Volume 43 - Issue 51 - December 19, 2024
State of Kansas
Department of Agriculture
Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulations
A public hearing will be conducted at 10:00 am February 26, 2025, in the 1st floor meeting room 124, Kansas Department of Agriculture, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, Kansas, to consider the adoption of the proposed regulations. The public hearing will be conducted in person and via video conferencing system. Members of the public who wish to attend the public hearing virtually must pre-register at https://kansasag.zoom.us/j/85789934414?pwd=v8k2rJlBenFOyXZZ3P27yq3u6MPFqU.1.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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 regulations. 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. Comments may also be made via the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s website at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/public-resources/public-comments.
All interested parties will also be given a reasonable opportunity to orally present their views regarding the adoption of the proposed regulations during the hearing. 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. These regulations are proposed for adoption on a permanent basis.
A summary of each proposed regulation and its economic impact follows:
The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) is proposing amendments to two existing regulations, K.A.R. 4-16-1a and K.A.R. 4-16-1c, and the revocation of one existing regulation, K.A.R. 4-16-129a, for the administration of the Kansas Meat and Poultry Inspection Act, K.S.A. 65-6a18 et seq. and amendments thereto. KDA’s Meat and Poultry Inspection Program is required to adopt requirements at least equal to that of USDA’s federal inspection program to receive federal funding. To accomplish this, KDA has numerous regulations that adopt federal regulations by reference. These proposed changes are to incorporate the currently adopted federal code sections into a single, complete document that will allow the state meat and poultry inspection program’s regulatory scheme to remain at least equal to that of the federal inspection program. The federal code sections adopted in the amended regulation are those that are internally referenced within the newly published Kansas Meat and Poultry Inspection Code.
There will be no change in current economic costs or benefits because these proposed changes will adopt the Federal Code as our own State Code whereas before the Federal Code was incorporated by reference in K.A.R. 4-16-1c.
The regulations adopt the document titled Kansas Meat and Poultry Inspection Code 2024, which is based primarily on the regulatory structure of the Federal Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The federal regulations incorporated into the document that is adopted by reference are the standards that are adopted by other state meat and poultry inspection programs that participate in the FSIS program. Because USDA requires state meat and poultry programs to enact regulatory schemes at least equal to federal standards to receive funding, the proposed regulations employ a similar approach to those utilized by agencies of contiguous states.
KDA’s Meat and Poultry Inspection Program is required to adopt requirements at least equal to that of USDA’s federal inspection program to receive federal funding for the KDA Meat and Poultry Inspection Program. The proposed regulations do not exceed any requirements of the federal government.
The majority of the changes from the previously adopted standards apply to facility or registration types that Kansas does not currently have, such as large-scale swine processing facilities and young poultry processing facilities. The changes that apply to those facility types codify the flexibility that operations in neighboring states expect and should encourage those types of operations to seriously consider Kansas as a viable location for a new facility. As those changes mainly apply to larger scale operations, they also have the potential to encourage current registrants to expand their operations into new areas. Those changes that apply to facilities currently operating in Kansas are largely aimed at adopting standards that are already widely employed by the meat and poultry industry, so there will be negligible enhancement or restriction on current businesses with regard to those changes.
The economic effect of the proposed regulations on state-inspected meat and poultry processing operations will be negligible. Most of the updates to the Code of Federal Regulations that are incorporated into the Meat and Poultry Inspection Code 2024 and apply to current Kansas state-inspected facilities relate to changes in labeling requirements, and most, if not all, facilities already have the capability to design and print their labels in-house, which allows them to implement the updated requirements at minimal additional cost. Other businesses, sectors, public utility ratepayers, individuals, local governments, and the state economy will be largely unaffected by the proposed rules and regulations.
State inspected meat and poultry processing facilities will be the only businesses directly affected by the proposed regulations.
The incentive for new businesses to come to Kansas and the opportunity for efficient growth in existing operations outweighs the negligible costs that will be incurred in complying with the newly adopted regulations.
KDA was careful to consider the state standards in relation to the federal standards when crafting the Kansas Meat and Poultry Code and the regulations that adopt it. Adopting standards that are not more restrictive than federal standards, while still being sufficient to allow participation in the FSIS cooperative agreement keeps impacts on business and economic development as low as possible.
The vast majority of meat and poultry industry operators have already voluntarily adhered to many of the requirements contained in the proposed regulations, since it is in their best interest to operate using the most updated practices. Accordingly, even minimal costs that might have been associated with facilities implementing the proposed changes have already been absorbed prior to adoption of these regulations. Furthermore, because the proposed regulations do not substantially change the framework for inspection by the Meat and Poultry Inspection Program in Kansas, the implementation of these regulations will not impose any significant new costs.
The proposed regulations will not result in any change to aggregate state revenues, as they do not change the fees for participation in the state Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, which are already established in K.S.A. 65-6a34 and are merely referenced by the proposed regulations. However, the incentive for new businesses to participate in the Program has the potential to generate an increase in revenue through those annual licensing fees. With regard to expenditures, implementation of the proposed regulations should have no impact. The updated regulations can be implemented without creation of new government positions or additional expenditures for labor or other resources.
Though there are no economic impacts expected from implementation of the proposed regulations, existing Kansas facilities may pass any costs they do incur while complying with the updated requirements on to their customers through a small increase in processing fees or prices for goods. This number is difficult to estimate as the decision whether to pass costs on to customers will be up to the few individual facilities that may incur increased costs. The overall economic impact on individuals, small employers, and the public will be negligible.
The proposed regulations will not increase or decrease revenues of cities, counties or school districts, or impose functions or responsibilities on cities, counties or school districts that will increase expenditures or fiscal liability. On July 1, 2022, KDA sent letters to the League of Kansas Municipalities, Kansas Association of Counties, and the Kansas Association of School Boards requesting input as to the effect of the proposed rules and regulations on those entities. The letters contained a copy of the proposed regulations and stated that the entities could contact KDA if they wished to review the proposed Meat and Poultry Inspection Code in full. To date KDA has received no response from any of these entities.
KDA circulated information regarding the proposed updates to current regulations, along with a draft of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Code, to representatives from Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association, and the Kansas Meat Packers Association, all of which serve a large number of stakeholders that would be affected by the updates. None of the organizations raised objections to the proposed regulations or the document that they adopt by reference. KDA also provided information on the proposed changes to all current licensees who have an email address on file with the agency.
Any individual with a disability may request accommodations to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulations and their 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 fax at 785-564-6777. The entrance is located on the west side of the building at 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, Kansas, and is accessible to individuals with disabilities including handicapped parking.
Copies of the regulations and their economic impact statement may be obtained by contacting the Department via mail at Kansas Department of Agriculture, Attn: Ronda Hutton, 1320 Research Park Dr., Manhattan, KS 66502, via telephone at 785-564-6715, or via the Department’s website at https://www.agriculture.ks.gov.
Michael M. Beam
Secretary
Department of Agriculture
Doc. No. 052740
