SmartTranscript of House Agriculture - 2025-05-15 - 10:20AM

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[Chair David Durfee]: Conversation about committee con discussion, conversation about, sort of next steps on h four zero one. If there's anybody else who the committee feels they need to hear from, we can try and arrange that. So the bill is on notice right now. It I think we'll be taken off notice and sent maybe to I've gotta check with the clerk on this. I'm not sure whether it actually will go to other to the wage and means committee. They have to they need to look at it. What we're what our options are anytime a bill comes back that's been amended by the senate are to concur with the amendment so we can as as we have done in the past, we can just say we're happy with that. We can amend it further if we say that we're not satisfied with what we've got here. We'd like to make a a change or changes and then send it back to the senate. And then as you've heard, the third option is to have a, committee of conference. Fourth option, I guess, is not do anything at all. But, if we wanna move the bill forward, if we wanna do one of the first three. So the timing is a little bit of an issue here just because we're ready to end the session, and the committee the senate committee stops meeting tomorrow. Tomorrow will be their mother's day. So more of the morning committees in the senate stop their work usually before the afternoon committees so so that that they can all focus on the budget and education bill this year. [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: Do they ever have sort of special, you know, warned meetings? [Chair David Durfee]: Yes. Well, that's that's yes. I imagine they do, although I don't know. Actually, I guess, how how that works. But, anyway, it's a it's a consideration. And, yes, representative Steve. [Speaker 2 ]: Because I'm leaving in two minutes, I just wanna state for the record that very support of h four zero one. Would not like to see it. You know, Wilton died, like to try to move it forward with some expediency. I think there's so many positives for our food economy on the the most modest scales, which is incredibly important to many people that I'd like to see us move on it. And I'll be available Okay. To to act on it or to start poll. [Greg Burtt]: Should we come back and vote after session today or something or what? [Chair David Durfee]: Yeah. Or we could do it even tomorrow morning. I think, you know, if we're not at a place today where we're ready to do that, and maybe we will be. But we we can also if we're not ready, I I would just say so everybody knows we could push it back up to next week, and I think it may be pushed back anyway to next week. I need to check with the clerk's office on that. So thank you, Jeff. Thanks. Anyway, so those are the those are the options. There are all there's also the question out of, you know, what would what so what would the senate do even if they did if the committee was meeting and how would they react? They they might feel, no. This is where we are. And and the administration may also have, you know, opinions on a bill. And often those are reflected in the testimony that we get from the agencies or the department. I you know, and we so we've heard, you know, the department was involved in crafting the new version of the bill, and and we've heard, obviously, their testimony yesterday. So, anyway, that's, I think, where we where we are. And I know that there are a couple of things that come up that, you know, we might want to continue talking about, so we can do that now. People have other thoughts. [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: Yeah. I'm I think, at this point, you know, near that, if you could just, you know, help us build, make it to the finish line, I'd like to see the thresholds be higher on non break through sand, beginning of fractures. But if it's not possible to make that happen this year, I need better have something proper. That's better. Yep. [Leland Morgan]: So go ahead. Just on that, [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: is there ever language put into to say in almost like a sunset type thing where you revisit the numbers and to either correct them because of inflation or revisit them because maybe after a couple years, [Chair David Durfee]: you're like, well, these are really too low. Yeah. Sometimes you'll see that there's an inflation inflator built in that ties it into CPI or there's a specific regional, I think, cost of living adjuster that so is is often and and I don't know why that isn't in more authentic, except that it means that it may be unclear to, you know, like, in this case, the food producer, what is the number? How high can it go? Because it's, you know, it was ten thousand dollars and two thousand, it's gone up by some number, and I have no idea, you know, twenty five years later what that is. That may that may be an argument. But, yeah, I think more of that's that's the kind of thing that you would see or just a straight number that that has to be revisited. So, you know, one one thing that we could do is if, you know, anyone wants to have a conversation with the, you know, offline with the department or with our our senate counterparts and just get a sense of what their appetite might be. Again, recognizing that may there may be an openness to doing something, but time is also a consideration this year. [Greg Burtt]: Yeah. I mean, I I feel