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House File 640 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to the powers and duties of the department
2of agriculture and land stewardship, by changing the name
3of the weather bureau, modifying reporting requirements
4regarding agricultural liming material, modifying provisions
5applicable to demonstration projects involving alternative
6fuels, transferring certain Code sections, providing for
7the use of certain appropriated moneys for surface water
8quality, and eliminating certain watershed demonstration
9pilot projects.
10BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1DIVISION I
2NAME change — WEATHER BUREAU TO CLIMATOLOGY BUREAU
3 Section 1. Section 159.5, subsection 4, Code 2019, is
4amended to read as follows:
54. Maintain a weather climatology bureau which shall,
6in cooperation with the national weather service, collect
7and disseminate weather and phenological statistics and
8meteorological data, and promote knowledge of meteorology,
9phenology, and climatology of the state. The bureau shall be
10headed by the state climatologist who shall be appointed by
11the secretary of agriculture, and shall be an officer of the
12national weather service, if one is detailed for that purpose
13by the federal government.
14DIVISION II
15AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
16COMMERCIAL FEED — LICENSING
17 Sec. 2. Section 198.4, subsection 4, Code 2019, is amended
18to read as follows:
194. A person obtaining a license under this section shall
20pay to the secretary a license fee of twenty dollars. The fee
21shall be paid by July 1 and the license shall expire two years
22after that on July 1 of the odd-numbered year following the
23 date the license is issued. A license may be renewed for a
24two-year period as provided by the department.
25FERTILIZERS AND CROP CONDITIONERS — LICENSING
26 Sec. 3. Section 200.4, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
27to read as follows:
281. Any person who manufactures, mixes, blends, mixes to
29customer’s order, offers for sale, sells, or distributes any
30fertilizer or soil conditioner in this state must first obtain
31a license issued by the secretary and pay a twenty dollar
32license fee for each place of manufacture or distribution
33from which fertilizer or soil conditioner products are sold
34or distributed in this state. The license shall expire on
35the first day July 1 of the second July even-numbered year
-1-1 following the date of issue the license is issued. A license
2may be renewed for a two-year period as provided by the
3department.
4BULK DRY ANIMAL NUTRIENT PRODUCTS — LICENSING
5 Sec. 4. Section 200A.5, Code 2019, is amended to read as
6follows:
7200A.5 License.
8A person who distributes a bulk dry animal nutrient product
9in this state must first obtain a license from the department.
10A license application must be submitted to the department on
11a form furnished by the department according to procedures
12required by the department. A license shall expire on July 1
13of each the even-numbered year following the date the license
14is issued. A license may be renewed for a two-year period as
15provided by the department.
16 Sec. 5. Section 200A.9, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
17to read as follows:
181. A person required to obtain a license as provided in
19section 200A.5 shall pay the department a ten dollar fee
20equal to twenty dollars for each place from which the person
21distributes a bulk product is distributed in this state.
22AGRICULTURAL LIMING MATERIALS — REPORTS
23 Sec. 6. Section 201A.2, Code 2019, is amended by adding the
24following new subsection:
25 NEW SUBSECTION. 3A. “Department” means the department of
26agriculture and land stewardship.
27 Sec. 7. Section 201A.6, Code 2019, is amended to read as
28follows:
29201A.6 Certification of effective calcium carbonate
30equivalent — reporting.
311. The department shall certify the effective calcium
32carbonate equivalent for all agricultural liming material, as
33provided by rules adopted by the department. The department
34may establish a fee for analyzing samples of agricultural
35liming material.
-2- 12. The department shall may issue a report at least
2once every three months which lists at such times and under
3circumstances determined reasonable by the department. The
4report may list items determined relevant by the department
5during the reporting period, including but not limited to the
6agricultural liming material certified by the department. The
7report shall list, the manufacturers of the agricultural liming
8material, the locations of facilities used to manufacture
9the agricultural liming material, and the identification of
10the type of the agricultural liming material produced by the
11manufacturer.
