BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

OF THE STATE OF MONTANA

 

In the matter of the amendment of ARM 4.12.1405 pertaining to nursery fees

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NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENT

 

TO: All Concerned Persons

 

1. On February 18, 2015, at 3:00 p.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 February 13, 2015, 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, 59620-0201; telephone (406) 444-3144; fax (406) 444-5409; or e-mail cojensen@mt.gov.

 

3. The rule as proposed to be amended provides as follows, new matter underlined, deleted matter interlined:

 

4.12.1405 PLANT INSPECTION CERTIFICATE/SURVEY COSTS–FEES

(1) through (1)(a)(ii) remain the same.

(b)  Plant inspection certificates Annual clean plant and indexing certification, pursuant to 80-7-108, MCA:, is $250.

(i)  phytosanitary certificates: $23 if the monetary value of the shipment is $1,250 or less;

(ii)  phytosanitary certificates: $50 if monetary value of shipment exceeds $1,250;

(c)  Other services:

(iii)(i)  heat treatment certificates: $10; and

(iv) certificates of origin: $30; and

(v)(ii)  other documents of quarantine compliance: $10.

(c)(d)  The department charges for mileage, lodging, per diem, and an hourly rate for certain services to recover costs for expenses that exceed the fees established in (1)(a) and (b) (1)(a), (b), and (c).  These charges are as follows:

(i) actual costs for sampling and testing for phytosanitary certification;

(ii) mileage for inspecting commodities for phytosanitary certification in excess of 50 miles for any certificate;

(iii) lodging and per diem for phytosanitary certification when travel to inspect requires overnight lodging and per diem;

(iv)(i)  actual cost of trapping, survey, and treatment materials when requested by public or private persons when related to export certification, nursery certification, or nursery stock certification; and

(v)(ii)  hourly charge - $20 $44 per hour with a one-hour minimum.

(d)(e)  Charges for lodging, meals, and mileage will be computed in accordance with rates established in 2-18-501, MCA.

 

AUTH:  80-1-102, 80-7-108, 80-7-122, MCA

IMP:  80-7-108, 80-7-110, 80-7-122, MCA

 

REASON:  New phytosanitary fees were adopted in ARM 4.12.1444 in June of 2014; therefore the fees in this section are no longer valid.  The clean plant and indexing certification fee was inadvertently eliminated during a previous rulemaking; this re-establishes the fee in administrative rule. The clean plant and indexing certification fee remains unchanged. Hourly costs far exceed $20 per hour and are proposed at a rate that is more commensurate with actual personnel costs.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT:  There is no economic impact associated with deleting the old phytosanitary fees. The fee for clean plant and indexing remains the same so there is no economic impact. The hourly fee for non-nursery inspections should have been amended when an hourly fee for nursery inspections was adopted so that the hourly fee was consistent within the program as well as across division programs within the department. The department's hourly charge is a substantial increase ($24/hour more).

 

A nursery certification inspection can take one-half hour to one hour so the nurserymen would pay an increase of $12 to $24 for each certification. There are between five and ten nursery certification requests per year. Other services for which an hourly charge may apply will vary depending on the requested service, e.g., oversight of a heat treatment or other quarantine-related requirement. Therefore, an economic impact assessment cannot be predicted. The department has not received any requests for these types of services in the last several years.

 

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, 59620-0201; telephone (406) 444-3144; fax (406) 444-5409; or e-mail cojensen@mt.gov, and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m., February 27, 2015.

 

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 significantly and directly impact small businesses.

 

 

/s/ Cort Jensen                                            /s/ Ron de Yong                             

Cort Jensen                                                 Ron de Yong

Rule Reviewer                                             Director

                                                                   Department of Agriculture

           

Certified to the Secretary of State January 20, 2015