Senate Bill No. 218

Introduced By _______________________________________________________________________________

A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act eliminating the state meat and poultry inspection program; requiring inspection of custom slaughterhouses by local health officers; amending sections 50-2-118 and 81-2-102, MCA; repealing sections 81-9-216, 81-9-217, 81-9-218, 81-9-219, 81-9-220, 81-9-226, 81-9-227, 81-9-228, 81-9-229, 81-9-230, 81-9-231, 81-9-232, 81-9-233, 81-9-234, 81-9-235, and 81-9-236, MCA; and providing an effective date."

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:

Section 1.  Section 50-2-118, MCA, is amended to read:

"50-2-118.   Powers and duties of local health officers. (1) Local health officers or their authorized representatives shall:

(a)  make inspections for sanitary conditions, including inspections of custom slaughterhouses in the county;

(b)  as directed by the local board, issue written orders for the destruction and removal of filth which that might cause disease;

(c)  with written approval of the department, order buildings or facilities where people congregate closed during epidemics;

(d)  on forms provided by the department, report communicable diseases to the department each week;

(e)  before the first day of January, April, July, and October, give a report to the local board of sanitary conditions in the county, city, city-county, or district, together with a detailed account of his the local health officer's activities, on forms and containing information required by the department;

(f)  before the 10th day after the report is given to the local board, send a copy of the report required by subsection (1)(e) of this section to the department;

(g)  as prescribed by rules adopted by the department, establish and maintain quarantines;

(h)  as prescribed by rules adopted by the department, supervise the disinfection of places at the expense of the local board when a period of quarantine ends;

(i)  notify the department of his the local health officer's appointment and changes in membership of the local board;

(j)  file a complaint with the appropriate court if this chapter or rules adopted by the local board or state department under this chapter are violated;

(k)  validate state licenses issued by the department in accordance with chapters 50 through 53 of this title.

(2)  With approval of the department, local health officers may forbid persons to assemble in a place if the assembly endangers public health.

(3)  A local health officer who is a physician may be placed in charge of a communicable disease hospital, but a local health officer who is a physician is not required to act as a physician to the indigent.

(4)  A local health officer who is not a physician shall may not act as a physician to anyone."

Section 2.  Section 81-2-102, MCA, is amended to read:

"81-2-102.   Powers of department. (1) The department may:

(a)  supervise the sanitary conditions of livestock in this state, under the provisions of the constitution and statutes of this state and the rules adopted by the department. The department may quarantine a lot, yard, land, building, room, premises, enclosure, or other place or section in this state which that is or may be used or occupied by livestock and which that in the judgment of the department is infected or contaminated with an infectious, contagious, communicable, or dangerous disease or disease-carrying medium by which the disease may be communicated. The department may quarantine livestock in this state when the livestock is affected with or has been exposed to disease or disease-carrying medium. The department may prescribe treatments and enforce sanitary rules which that are necessary and proper to circumscribe, extirpate, control, or prevent the disease.

(b)  foster, promote, and protect the livestock industry in this state by the investigation of diseases and other subjects related to ways and means of prevention, extirpation, and control of diseases or to the care of livestock and its products and to this end may establish and maintain a laboratory, may make or cause to be made biologic products, curatives, and preventative agents, and may perform any other acts and things as may be necessary or proper in the fostering, promotion, or protection of the livestock industry in this state;

(c)  impose and collect such fees as the department considers appropriate for the tests and services performed by it at the laboratory or elsewhere and for biologic products, curatives, and preventative agents made or caused to be made by the department. In fixing these fees the department shall take into consideration the costs, both direct and indirect, of the tests, services, products, curatives, and agents. All fees shall must be deposited in the state special revenue fund for the use of the animal health functions of the department.

(d)  adopt rules and orders which that it considers necessary or proper to prevent the introduction or spreading of infectious, contagious, communicable, or dangerous diseases affecting livestock in this state and to this end may adopt rules and orders necessary or proper governing inspections and tests of livestock intended for importation into this state before it may be imported into this state;

(e)  adopt rules and orders which that it considers necessary or proper for the inspection, testing, and quarantine of all livestock imported into this state;

(f)  adopt rules and orders which that it considers necessary or proper for the supervision, inspection, and control of the standards and sanitary conditions of slaughterhouses, meat depots, meat and meat food products, dairies, milk depots, milk and its byproducts, barns, dairy cows, factories, and other places and premises where meat or meat foods, milk or its products, or any byproducts thereof intended for sale or consumption as food are produced, kept, handled, or stored. An authorized representative of the department may take samples of a product so produced, kept, handled, or stored for analysis or testing by the department. The records of the samples and their analysis and test, when identified as to the sample by the oath of the officer taking it and verified as to the analysis or test by the oath of the chemist or bacteriologist making it, are prima facie evidence of the facts set forth in them when offered in evidence in a prosecution or action at law or in equity for violation of part 1, 2, or 3 of this chapter, 81-9-201, 81-20-101, 81-21-102, 81-21-103, or a rule or order of the board adopted thereunder. These standards, insofar as they relate to dairies or milk and its byproducts, may not include standards of weight or measurement.

(g)  adopt rules and orders which that seem necessary or proper for the supervision and control of manufactured and refined foods for livestock and the manufacture, importation, sale, and method of using a biologic remedy or curative agent for the treatment of diseases of livestock. However, as far as practicable, the standards approved by the United States department of agriculture shall must be adopted.

(h)  install an adequate system of meat inspection in accordance with 81-9-216 through 81-9-220 and 81-9-226 through 81-9-236 which shall provide ways and means for shipping home-grown and home-killed meats into any city in this state. As far as practicable, the rules shall conform with the meat-inspection requirements of the United States department of agriculture.

(i)  slaughter or cause to be slaughtered any livestock in this state that are known to be affected with or which has that have been exposed to an infectious, contagious, communicable, or dangerous disease, when such slaughter is necessary for the protection of other livestock, and destroy or cause to be destroyed all the barns, stables, sheds, outbuildings, fixtures, furniture, or personal property infected with any such an infectious, contagious, communicable, or dangerous disease when they cannot be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and the destruction is necessary to prevent the spreading of the disease;

(j)(i)  indemnify the owner of any property destroyed by order of the department or pursuant to any rules adopted by the department under part 1, 2, or 3 of this chapter, 81-20-101, 81-21-102, 81-21-103;

(k)(j)  require persons, firms, and corporations engaged in the production or handling of meat, meat food products, dairy products, or any byproducts thereof to furnish statistics of the quantity and cost of the food and food products produced or handled and the name and address of persons supplying them any of the products.

(2)  When in the exercise of its powers or the discharge of its duties it becomes necessary for employees of the department to investigate facts and conditions, they may administer oaths, take affidavits, and compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses."

NEW SECTION. Section 3.  Repealer. Sections 81-9-216, 81-9-217, 81-9-218, 81-9-219, 81-9-220, 81-9-226, 81-9-227, 81-9-228, 81-9-229, 81-9-230, 81-9-231, 81-9-232, 81-9-233, 81-9-234, 81-9-235, and 81-9-236, MCA, are repealed.

NEW SECTION. Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 1997.

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