A bill to extend the current West River Brand Inspection area across the state survived the House Ag and Natural Resources Committee by one vote Thursday. House Bill 10-89 was praised for its efforts to protect livestock from theft on the east side of the state. But the measure drew criticism for its added costs and additional FTEs. Ray Martinmaas, who owns the Mean Woman Ranch near Gettysburg, opposes another layer of expense in the cattle business.
"And at the end of the day," Martinmaas claims, "the rancher has to pay for it, through fees or whatever.
"Yeah, it’s a burden to the livestock market and everyone involved, but they just pass it on to us. Which I understand—we’re at the bottom of the hill, and we end up paying the freight—it’s just another expense.
"We’ve got along fine East River the way things have been. I’ve had cattle stolen, had some cattle recovered and some not. That’s the way it is. But it just looks like more expense, and more regulation that’s going to be heaped up on top of us, so I’m just not for it."
Committee Chairman Charlie Hoffman encouraged the bill’s deferment to the 41 st Day—he said while he thinks the rules should be the same on both sides of the river, this measure will almost certainly go down to defeat on the senate floor. An amended bill advanced to the full Senate on a seven-six vote.
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