Volume 41 - Issue 6 - February 10, 2022
State of Kansas
Department of Agriculture
Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulation
The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) will conduct a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. April 14, 2022, to consider the adoption of a proposed regulation. Due to the public health concerns posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the hearing proceedings will be conducted virtually via video conferencing system only. Anyone desiring to participate in the public hearing via video conference must pre-register at https://kansasag.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkdeyqrjMoHNIO210zZVoUDbPrqA_vvgvm.
This 60-day notice of the public hearing shall constitute a public comment period for the purpose of receiving written public comments regarding the proposed regulation. All interested parties may submit written comments prior to the hearing by mail or email to: Kansas Department of Agriculture, Attn: Ronda Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502, or ronda.hutton@ks.gov. All interested parties will also be given a reasonable opportunity to orally present their views regarding the adoption of the proposed regulation during the hearing. In order to give all parties an opportunity to present their views, it may be necessary to request that each participant limit any oral presentation to five minutes. This regulation is proposed for adoption on a permanent basis. A summary of the proposed regulation and its economic impact follows:
K.A.R. 4-7-804 – The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is proposing revisions to update the fees for dairy laboratory analyses performed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture Laboratory (KDAL). The revisions are proposed because the current fee schedule contained in K.A.R. 4-7-804 was enacted in 2002 and no longer covers the costs associated with each laboratory analysis. Additionally, the proposed regulation offers new laboratory analyses that KDAL did not have the capacity to complete when the current regulation was adopted. Moreover, the proposed regulation will not impact other dairy laboratory analyses performed by KDAL, which KDA will continue to provide at no cost to dairy licensees.
Under the proposed fee revisions, KDA will charge $15.00, $30.00, $50.00, $80.00, and $130.00 for the various types of dairy laboratory analyses specified in the regulation, which increases the rates from the existing prices of $5.00 and $10.00, depending on the analysis.
Economic Impact Statement:
The proposed regulation is not mandated by the federal government and only one contiguous state, Oklahoma, offers the type of dairy laboratory analyses specified in this regulation. However, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Laboratory’s current fee schedule does not allow the laboratory to impose fees to offset the expenses it incurs in performing the analyses. The department of agriculture laboratories in Colorado, Nebraska, and Missouri do not provide dairy laboratory analyses like those specified in this regulation.
Because KDA has historically performed very few analyses of the type specified in the proposed regulation, KDA does not anticipate the proposed regulation will enhance or restrict business activity or growth in Kansas. The Kansas Dairy Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, the Kansas Livestock Association, and all of KDA’s dairy manufacturing plant licensees were consulted throughout the development of this regulation and did not express concern that the proposed regulation would restrict their business activities or growth.
The direct economic effect of the proposed regulation may vary based on the number of dairy laboratory analyses requested by dairy licensees each year. However, based on data collected during 2020 and 2021, KDA estimates that the proposed regulation will result in approximately $240 in total additional costs being incurred by members of the dairy industry, who may in turn pass those increased costs on to their customers. As a result, the proposed regulation will have a minimal effect on the state economy as a whole.
The benefits of the proposed regulation outweigh the costs, as it will allow KDAL to cover necessary expenses in performing analyses to ensure the Kansas dairy industry produces safe and high-quality products. Additionally, the proposed fees will allow KDAL to cover necessary costs associated with the dairy laboratory analyses specified in the regulation, but they are not so high that KDAL will profit from dairy laboratory analyses. For example, KDAL performed a total of seven dairy laboratory analyses of the type specified in the regulation during 2020 and 2021 combined and collected a total of $35 for those analyses. KDAL’s actual cost incurred for performing those analyses was $290.37. This resulted in a net loss to KDAL of $255.37. If the same analyses were performed pursuant to the proposed new fee schedule, KDAL would collect $275, and KDAL’s actual cost would be $274.35.
KDA does not anticipate that the proposed regulation will significantly increase or decrease the revenues of Kansas cities, counties or school districts, or impose functions or responsibilities on cities, counties or school districts that will increase their expenditures or fiscal liability. Letters were sent to the League of Kansas Municipalities, the Kansas Association of School Boards, and the Kansas Association of Counties inquiring as to whether those entities believed the proposed regulation would impose increased costs or responsibilities on their members. No responses were received from those entities.
KDA consulted with and solicited information from all of KDA’s dairy manufacturing plant licensees, the Kansas Dairy Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, and the Kansas Livestock Association.
The proposed regulation presents no environmental impact.
Any individual with a disability may request accommodations to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulation and economic impact statement in an accessible format. Requests for accommodations should be made at least five working days in advance of the hearing by contacting Ronda Hutton, via telephone at 785-564-6715 or via fax at 785-564-6777.
Copies of the regulation and its economic impact statement may be obtained by contacting KDA via mail at the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Attn: Ronda Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502, via telephone at 785-564-6715, or at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov. Comments may also be made at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/document-services/public-comment.
Mike Beam
Secretary
Doc. No. 049810