12DIVISION III
13WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
14MOTOR FUEL
15 Sec. 8. Section 214A.1, Code 2019, is amended by adding the
16following new subsection:
17 NEW SUBSECTION. 9A. “Department” means the department of
18agriculture and land stewardship.
19 Sec. 9. Section 214A.19, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
201, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
21The department of natural resources, conditioned upon the
22availability of funds moneys, is authorized to may award
23demonstration grants to persons who purchase vehicles which
24operate on alternative fuels, including but not limited to
25E-85 gasoline, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electricity,
26solar energy, or hydrogen. A grant shall be for the purpose
27of conducting research connected with the fuel or the vehicle,
28and not for the purchase of the vehicle itself, except that the
29money may be used for the purchase of the vehicle if all of the
30following conditions are satisfied:
31COMMERCIAL WEIGHING AND MEASURING DEVICES
32 Sec. 10. CODE EDITOR DIRECTIVE.
331. The Code editor is directed to make the following
34transfers:
35a. Section 215.26 to section 215.1.
-3- 1b. Section 215.1 to section 215.1A.
22. The Code editor shall correct internal references in the
3Code and in any enacted legislation as necessary due to the
4enactment of this section.
5DIVISION IV
6WATER QUALITY
7GROUNDWATER PROTECTION FUND
8 Sec. 11. Section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph b,
9subparagraph (3), subparagraph division (d), Code 2019, is
10amended to read as follows:
11(d) (i) Thirteen percent of the moneys is appropriated
12annually to the department of agriculture and land stewardship
13for financial incentive programs related to agricultural
14drainage wells and sinkholes, for studies and administrative
15costs relating to sinkholes and agricultural drainage
16wells programs. Of the moneys allocated for financial
17incentive programs, the department may reimburse landowners
18for engineering costs associated with voluntarily closing
19agricultural drainage wells. The financial incentives
20allocated for voluntary closing of agricultural drainage wells
21shall be provided on a cost-share basis which shall not exceed
22fifty percent of the estimated cost or fifty percent of the
23actual cost, whichever is less. Engineering costs do not
24include construction costs, including costs associated with
25earth moving.
26(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph subdivision (i), the
27department of agriculture and land stewardship may use all
28or a portion of the moneys appropriated in that subparagraph
29subdivision to support programs, projects, and activities
30related to improving the quality of surface water as well as
31groundwater.
32WATERSHED PLANNING
33 Sec. 12. REPEAL. Section 466B.32, Code 2019, is repealed.
34EXPLANATION
35The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
-4-1the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
2GENERAL. This bill relates to the powers and duties of
3the department of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS) and
4in certain circumstances impacts the department of natural
5resources (DNR).
6NAME CHANGE — WEATHER BUREAU TO CLIMATOLOGY BUREAU. The
7bill changes the name of the agency’s weather bureau to
8climatology bureau to correspond to current practice.
9AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION — LICENSES — COMMERCIAL FEED,
10FERTILIZERS AND CROP CONDITIONERS, AND BULK DRY ANIMAL NUTRIENT
11PRODUCTS. The bill amends a number of provisions in various
12Code chapters providing for the issuance of licenses to
13manufacturers or distributors of commercial feed, manufacturers
14of fertilizers and soil conditioners, and distributors of bulk
15dry animal nutrient products. In the case of licenses for
16commercial feed and of fertilizers and soil conditioners, a
17license remains valid for a two-year period. For commercial
18feed, the license would expire on July 1 of each odd-numbered
19year and for fertilizers and soil conditioners, the license
20would expire on July 1 of an even-numbered year. In the case of
21bulk dry animal nutrient products, the license would for be for
22a two-year rather than one-year period expiring on July 1 of
23each even-numbered year. The license fee would increase from
24$10 to $20 for each place of distribution.
25AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION — AGRICULTURAL LIMING MATERIALS
26— REPORTS. The bill provides that DALS may but is no
27longer required to issue a report regarding the manufacture
28of agricultural liming material certified by the agency.
29Currently, the report must be issued each three months.
