House File 54

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  ALONS, KLEMME, MANTERNACH,
                                           LALK, HUSEMAN, BOGGESS,
                                           MERTZ, DE BOEF, EICHHORN,
                                           and CHAMBERS


    Passed House, Date                Passed Senate,  Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to certification fees charged to commercial
  2    manure applicators, and providing an effective date.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 1305YH 80
  5 da/sh/8

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 459.102, subsection 11, Code 2003, is
  1  2 amended by striking the subsection.
  1  3    Sec. 2.  Section 459.315, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code
  1  4 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1  5    a.  "Commercial manure applicator" means the same as
  1  6 defined in section 459.102 a person who engages in the
  1  7 business of and charges a fee for applying manure on the land
  1  8 of another person.
  1  9    Sec. 3.  Section 459.315, subsection 6, unnumbered
  1 10 paragraph 1, Code 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  1 11    The department may charge a fee for certifying a person
  1 12 under this section.  The fee for certification shall be based
  1 13 on the costs of administering and enforcing this section and
  1 14 paying the expenses of the department relating to
  1 15 certification.  However, a commercial manure applicator shall
  1 16 not be charged a certification fee of more than one hundred
  1 17 dollars.  A person who is certified as a confinement site
  1 18 manure applicator as provided in this section is exempt from
  1 19 paying the certification fee, if all of the following apply:
  1 20    Sec. 4.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of
  1 21 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  1 22                           EXPLANATION
  1 23    BACKGROUND.  In 1998, the general assembly enacted House
  1 24 File 2494 (1998 Iowa Acts, chapter 1209) regulating animal
  1 25 feeding operations by the department of natural resources.
  1 26 Part of the legislation required certification for commercial
  1 27 manure applicators (persons engaged in the business of
  1 28 applying manure on the land of other persons).  The provisions
  1 29 were codified as Code section 455B.203A, which was recently
  1 30 transferred to new Code section 459.315 as part of Senate File
  1 31 2293, enacted in the 2002 session (2002 Iowa Acts, chapter
  1 32 1137; see also 2002 Iowa Acts, Second Extraordinary Session,
  1 33 chapter 1003).
  1 34    PROVISIONS OF THE BILL.  Currently, Code section 459.315
  1 35 provides that a person is certified as a commercial manure
  2  1 applicator after completing an educational program that
  2  2 consists of an examination or continuing instructional
  2  3 courses.  The Code section authorizes the department to charge
  2  4 a certification fee based on the costs of administering and
  2  5 enforcing the program.  This bill provides that a commercial
  2  6 manure applicator shall not be charged a certification fee of
  2  7 more than $100.  The bill also moves the definition of
  2  8 "commercial manure applicator" from the beginning of Code
  2  9 chapter 459 to Code section 459.315, the only Code section in
  2 10 which the term is used.
  2 11    The bill takes effect upon enactment.
  2 12 LSB 1305YH 80
  2 13 da/sh/8