Fiscal impact reports (FIRs) are prepared by the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) for standing finance

committees of the NM Legislature. The LFC does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of these reports

if they are used for other purposes.

Current FIRs (in HTML & Adobe PDF formats) are a vailable on the NM Legislative Website (legis.state.nm.us).

Adobe PDF versions include all attachments, whereas HTML versions may not. Previously issued FIRs and

attachments may be obtained from the LFC in Suite 101 of the State Capitol Building North.

F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Harden

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/6/06

HB

SHORT TITLE Livestock Premises Info Confidentiality

SB 655

ANALYST Lewis

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY06

FY07

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates HB 629.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Office of the Attorney General (AGO)

New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA)

No Response Received From

New Mexico Livestock Board (NMLB)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

Senate Bill 655 enacts a new section of the Livestock Code to provide that

records, data and in-

formation collected by the state, recorded or otherwise, for the purposes of a national livestock

identification program shall be confidential and are not public records for purposes of the Inspec-

tion of Public Records Act.

The records, data and information shall be released only upon order of the board to appropriate

governmental agencies for the purposes of a national livestock identification program, disease

outbreak or law enforcement investigation; and they shall not be subject to discovery or introduc-

tion into evidence in any civil action.

SB 655 further provides that the New Mexico Livestock Board shall not release any records, data

Senate Bill 655 – Page

2

or information to a federal agency until the agency confirms in writing that it will maintain the

records, data and information as confidential and that they are not subject to release under the

federal Freedom of Information Act.

A person who

1)

knowingly provides false information to the New Mexico Livestock Board for purposes of a

national livestock identification program, or

2)

refuses to provide to the board information that is required pursuant to the authority of the

board for purposes of a mandatory national livestock identification program

is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to six

months, or both.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

No fiscal impact.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA),

1)

The National Animal Identification System (NAIS) was implemented July 2005.

2)

The NAIS impacts all livestock producers in the state (cattle, dairy cattle, sheep, goats,

poultry, horses, donkeys, mules, and other minor species).

3)

The NAIS also impacts livestock/meat packers, processors, wholesalers/distributors, and

retailers.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) NAIS home page on the

web at

http://animalid.aphis.usda.gov/nais/index.shtml

, the National Animal Identification Sys-

tem (NAIS) is a national program intended to identify animals and track them as they come into

contact with, or commingle with, animals other than herdmates from their premises of origin.

The system is being developed for all animals that will benefit from rapid tracebacks in the event

of a disease concern. Currently, working groups comprised of industry and government represen-

tatives are developing plans for cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, poultry, bison, deer, elk, lla-

mas, and alpacas.

Already, many of these species can be identified through some sort of identification system, but

these systems are not consistent across the country. Tracing an animal’s movements can there-

fore be a time-consuming endeavor during a disease investigation, especially if the animal has

moved across state lines.

The Office of the Attorney General (AGO) suggests that the

Legislature may want to consider

the advantages and disadvantages of prohibiting records, data and information collected by the

state for the purposes of a national livestock identification program as evidence in civil actions.

What if owner A is negligent and infects owner B’s cattle. This information would not be avail-

able in B’s civil suit against A.

ML/yr