HB 1688-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
08/10
HOUSE BILL 1688-FN
AN ACT relative to exempting maple syrup and milk products produced and sold in state from federal regulation.
COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture
This bill exempts maple syrup and milk products produced and sold in state from federal regulation.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2781
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to exempting maple syrup and milk products produced and sold in state from federal regulation.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Subdivision; Regulation of Maple Syrup Produced in New Hampshire. Amend RSA 429 by inserting after section 19 the following new subdivision:
Regulation of Maple Syrup Produced in New Hampshire
429:20 Prohibitions. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, maple syrup and maple flavored products that are manufactured commercially or privately in New Hampshire and that remain within the state of New Hampshire are not subject to federal law or taxation, or federal regulation under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. It is declared by the legislature that those items have not traveled in interstate commerce. This section applies only to maple syrup and maple flavored products that are wholly produced in New Hampshire.
429:21 Marketing of Maple Syrup and Maple Flavored Products. Maple syrup or maple flavored products made with maple syrup produced or sold in New Hampshire under this chapter shall have the words “Made in New Hampshire” clearly stamped, inscribed, or otherwise marked on the container of maple syrup or maple flavored product.
429:22 Penalty.
I. Any public servant of the state of New Hampshire as defined in RSA 640:2 that enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the government of the United States upon a container of maple syrup or maple flavored product that is produced commercially or privately in New Hampshire and that remains within the state of New Hampshire as provided in this subdivision shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
II. Any official, agent, or employee of the government of the United States, or employee of a corporation providing services to the government of the United States that enforces or attempts to enforce an act, order, law, statute, rule, or regulation of the government of the United States upon maple syrup or maple flavored products that are produced commercially or privately in New Hampshire and that remains within the state of New Hampshire as provided in that subdivision shall be guilty of a class B felony.
429:23 Applicability. This subdivision shall apply maple syrup and maple flavored products that are manufactured, as defined in this chapter, and retained in New Hampshire after January 1, 2013.
2 Repeal. RSA 429:13, IV(b), relative to federal regulation of maple syrup, is repealed.
3 Federal Regulation of Milk Products. Amend RSA 184:30-a to read as follows:
184:30-a Pasteurization Required.
I. No milk or milk products as defined in RSA 184:79 shall be sold, offered for sale or served unless pasteurized. This shall not serve to prohibit the direct sale of raw milk or cream from the producer, store or milk pasteurization plant to the final consumer, or milk or cream from a producer to stores, nor the serving of raw milk at bona fide boarding houses where the milk is produced on the premises, provided that in the dining room of such boarding houses a sign is prominently displayed stating that such raw milk is served therein, nor the sale, within the state, of cheese made from raw milk when such cheese has been aged a minimum of 60 days at a temperature above 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and is clearly labeled as unpasteurized. This section shall not prohibit the direct sale of yogurt made with raw milk by the producer in this state, provided that such yogurt is clearly labeled as having been made with raw milk.
II. Any producer who produces annually less than 1000 pounds of milk or milk products shall be exempt from any federal regulations concerning the sale of milk and milk products.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.
LBAO
12-2781
Revised 01/18/12
HB 1688 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to exempting maple syrup and milk products produced and sold in state from federal regulation.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill will increase state and county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on local expenditures, or state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill exempts maple syrup and maple flavored products manufactured in New Hampshire that remain in New Hampshire from federal law and regulation. Violations of RSA 429 by a New Hampshire public servant would be punished as a class A misdemeanor, and by an official, agent or employee of the government of the United States would be punished as a class B felony. The Branch has no information to estimate how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in the bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures but does have information on the cost for processing a class A misdemeanor or a class B felony. All costs are estimated based on case weight information from the last needs assessment completed in 2005. The Branch states a class A misdemeanor will cost $59.11 per case in FY 2013 and $61.31 per case in FY 2014 and each year thereafter. The Branch states the class B felony would be classified as an average routine felony and treated as an average routine criminal case in the Superior Court. The Branch states an average routine criminal case will cost $389.84 per case in FY 2013 and $401.48 per case in FY 2014 and each year thereafter. The possibility of appeals increases the likelihood the fiscal impact on the Branch will exceed $10,000.
The Judicial Council states this bill may result in an indeterminable increase in state general fund expenditures. The Council states if an individual is found to be indigent, the flat fee of $275 per misdemeanor or $756.24 per felony is charged by a public defender or contract attorney. If an assigned counsel attorney is used the fee is $60 per hour with a cap of $1,400 for a misdemeanor charge and $4,100 for a felony charge. The Council also states additional costs could be incurred if an appeal is filed. The public defender, contract attorney and assigned counsel rates for Supreme Court appeals is $2,000 per case, with many assigned counsel attorneys seeking permission to exceed the fee cap. Requests to exceed the fee cap are seldom granted. Finally, expenditures would increase if services other than counsel are requested and approved by the court during the defense of a case or during an appeal.
The Department of Justice states the criminal offense created by the bill may increase the Department’s expenditures by an indeterminable amount. The Department’s public integrity unit investigates and prosecutes crimes committed by public officials in their official capacity. The Department states to the extent public officials violate this law the Department will have increased costs associated with responding to, investigating, and where appropriate prosecuting complaints.
The Department of Corrections states it is not able to determine the fiscal impact of this bill because it does not have sufficient detail to predict the number of individuals who would be subject to this legislation. The Department of Corrections states the average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $32,492. The cost to supervise an individual by the Department’s division of field services for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010 was $659.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states to the extent more individuals are charged, convicted, and sentenced to incarceration in a county correctional facility, the counties may have increased expenditures. The Association is unable to determine the number of individuals who might be charged, convicted or incarcerated as a result of this bill to determine an exact fiscal impact. The average annual cost to incarcerate an individual in a county correctional facility is approximately $35,000. There is no impact on county revenue.
The Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food, and Department of Health and Human Services state this bill will have no fiscal impact.