the same as Greg. I'd be happy to support it as it is, but I, I wonder. I also, it just doesn't feel like it would necessarily be that complicated even for us to revisit it next year. I mean, I've seen this happen before where you pass a bill and then you're like, oh, you know what? We didn't quite get it right. We wanna amend this one part. And next year, somebody introduces a small bill and maybe even as a committee bill, we'd say, you know what? We wanna relook at this one number. And then, you know, it's not like we're still in the same biennium. Like, we can you know, it'll if this bill is done, we then start with that as the ground level, and we still could look at at upgrading the the number if, you know, if it made sense. But I think waiting to do the whole thing is gonna delay it by at least a year. I mean, in term just in terms of our like, we've got two weeks left, and and our our senate colleagues are adjourned tomorrow in terms of committee reviews. So I think moving it forward as it is is in the the best interest of of the issues. [Chair David Durfee]: Does anybody feel strongly or in another direction? Feel that actually would would be better to not concur? [Leland Morgan]: As far as four zero one? Yeah. [Chair David Durfee]: I know you had expressed yesterday some concerns about that. Well, when we [Leland Morgan]: originally put this before our committee, it was just simply to increase the the threshold. And it was quite simplistic and it looked good. It was easy to understand. When it came back from the senate, I felt that it added too many things and added another category because some other state did that kind of thing. And it just seemed to me that it was a little bit cumbersome, a little bit confusing, and I'm I just wondered how people would perceive it when they, if it became law. But these two people that were on earlier, seemed to be happy with it. One indicated that he felt, you know, let's keep this simplified and not so confusing for people. So that's my concern. Overall, I think it's a great idea, but I just think the Senate went a little too far, as far as making it a simplified, easy to understand, you know, for the people that are going to have live with it. Yeah. Yeah. [Chair David Durfee]: Okay. Alright. Well, [Greg Burtt]: I think maybe [Chair David Durfee]: that that's good. If if nobody else has anything else you wanna add, I think we'll since we don't have everybody, I know both Jed and Richard said and Richard, I think, said yesterday that he would be supportive. We could I know, Leland, if you I mean, we don't need to have everyone support the bill, obviously, and if you're not comfortable with it. [Leland Morgan]: I I I will be supportive. It's just that's a concern. But Okay. With their discussions, I Yes. Okay. Okay. So alright. Good. Well, then [Chair David Durfee]: I think, you know, we can wait all we can wait and do a formal straw poll later. In the meantime, you know, feel free to have conversations with, as I suggested, if you want with other folks. I'm gonna I'm gonna find about the timing of the bill. I'm also gonna just find out a little bit more about what happens after Friday when a committee is no longer actually formally meeting in the senate. Do they ever get back together? They gotta repeat it. [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: Do we need them to get back together for this bill? [Chair David Durfee]: No. Only if we only if we extended it. Yep. And [Leland Morgan]: yeah. And [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: I I wouldn't change my vote, but can we ask about CBD at some point? [Chair David Durfee]: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So as ingredients. [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: Yeah. Just on those sort of those such ads, I was just I was sort of curious about where they came up with this because a lot of them, you know, like, for some mix would be. I know it's like [Chair David Durfee]: Yes. [Vice Chair Heather Surprenant]: So how do you define Trailmix is like [Chair David Durfee]: Alright. It's Pete. Good morning. [Witness Jessica Schabano]: Jessica Schabano, department of health. So I just wanted to clarify for the CBD products. Those are regulated by the cannabis control board that would not be fall under the manufactured food products at the department. [Chair David Durfee]: CBD for them? [Witness Jessica Schabano]: Yeah. Any CBD product. Yeah. [Chair David Durfee]: Interesting. So before there was a cannabis control board, I think that feels like their CBD was already on the shelves. To be for sure infused products where they'll they'll put in. [Witness Jessica Schabano]: They're I confirmed with my colleagues that they're the regulatory authority of the CBD and cannabis products. Yep. That, you know, that would not fall under the the the yes. Any of the cottage food products or the products that we're talking about here. Yeah. [Leland Morgan]: So if there were concerns, they'd have to go there as opposed to [Chair David Durfee]: this. Right. Yeah. Thank you. Alright. Then I think we can take another break. At eleven, Michael Chernick will be in and I think the commissioner, yeah, to look at that. And then I have to step out then at eleven so I can super not can lead the conversation. I don't think it'll be a long conversation. Then we'll have a straw poll on that so that Jed can report it on the first floor.
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