S.B. 126: FIRST ANALYSIS - SLAUGHTERHOUSE LICENSURE REPEAL

Senate Bill 126 (as passed by the Senate)

Date Completed: 3-3-97

RATIONALE

Public Act 280 of 1965 provides for the licensure and regulation of meat slaughterhouses operating in the State. The licensure and inspection program, however, has not been funded since the early 1980s when the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) food safety and inspection division took over the responsibility of inspecting these facilities. Currently, all meat inspections are conducted by the USDA at the slaughterhouses, and all meat slaughtered for commercial sale must bear a USDA inspection seal. Since the State Agriculture Department no longer regulates slaughterhouses, some people believe that Public Act 280 should be repealed.

CONTENT

The bill would repeal Public Act 280 of 1965, which provides for the certification and licensure of slaughterhouses. The Act requires the Director of the Department of Agriculture to administer the Act; provides that the Director must evaluate and may approve local units' meat inspection programs; prohibits a person from establishing or operating a slaughterhouse or an edible rendering establishment without a license from the Department; requires a license to establish or operate a wholesale fabricating, processing, or storage establishment handling meat products; exempts from licensure people "conducting operations of types traditionally conducted at retail outlets"; provides for ante-mortem and postmortem inspection of slaughtered animals; and authorizes the Director to enter into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the purpose of carrying out the meat inspection program.

MCL 287.571-287.582

ARGUMENTS

(Please note: The arguments contained in this analysis originate from sources outside the Senate Fiscal Agency. The Senate Fiscal Agency neither supports nor opposes legislation.)

Supporting Argument

Meat slaughterhouses operating in the State no longer are inspected and regulated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture but by the Federal agriculture department. In fact, the State has not conducted an inspection program since the 1980s. Public Act 280 of 1965, which provides for slaughterhouse regulation, is still on the books, however. In 1995, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules reportedly repealed rules promulgated under Public Act 280 that pertained to the certification and licensing of slaughterhouses. The bill would remove an obsolete law from the books.

- Legislative Analyst: L. Arasim

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact. The Federal government has superseded the State in meat inspections. The State has not implemented Public Act 280 of 1965 for a number of years.

- Fiscal Analyst: A. Rich

A9798\S126A

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.