Assemblyman Bill Magee (D-Nelson) announced that legislation he authored to eliminate unnecessary licensing and fees for milk and farm product small businesses passed the Assembly (A.8492).
“Subjecting small-scale milk and farm product dealers to a drawn-out licensing process wastes time and money for both the businesses and the state,” said Magee. “By getting rid of this requirement, we can take a major burden off of small businesses while making the process easier for everyone else. It’s a win-win.”
Magee’s legislation raises the minimum sales threshold for licensing and financial security requirements from $10,000 to $20,000 for milk and farm product dealers. Current law requires farm product dealers with a sales threshold of $10,000 to take part in an extensive and detailed licensing process. This creates more administrative hurdles and overhead costs for both participating dealers and state Department of Agriculture, said Magee.
The sales threshold was last raised in 1997, from $3,000 to $10,000. Since 2010, there has not been a single claim filed against a dealer within the $10,000 to $20,000 threshold. In the unlikely event of a claim, the bill allows the state Department of Agriculture to seek restitution from defaulting dealers.
Additionally, the measure removes licensing fees of $2 and $5 from both milk testing and milk receiver’s licenses. The cost of collecting and processing these fees exceeds the fees themselves, making them little more than a nuisance for small businesses.