04/19/2021 01:00 PM House RESOURCES

           HB 22-SHARED ANIMAL AND RAW MILK/PRODUCTS                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:01:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK announced  that the first order  of business would                                                               
be  HOUSE  BILL  NO.  22,  "An  Act  relating  to  shared  animal                                                               
ownership; and relating  to the sharing and sale of  raw milk and                                                               
raw milk products."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:02:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  GERAN TARR,  Alaska State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor, provided introductory  remarks on HB 22.   She expressed                                                               
her excitement regarding how much  support there is for the bill.                                                               
She offered  to answer  any questions  on the  bill and  said the                                                               
forthcoming  amendment by  Representative  Rauscher will  provide                                                               
further discussion on the bill.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:03:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS stated  that  he visited  a  farm and  has                                                               
returned with some tasty cheese for committee members to try.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:03:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER  moved to  adopt Conceptual  Amendment 1,                                                               
which read:                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Page 2, line 6                                                                                                             
     Delete item (c)                                                                                                            
     Re-letter the rest accordingly                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:03:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK objected for purposes of discussion.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:03:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  RAUSCHER explained  that  Conceptual Amendment  1                                                               
comes from trying  to understand what HB 22 is  attempting to do,                                                               
which, in  his opinion, is to  ensure that raw milk  is available                                                               
for people  to purchase.   He said Conceptual Amendment  1 points                                                               
out that the  language on page 2,  line 6, "(c) A  person may not                                                               
sell  raw milk  or a  raw milk  product", is  foreign to  what is                                                               
trying  to  be  accomplished  with  the  bill.    Therefore,  the                                                               
amendment would delete (c) and re-letter the rest accordingly.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:04:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  TARR  spoke  to  what would  be  the  effects  of                                                               
Conceptual Amendment  1.   She provided a  history to  put things                                                               
into  context.   She related  that in  2017 she  learned about  a                                                               
movement called  Food Freedom when  she met a North  Dakota state                                                               
representative who  had introduced  a food  freedom bill  in that                                                               
state's legislature.   In talking  with the  representative about                                                               
the bill, she became very  interested in bringing this to Alaska.                                                               
Conceptually it is  about shortening the supply  chain and making                                                               
it easier for consumers to  get products directly from producers,                                                               
ranchers, and farmers.  She said  she filed House Bill 217, which                                                               
would  have expanded  the opportunity  for raw  milk products  as                                                               
well as  animal products.   However, she continued, at  that time                                                               
the  Department  of  Environmental Conservation  (DEC)  expressed                                                               
concern  that this  much  more expansive  option  would cause  an                                                               
increase  in foodborne  illness outbreaks.   The  original fiscal                                                               
note provided by DEC for the  bill projected about $1 million per                                                               
year  to  hire   staff  to  investigate  and   respond  to  DEC's                                                               
anticipated  increase  in  foodborne   illnesses.    Since  then,                                                               
Representative Tarr  specified, multiple  states    North Dakota,                                                               
Wyoming, Utah, to  name a few   have expanded  these policies and                                                               
have more fully  adopted this food freedom policy.   Those states                                                               
are  not seeing  increases in  foodborne illnesses,  she related,                                                               
and therefore she believes Alaska could accomplish this safely.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR added that in  recognition of Alaska's fiscal                                                               
situation, the bill  currently before the committee  is much more                                                               
modest in  what it  is attempting to  accomplish.   She explained                                                               
that  when  there has  been  tension  between public  health  and                                                               
safety and increasing opportunity, she  has tried to find ways to                                                               
move forward  and prove the  safety.   One example is  food hubs,                                                               
which are  online sales opportunities for  farmers and producers.                                                               
When food hubs were first  proposed [DEC] was very concerned, she                                                               
said,  so only  one food  hub was  allowed in  Alaska as  a pilot                                                               
program during the  original year.  It was  successful and proved                                                               
it  could be  done safely.   The  food hub  concept has  now been                                                               
expanded  and  there  are  multiple   food  hubs  around  Alaska,                                                               
increasing the  opportunity for consumers  to get  these products                                                               
and  using  online  sales  as   the  platform  for  making  those                                                               
purchases.   So  similarly, she  pointed out,  it was  decided to                                                               
pick a more modest step forward in this bill.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:08:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR explained  that HB 22 would  put the existing                                                               
herd share program  into statute.  Strengthening  this program by                                                               
moving it  from regulation into  statute would  provide certainty                                                               
to the farmers  that it will exist in perpetuity.   Currently the                                                               
herd share program  is limited to fluid milk  products, she said,                                                               
[and HB 22 would provide]  expansion to value-added products like                                                               
cheese,  ice cream,  butter,  kefir, and  other  products that  a                                                               
[producer] wants to make available.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR stated  she finds herself in  the position of                                                               
saying she  supports what  Representative Rauscher  is suggesting                                                               
and thinks  it can be  accomplished safely  in Alaska.   She said                                                               
she wants HB 22 to move  forward and be passed by the legislature                                                               
because it would provide a  new business opportunity in Alaska at                                                               
a time  when people are  struggling, and the state  is recovering                                                               
economically.   The bill would  have immediate  positive business                                                               
and  consumer impacts  for Alaskans,  she noted,  so she  doesn't                                                               
want to do anything that might slow  the bill down.  She said she                                                               
is  therefore cautiously  opposing the  amendment right  now with                                                               
the  understanding that  the conversation  will be  continued and                                                               
that she will  continue working with the  governor who personally                                                               
called her last week about  the legislation.  Representative Tarr                                                               
related that the  governor is interested in  this legislation and                                                               
