By: Judith McGeary
The Texas Legislature had the opportunity to address a critical
issue to horse owners this session, and failed to get the job done. Regular
readers of the Horse Gazette are very familiar with the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS). For newcomers, the NAIS is a program that would require every
person who owns even one horse, chicken, cow, goat, deer, or other livestock
or exotic livestock animal to (1) register their property with the state and
federal government; (2) identify each animal, in most cases with electronic
identification and (3) report their movements, including private sales and shows.
NAIS was proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2002 at the
urging of industrial agriculture interests, and the USDA has been funding state
agencies to implement the program.
Two years ago, the Texas Legislature gave the Texas Animal Health Commission
(TAHC) authority to make NAIS mandatory in Texas, complete with fines of up
to $1,000/day and even criminal misdemeanor penalties. Almost no animal owners
knew about NAIS when this law was passed, but several organizations –Texas
Farm Bureau, Texas Cattle Feeders, and Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers
– testified in favor of the bill. A public outcry stopped the TAHC from
adopting mandatory regulations in February 2006, but the public was left with
no guarantees or safeguards against mandatory regulations being adopted in the
future. Moreover, due to the combined pressure of USDA funding (which comes
with strings attached) and pro-NAIS industry groups, the already-existing program
in Texas has been far from truly voluntary. People have been told that NAIS
was mandatory, or that they had to register if their child was in 4-H, or that
they could not sell at a certain sales barn if they did not register.
Because of this, the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) asked legislators
to adopt a new law this session, to take away the agency’s authority to
make NAIS mandatory and to limit it to a truly voluntary program. This voluntary
program would have included safeguards against misleading or coercive tactics
being used to force people into NAIS. HB 461 and HB 637, filed by Representatives
Miller and Hughes, would have achieved these goals.
TAHC officials, USDA officials, and the industrial agriculture organizations
have all repeatedly said that there is nothing to worry about, because NAIS
is voluntary. So it should have been easy to get the bill passed, right? After
all, the bill simply ensured that the program stayed voluntary, and made sure
that “voluntary” meant what normal people think it means. But the
truth came out in the legislative session, and it was very different from the
government and industry rhetoric.
The first step in the legislative path was for HB 461 to have a hearing before
the House Committee on Agriculture. Dr. Hillman, the Executive Director of the
Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), was required to testify “on”
the bill because a state employee can’t testify for or against legislation.
But he made it very clear that he did not approve of the bill. The Texas Farm
Bureau and Texas Cattle Feeders testified against the bill. When questioned
by Representatives Miller and Anderson, both groups admitted that they had not
polled their general membership about the position they were taking. Texas &
Southwestern Cattle Raisers did not testify on HB 461, but when testifying at
another hearing on the TAHC Sunset Bill, its lobbyist stressed that the association
opposed any change to the existing animal ID law. All of these people and groups
wanted TAHC to retain the authority to make NAIS mandatory.
But this time, at least some of the public was aware of what NAIS would mean
for animal owners in Texas. FARFA, the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association,
Exotic Wildlife Association, Texas Landowners Council, Texas Eagle Forum, and
multiple individuals testified in favor of HB 461. After the Committee approved
HB 461, the Texas Farm Bureau continued its efforts to kill the bill, sending
an email to the legislators urging them to vote against HB 461– and leave
the possibility that NAIS would become made mandatory in Texas. Despite the
agency’s and industry’s opposition, a majority of Representatives
responded to their constituents’ concerns and voted for HB 461.
Then came the Senate. At this stage, having lost in the House, some of the industry
groups focused their efforts on weakening the bill. Senator Estes sponsored
the bill, and proposed an amended version (known as a committee substitute)
that would allow the agency to make NAIS mandatory if the federal government
“adopted a timeline” for a mandatory NAIS. The draft committee substitute
included some other troubling provisions requested by industry, such as weakening
the full disclosure provision.
But apparently having weakened the bill was not enough. Even though the bill
was on the calendar, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst did not allow the Senators
to vote on it. Yet the same day that HB 461 was on the calendar, there was time
for the Senate to vote on a resolution making the boot the State Shoe of Texas!
The Lieutenant Governor and Senate also had time to vote on the TAHC’s
Sunset Bill, even though that bill was not on the calendar. Is it a coincidence
that the industrial agriculture organizations groups opposed HB 461 and supported
the TAHC’s Sunset Bill, and both votes went in their favor? Whatever the
reason, the result was that HB 461 died without being voted on by the Senate.
So what now? The most immediate issue is the federal implementation of NAIS.
So far, the USDA has simply funded state programs, and left it to the states
whether or not to make it mandatory. Some Congressmen want to mandate NAIS.
Others want to limit or stop it completely. The fight will be staged in the
Farm Bill, which will probably be voted on by both House and Senate this summer.
There are also stand-alone bills, both promoting and opposing NAIS, that may
be issues in the coming months.
In the long term, the fight is not over in Texas. In eighteen months, the Texas
Legislature will convene again, with both old and new faces. During these months,
the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance will be holding public meetings all over
the state to educate people about the issue, along with other outreach efforts.
If you are interested in learning more, and helping protect your rights, go
to www.farmandranchfreedom.org or call 866-687-6452.
Back to NAIS on The Horse Gazette Website