30WEIGHTS AND MEASURES — MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL. The bill
31provides that DALS rather than DNR may award demonstration
32grants to persons who purchase motor vehicles operated using
33alternative fuels.
34WEIGHTS AND MEASURES — COMMERCIAL WEIGHING AND MEASURING
35DEVICES — RELOCATION. The bill requires the Code editor to
-5-1transfer certain Code sections (e.g., definitional section)
2relating to the regulation of commercial weighing and measuring
3devices for purposes of enhancing readability.
4WATER QUALITY — GROUNDWATER PROTECTION FUND. The bill
5amends a provision which allocates moneys to DALS from the
6agriculture management account of the groundwater protection
7fund. It authorizes DALS to use any of those moneys to support
8programs, projects, and activities related to improving the
9quality of surface water or groundwater.
10WATER QUALITY — WATERSHED PLANNING. The bill eliminates a
11provision that authorizes DALS and DNR to establish one or more
12watershed demonstration projects.
-6-da/rn
2of agriculture and land stewardship, by changing the name
3of the weather bureau, modifying reporting requirements
4regarding agricultural liming material, modifying provisions
5applicable to demonstration projects involving alternative
6fuels, transferring certain Code sections, providing for
7the use of certain appropriated moneys for surface water
8quality, and eliminating certain watershed demonstration
9pilot projects.
10BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1DIVISION I
2NAME change — WEATHER BUREAU TO CLIMATOLOGY BUREAU
3 Section 1. Section 159.5, subsection 4, Code 2019, is
4amended to read as follows:
54. Maintain a weather climatology bureau which shall,
6in cooperation with the national weather service, collect
7and disseminate weather and phenological statistics and
8meteorological data, and promote knowledge of meteorology,
9phenology, and climatology of the state. The bureau shall be
10headed by the state climatologist who shall be appointed by
11the secretary of agriculture, and shall be an officer of the
12national weather service, if one is detailed for that purpose
13by the federal government.
14DIVISION II
15AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
16COMMERCIAL FEED — LICENSING
17 Sec. 2. Section 198.4, subsection 4, Code 2019, is amended
18to read as follows:
194. A person obtaining a license under this section shall
20pay to the secretary a license fee of twenty dollars. The fee
21shall be paid by July 1 and the license shall expire two years
22after that on July 1 of the odd-numbered year following the
23 date the license is issued. A license may be renewed for a
24two-year period as provided by the department.
25FERTILIZERS AND CROP CONDITIONERS — LICENSING
26 Sec. 3. Section 200.4, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
27to read as follows:
281. Any person who manufactures, mixes, blends, mixes to
29customer’s order, offers for sale, sells, or distributes any
30fertilizer or soil conditioner in this state must first obtain
31a license issued by the secretary and pay a twenty dollar
32license fee for each place of manufacture or distribution
33from which fertilizer or soil conditioner products are sold
34or distributed in this state. The license shall expire on
35the first day July 1 of the second July even-numbered year
-1-1 following the date of issue the license is issued. A license
2may be renewed for a two-year period as provided by the
3department.
4BULK DRY ANIMAL NUTRIENT PRODUCTS — LICENSING
5 Sec. 4. Section 200A.5, Code 2019, is amended to read as
6follows:
7200A.5 License.
8A person who distributes a bulk dry animal nutrient product
9in this state must first obtain a license from the department.
10A license application must be submitted to the department on
11a form furnished by the department according to procedures
12required by the department. A license shall expire on July 1
13of each the even-numbered year following the date the license
14is issued. A license may be renewed for a two-year period as
15provided by the department.
16 Sec. 5. Section 200A.9, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
17to read as follows:
181. A person required to obtain a license as provided in
19section 200A.5 shall pay the department a ten dollar fee
20equal to twenty dollars for each place from which the person
21distributes a bulk product is distributed in this state.
22AGRICULTURAL LIMING MATERIALS — REPORTS
23 Sec. 6. Section 201A.2, Code 2019, is amended by adding the
24following new subsection:
25 NEW SUBSECTION. 3A. “Department” means the department of
26agriculture and land stewardship.
