The Colorado Livestock Association Legislative Affairs Committee held its first meeting of the 2019 Legislative Session.
The Committee voted to SUPPORT the following introduced legislation:
HB19-1102 Nonanimal & Lab-grown Meat Misbranding
The bill states that food is misbranded as “meat” or a cut of meat if it does not come from animals and that lab-grown meat is misbranded as “meat” or a cut of meat unless these terms are not modified by “lab-grown” or “artificially cultured”.
Bill Sponsors: Representative Rod Pelton, Representative Kimmi Lewis, Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, Senator Joann Ginal
SB19-038 Agricultural Trailers Port of Entry Clearance
Current law requires motor vehicles having an empty weight of 16,000 or more pounds or a motor vehicle that weighs 26,001 or more pounds fully loaded to clear a port of entry within 5 miles of its route. The bill exempts motor vehicles hauling trailers used primarily for agricultural commodities, including livestock.
Bill Sponsors: Senator Jerry Sonnenberg, Representative Rod Pelton
UPDATE (10:44am 1/18/19): At the Senate Transportation and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday where SB19-038 is scheduled to be heard, Senator Sonnenberg intends to ask the Committee to postpone this bill indefinitely.
The Committee was joined by Representative Dylan Roberts (D) who discussed the structure of the House Ag Committee as well as the bills he is sponsoring so far this session, including legislation related to; youth suicide prevention, water quality protection related to mineral mining, expanding pharmacist’s authorizations, affordable health care coverage and more.
Representative Roberts serves as the Chair of the House Rural Affairs and Agriculture Committee, Chair of the House Capital Development Committee and is a member of the House Judiciary Committee. Rep. Roberts, who was raised in the Steamboat Springs area, represents District 26 comprised of Eagle and Routt counties.
CLA’s Legislative Affairs Committee members include; Julie McCaleb (chair), Dave Amundson, John Caldwell, Britt Dinis, Mark Frasier, Mary Kraft, Luke Larson, Andrew Mertens, Justin Miller, John Mrozinski, Jon Slutsky, Trevor Tuell, and Steve Holdren (Lobbyist). CLA Board members Nolan Stone and Jared Breinig also joined the call.
The Legislative Affairs Committee will meet every other Friday morning at 7:00 am throughout the session. CLA members who are interested in participating should call Kellee Mitchell at (970) 378-0500 for the meeting call-in information.
