for water and air quality continue to tighten and compliance grows more costly, the creation of a viable marketplace for the buying and selling of nutrient credits offers and innovative private sector funding alternative for meeting environmental goals, promoting improved resource conservation practices and generating not only supplemental farm income, but also new business opportunities for providers of services to support this emerging industry. The Department has already received a $512,000 Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to fund a nutrient program that will be used to build crediting and trading capacity for a comprehensive ecosystem market in Maryland.

For more information, please contact:
Joanna Kille
Director of Government Relations
Maryland Department of Agriculture
410-841-5886

3/8/10