Status (overview) of bill: https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2019R1/Measures/Overview/HB2061
Personal Choice and Responsibility
Increase in food production costs will either be paid by the producers, who may not be able to remain in business; or by the consumer – raising the cost of living, disproportionally affecting those on limited or fixed incomes.
Fiscal Responsibility
Increases fees (taxes) on agricultural producers in all categories of operation. This is a big impact on OregonAg. Increases NPDES or WPCF permit fees for small confined animal feeding permit from $100 to $125; medium animal from $200 to $250; and large animal from $300 to $500, maximum $10,000. Authorizes a permit application fee of $100 for small confined animals, $150 for medium animals, $300 large animals not to exceed $15,000. Establishes a $200 permit application fee for the transfer of an operation under a general or individual NPDES or WPCF permit. Effective January 1, 2020.
Limited Government
A gross overreach of government. The fee (tax) increases are huge trying to make a crisis out of a bankrupt dairy to justify high permit costs for a false resolution.
This has all the red flags you can imagine. What this will essentially do is drive up the cost and put smaller farmers/ranchers out of business. The only purpose seems to be to grow government intrusion into the business sector where it will do nothing more than raise the cost of doing business which is not good for anyone except the government.