even in the  more expansive opportunity, but she  thinks the best                                                               
option today is to move forward  with what is known and make sure                                                               
there are  no unintended consequences.   She emphasized  that she                                                               
is very  committed to  working with anyone  who is  interested in                                                               
food freedom  more broadly.  She  said it doesn't have  to be her                                                               
who  is  working  on  this,  she would  be  happy  to  share  the                                                               
legislation  that was  originally drafted  with any  other member                                                               
and support that member in working on it too.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:10:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   MCKAY   requested   clarification   on   whether                                                               
Representative Tarr is in favor of Conceptual Amendment 1.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR  replied she is opposing  the amendment today                                                               
because  she doesn't  want to  have  any unintended  consequences                                                               
that would  slow down HB  22.  She said  she has talked  with the                                                               
amendment  sponsor and  has committed  to  continue working  with                                                               
him.   If  this is  realistic and  feasible in  this legislature,                                                               
then, yes, she would take  the opportunity to strengthen Alaska's                                                               
agriculture.   It  isn't about  her idea,  she added,  but rather                                                               
about ensuring that [the bill] keeps moving forward.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  PATKOTAK  invited  the   director  of  DEC's  Division  of                                                               
Environmental  Health   to  provide  an  understanding   of  what                                                               
Conceptual Amendment 1 might change  as far as the administrative                                                               
side of things for raw milk and the industry as a whole.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:11:37 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHRISTINA CARPENTER, Director,  Division of Environmental Health,                                                               
Department of Environmental Conservation  (DEC), stated she would                                                               
need to  look at the bill  and revisit the fiscal  analysis since                                                               
it  was done  a few  years ago.   She  said DEC  is committed  to                                                               
working   collaboratively  on   this   issue   and  offered   her                                                               
appreciation for the sponsor's willingness to engage with DEC.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
1:12:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   HANNAN  said   she  appreciates   Representative                                                               
Rauscher's attempt  to broaden  the scope, but  as stated  by the                                                               
bill sponsor,  this incremental change  to what  currently exists                                                               
of herd sharing from the milk's  fluid state to cheeses and such,                                                               
keeps it  within herd sharing.   She recalled that  the committee                                                               
looked at some legislation last  year about a bigger legalization                                                               
of raw milk  products and it quickly got  complex financially and                                                               
statutorily.  While  she would like to look at  things that would                                                               
support a bigger dairy industry, including  raw milk as a part of                                                               
that, she  said she  thinks it would  derail the  proposed bill's                                                               
passage and  she would  like to  see the  bill move  forward now.                                                               
She pointed  out that the  bill's fiscal  note is zero,  the bill                                                               
has no agency opposition or concern,  and the bill has very broad                                                               
support  in both  bodies.   She further  recalled that  last year                                                               
when the  legislature looked  at cutting  the dairy  inspector in                                                               
the  budget,  it   was  learned  that  there   are  many  federal                                                               
regulations about  what a state  can do to  sell milk.   She said                                                               
herd sharing  is not  a work-around, but  is an  avenue permitted                                                               
under the  law that the  state can expand on  and prove up.   She                                                               
said she therefore will oppose Conceptual Amendment 1.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
1:15:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   RAUSCHER  offered   his  appreciation   for  the                                                               
discussion but  said he doesn't see  anywhere in HB 22  that says                                                               
selling raw milk is acceptable.  He continued:                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     So, this is basically  saying that now you're confining                                                                    
     something that has  really nothing to do  with the bill                                                                    
     at all.  It steps  outside of what we're talking about,                                                                    
     which  is  herd  sharing.   So,  I'm  not  saying  this                                                                    
     changes it  to allowing, and  nowhere in the  bill does                                                                    
     it say  allows us  to sell  raw milk to,  or ...  a raw                                                                    
     milk product.   All of a sudden,  this language appears                                                                    
     where it says we can't, nowhere  did we say we can, and                                                                    
     nowhere are we  talking about doing that.   But here we                                                                    
     just come out  of the blue and we say  a person may not                                                                    
     sell raw milk or raw milk  product.  And so you see why                                                                    
     I  don't understand  why it  fits, why  I've drawn  the                                                                    
     amendment.   To what  you said and  to what  I've heard                                                                    
     from the maker of the bill,  and I have also by the way                                                                    
     co-sponsored this  bill from its inception  when it was                                                                    
     first planted  into the House,  and I did in  the years                                                                    
     before only because  I would like to see  the bill move                                                                    
     forward also.   But  I really  don't understand  why we                                                                    
     start  ...  to  make  laws  against  things  that  have                                                                    
     nothing  to do  with what  we're talking  about.   I'll                                                                    
     remove it, but I think  that discussion needs to happen                                                                    
     because I don't know why  you want to make other things                                                                    
     illegal when we're just trying  to talk about something                                                                    
     we'd like  to see illegal,  which is why  I'll withdraw                                                                    
     it at  this time.   But I would  like to at  least find                                                                    
     out a better understanding of why.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  PATKOTAK clarified  Representative Rauscher  had withdrawn                                                               
Conceptual Amendment 1 to HB 22.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:17:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE HOPKINS  moved to  report HB  22 out  of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  [zero]                                                               
fiscal notes.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:18:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK objected for purposes of discussion.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR  thanked the  committee for its  interest and                                                               
support of HB 22.   She restated her commitment to Representative                                                               
Rauscher to continue discussing the amendment he proposed.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:18:45 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PATKOTAK  removed his  objection.   There being  no further                                                               
objection,  HB  22  was  reported  out  of  the  House  Resources                                                               
Standing Committee.