Committee: House Agriculture & Natural Resources
MOTION:
TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF TUESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 16,
1999.
Moved by:
Representative Weber
Second by:
Representative Chicoine
Action:
Prevailed by voice vote.
HB 1005:
revise the membership of the Value Added Finance Authority.
Proponents:
Representative Kenneth Wetz
Opponents:
None
Presented by:
Representative Kenneth Wetz
MOTION:
TO TABLE HB 1005
"
Section 1. The secretary of agriculture shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 under
which the secretary shall require any person or class of persons engaged in the business of buying
or marketing livestock, whether domestic or foreign, to report to the secretary in such manner as the
secretary requires, information relating to prices for the procurement of livestock as the secretary
determines is necessary to carry out this Act.
Section 2. Only buyers of livestock are required to report livestock price and volume
information. However, the secretary of agriculture shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26
to develop and maintain a verifiable record keeping audit trail that will permit the secretary to verify
that prices reported by livestock buyers are accurate. This system may include the occasional
mandatory reporting of prices by some sellers to ensure that prices reported by packers equal the
prices received by sellers.
Section 3. A livestock buyer shall, at the end of each day during which livestock are purchased
or contracted, provide to the United States Department of Agriculture, agricultural market service
livestock market news branch, and the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, all prices paid for
livestock, both contract and direct purchased, that day. This daily report shall also include prices paid
for livestock, under each contract in force, in which the buyer and a South Dakota resident are parties
for the purchase of the livestock by the buyer, and which sets a date for delivery more than twenty
days after the making of the contract.
Section 4. The reports shall be completed on forms prepared by the Department of Agriculture
for comparison with cash market prices for livestock according to procedures required by the
secretary of agriculture in rules promulgated pursuant to chapter 1-26. Information regarding the
identity of a seller may not be made public. However, information from sellers may be required
pursuant to section 2 of this Act.
Section 5. It is unlawful for a person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or marketing
livestock, whether foreign or domestic to knowingly fail or refuse to provide to the secretary
information required to be reported under this Act.
Section 6. If the secretary of agriculture has reason to believe that a person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or marketing livestock is violating the provisions of this Act, or rules promulgated pursuant to this Act, the secretary after notice and opportunity for hearing, may make an order to cease and desist from continuing the violation and may assess a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each day that a timely or truthful report is not published. In determining the amount of a civil penalty to be assessed, the secretary shall consider the gravity of the offense, the size of the business involved, and the effect of the penalty on the ability of the person to continue
in business. If, after expiration of the period for appeal or after the affirmance of a civil penalty
assessed under this section, the person against whom the civil penalty is assessed fails to pay the
civil penalty, the secretary may refer the matter to the attorney general, who may recover the amount
of the civil penalty in a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 7. The secretary of agriculture shall encourage voluntary reporting by persons engaged
in the business of buying, selling, or marketing livestock, livestock products, meats, or meat products
in an unmanufactured form that are not subjected to a mandatory reporting requirement under this
Act.
Section 8. The secretary shall make information received under this Act available to the public
only in a form that ensures that the identity of the livestock seller submitting a report is not
disclosed; and the confidentiality of proprietary business information is otherwise protected.
Section 9. Nothing in this Act restricts or modifies the authority of the secretary to collect
voluntary reports in accordance with other provisions of law.
Section 10. No livestock purchaser may retaliate against a livestock seller by providing the
livestock seller a price that is unfair or inequitable. This section does not apply to the sale and
purchase of livestock if the following requirements are met:
Section 12. If there is reason to believe from a complaint or resulting investigation that a buyer
has violated or is violating the retaliation prohibition in section 10 of this Act, the secretary shall
cause a complaint to be issued, and a hearing conducted. In the case of a complaint regarding
retaliation prohibited under this Act, the secretary shall find that the buyer involved has violated or
is violating this section if the finding is supported by a preponderance of the evidence.
Section 13. If a buyer violates the retaliation prohibitions of this Act, the buyer is liable to the livestock producer injured by the retaliation for not more than three times the amount of damages sustained as a result of the violation. The liability may be enforced either by complaint to the secretary, or by suit in any court of competent jurisdiction. This section does not abridge or alter any
remedy existing at common law or by statute. The remedy provided by this section is in addition to
any other remedy.
Section 14. Not later than one year after the effective date of this Act, the secretary of
agriculture shall promulgate rules required in this Act. These rules shall be enforced beginning six
months after the rules are made final.
Section 15. The Governor may, at any time, temporarily suspend the requirements set forth
in this Act if quantifiable evidence shows that the requirements adversely affect the economy of
South Dakota. The suspension may be reconsidered if the members of the House and Senate
Agriculture and Natural Resources committees review the quantifiable evidence and make written
recommendations to the Governor.
"
Opponents to Amendment: Phil Cyre, SD Farmers Union
Bob Mack, self
Jerry Biedenfeld, SD Association of Livestock Auction Markets
Moved by:
Representative Duenwald
Second by:
Representative Wetz
Action:
Failed by roll call vote.
(4-9-0-0)
Voting yes:
Duenwald, Juhnke, Slaughter, Wetz
Voting no:
Crisp, Fryslie, Lintz, Sebert, Weber, Chicoine, Kazmerzak, Lockner, Brooks
MOTION:
DO PASS SB 95
Moved by:
Representative Weber
Second by:
Representative Chicoine
Action:
Prevailed by roll call vote.
(13-0-0-0)
Voting yes:
Crisp, Duenwald, Fryslie, Juhnke, Lintz, Sebert, Slaughter, Weber, Chicoine,
Kazmerzak, Lockner, Wetz, Brooks
MOTION:
SUBSTITUTE MOTION AMEND SB 95
Elizabeth L. Markley