Posted on 03/09/2004 9:33:25 AM PST by writer33
OLYMPIA _ Supporters of bills aimed at combating mad cow disease and reviving the Washington beef industry convened at the state Capitol on Monday to call for Senate passage of the House measures.
Several House bills died Friday when the state Senate adjourned two hours before a deadline for each chamber to consider bills passed by the other.
"These bills got caught up in something that didn't have anything to do with mad cow disease," said Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, who helped sponsor the legislation. "They should have been passed, and they should have been passed early."
Linville, who chairs the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said the bills already enjoy strong bipartisan support from lawmakers, industry officials and animal rights groups.
The legislation comes three months after a cow from a Mabton, Wash., dairy became the first U.S. animal to test positive for mad cow disease.
House Bill 2299 would prepare Washington to join a federal livestock tracing program now being developed.
"The federal government is stepping back and we need to step forward," Linville said, citing the U.S. Agriculture Department's announcement last week that it plans to implement the system only if a voluntary program does not work.
Another bill, HB 2802, would outlaw the transportation and delivery of live "downer" livestock -- animals too sick or weak to stand or walk by themselves -- except for medical care or euthanasia. Agriculture officials say such animals are statistically more likely to have mad cow disease.
The bill would make moving live downer cattle, sheep and other animals to or from livestock markets, feedlots or slaughterhouses a gross misdemeanor. Violators would face up to $5,000 in fines and one year in jail.
The final bill, HB 2929, would offer business and occupation tax breaks for Washington companies that slaughter cattle for processing and wholesaling.
Such companies have been hit hard by the loss of international beef markets, industry officials said. About 50 countries have banned U.S. beef, its byproducts or live cattle since the mad cow case was confirmed.
Under the bill, slaughtering and meat processing companies could claim a deduction from the tax until Japan, Mexico, and South Korea lift import bans on beef and beef products from the United States. They would forgo paying an estimated $282,100 next year.
"The public needs to feel that we're going to do everything we need to do to believe our food supply is safe," said Rep. Sandra Romero, D-Olympia. Eating beef from a diseased cow is thought to cause the fatal human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The Washington beef industry isn't suffering. That statement is stupid.
This company could benefit big time if Mad Cow laws are passed.
The Group operates in four segments: ANIMAL APPLICATIONS: segment develops, manufactures and markets radio, electronic and visual identification devices for the companion animal, livestock, laboratory animal, fish and wildlife markets worldwide. WIRELESS AND MONITORING: segment develops and markets advanced technology to gather location and local sensory data and to communicate that data to an operations center.
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