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| Montana Administrative Register Notice 4-14-220 | No. 9 05/08/2014 | |
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BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA
TO: All Concerned Persons
1. On June 2, 2014, at 10:00 a.m., the Department of Agriculture will hold a public hearing in Room 225 of the Scott Hart Building, at 302 N. Roberts, Helena, Montana, to consider the proposed amendment of the above-stated rule.
2. The Department of Agriculture will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who wish to participate in this rulemaking process or need an alternative accessible format of this notice. If you require an accommodation, contact Department of Agriculture no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 27, 2014, to advise us of the nature of the accommodation that you need. Please contact Cort Jensen, Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, Montana, 59620; telephone (406) 444-5402; fax (406) 444-5409; or e-mail cojensen@mt.gov.
3. The rule as proposed to be amended provides as follows, deleted matter interlined, new matter underlined:
4.13.1001A GRAIN FEE SCHEDULE (1) The effective date of this rule is July 1, (2) General provisions applying to all sections of this rule are as follows: (a) remains the same. (b) The regular hourly rate for travel time and stand-by fee is $ (c) Overtime and holiday hourly rate is $ (d) through (j) remain the same. (k) Processing and handling fee for sample preparation and export documentation (per request)………………………………………..…....$7.50 (3) through (3)(f) remain the same. (h) through (j) remain the same but are renumbered (g) through (i). ( (k) aflatoxin per quantitative analysis test…………………… $30.00 (l) through (5)(j) remain the same. (k) vomitoxin (DON) per quantitative analysis test...................$ (l) remains the same. (m) aflatoxin per quantitative analysis test ……………………$30.00 (m) and (n) remain the same but are renumbered (n) and o).
IMP: 80-4-721, MCA
REASON: The State Grain Lab (SGL) costs have increased due to increased personnel costs, travel expense, and administrative services. In specific service areas, the cost of providing services has exceeded the revenue. These service areas include travel time, administrative services for export documentation, and mycotoxin determinations. The current hourly rate for services was set in 2003. The SGL has no history of charging for administrative services. The federal agency that provides equivalent services in neighboring states of Idaho and North Dakota does charge for the preparation of export documents and certain other administrative services. The SGL is proposing to add a service for aflatoxin testing on corn, barley, wheat, and other commodities according to Federal Grain Inspection Services guidelines. This service has been requested by our customers.
ECONOMIC IMPACT: The proposed fee increase will impact three fees currently established: regular hourly rate, overtime/holiday rate, and vomitoxin determination. The SGL charges grain elevator and merchants an hourly rate (regular and overtime) for travel that is associated with official sampling.
The current fee for regular hours is $16.00 and will be increased to $24.00. This fee increase will impact approximately 30 customers resulting in a revenue increase of approximately $16,500.00 annually. The current fee for overtime hours is $23.50 and will be increased to $36.00. This fee increase will impact approximately 30 customers resulting in a revenue increase of approximately $4,000 annually.
The current fee for vomitoxin is $23.50 and will be increased to $30.00. This fee increase will impact approximately 25 customers resulting in a revenue increase of approximately $500.00 annually.
The proposed fee increase would add two new fees: aflatoxin determination and processing/documentation fee for export lots. The proposed fee for aflatoxin would be $30.00. This fee will impact approximately 5 customers resulting in a revenue increase of approximately $600 annually.
The new fee for processing/documentation fee for export lots will be $7.50 per request. A request may include multiple railcars, warehouse lots, etc. This fee will impact approximately 30 customers resulting in a revenue increase of approximately $10,000 annually.
The overall impact of the new and proposed fee increases will result in an increase of revenue of approximately $31,600.
4. Concerned persons may submit their data, views, or arguments either orally or in writing at the hearing. Written data, views, or arguments may also be submitted to: Cort Jensen, Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 200201, Helena, Montana, 59620; telephone (406) 444-5402; fax (406) 444-5409; or e-mail cojensen@mt.gov, and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., June 30, 2014.
5. Cort Jensen, Department of Agriculture, has been designated to preside over and conduct this hearing.
6. The department maintains a list of interested persons who wish to receive notices of rulemaking actions proposed by this agency. Persons who wish to have their name added to the list shall make a written request that includes the name, e-mail, and mailing address of the person to receive notices and specifies for which program the person wishes to receive notices. Notices will be sent by e-mail unless a mailing preference is noted in the request. Such written request may be mailed or delivered to the contact person in 4 above or may be made by completing a request form at any rules hearing held by the department.
7. An electronic copy of this proposal notice is available through the Secretary of State's web site at http://sos.mt.gov/ARM/Register. The Secretary of State strives to make the electronic copy of the notice conform to the official version of the notice, as printed in the Montana Administrative Register, but advises all concerned persons that in the event of a discrepancy between the official printed text of the notice and the electronic version of the notice, only the official printed text will be considered. In addition, although the Secretary of State works to keep its web site accessible at all times, concerned persons should be aware that the web site may be unavailable during some periods, due to system maintenance or technical problems.
8. The bill sponsor contact requirements of 2-4-302, MCA, do not apply.
9. With regard to the requirements of 2-4-111, MCA, the department has determined that the amendment of the above-referenced rule will not significantly and directly impact small businesses as detailed in the economic impact statement.
/s/ Cort Jensen /s/ Ron de Yong Cort Jensen Ron de Yong Rule Reviewer Director Department of Agriculture
Certified to the Secretary of State April 28, 2014
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A directory of state agencies is available online at http://www.mt.gov/govt/agencylisting.asp.
For questions about the organization of the ARM or this web site, contact sosarm@mt.gov.