27 Sec. 7. Section 201A.6, Code 2019, is amended to read as
28follows:
29201A.6 Certification of effective calcium carbonate
30equivalent — reporting.
311. The department shall certify the effective calcium
32carbonate equivalent for all agricultural liming material, as
33provided by rules adopted by the department. The department
34may establish a fee for analyzing samples of agricultural
35liming material.
-2- 12. The department shall may issue a report at least
2once every three months which lists at such times and under
3circumstances determined reasonable by the department. The
4report may list items determined relevant by the department
5during the reporting period, including but not limited to the
6agricultural liming material certified by the department. The
7report shall list, the manufacturers of the agricultural liming
8material, the locations of facilities used to manufacture
9the agricultural liming material, and the identification of
10the type of the agricultural liming material produced by the
11manufacturer.
12DIVISION III
13WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
14MOTOR FUEL
15 Sec. 8. Section 214A.1, Code 2019, is amended by adding the
16following new subsection:
17 NEW SUBSECTION. 9A. “Department” means the department of
18agriculture and land stewardship.
19 Sec. 9. Section 214A.19, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
201, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
21The department of natural resources, conditioned upon the
22availability of funds moneys, is authorized to may award
23demonstration grants to persons who purchase vehicles which
24operate on alternative fuels, including but not limited to
25E-85 gasoline, biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electricity,
26solar energy, or hydrogen. A grant shall be for the purpose
27of conducting research connected with the fuel or the vehicle,
28and not for the purchase of the vehicle itself, except that the
29money may be used for the purchase of the vehicle if all of the
30following conditions are satisfied:
31COMMERCIAL WEIGHING AND MEASURING DEVICES
32 Sec. 10. CODE EDITOR DIRECTIVE.
331. The Code editor is directed to make the following
34transfers:
35a. Section 215.26 to section 215.1.
-3- 1b. Section 215.1 to section 215.1A.
22. The Code editor shall correct internal references in the
3Code and in any enacted legislation as necessary due to the
4enactment of this section.
5DIVISION IV
6WATER QUALITY
7GROUNDWATER PROTECTION FUND
8 Sec. 11. Section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph b,
9subparagraph (3), subparagraph division (d), Code 2019, is
10amended to read as follows:
11(d) (i) Thirteen percent of the moneys is appropriated
12annually to the department of agriculture and land stewardship
13for financial incentive programs related to agricultural
14drainage wells and sinkholes, for studies and administrative
15costs relating to sinkholes and agricultural drainage
16wells programs. Of the moneys allocated for financial
17incentive programs, the department may reimburse landowners
18for engineering costs associated with voluntarily closing
19agricultural drainage wells. The financial incentives
20allocated for voluntary closing of agricultural drainage wells
21shall be provided on a cost-share basis which shall not exceed
22fifty percent of the estimated cost or fifty percent of the
23actual cost, whichever is less. Engineering costs do not
24include construction costs, including costs associated with
25earth moving.
26(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph subdivision (i), the
27department of agriculture and land stewardship may use all
28or a portion of the moneys appropriated in that subparagraph
29subdivision to support programs, projects, and activities
30related to improving the quality of surface water as well as
31groundwater.
32WATERSHED PLANNING
33 Sec. 12. REPEAL. Section 466B.32, Code 2019, is repealed.
34EXPLANATION
35The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
-4-1the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
2GENERAL. This bill relates to the powers and duties of
3the department of agriculture and land stewardship (DALS) and
4in certain circumstances impacts the department of natural
5resources (DNR).
6NAME CHANGE — WEATHER BUREAU TO CLIMATOLOGY BUREAU. The
7bill changes the name of the agency’s weather bureau to
8climatology bureau to correspond to current practice.
9AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION — LICENSES — COMMERCIAL FEED,
10FERTILIZERS AND CROP CONDITIONERS, AND BULK DRY ANIMAL NUTRIENT
11PRODUCTS. The bill amends a number of provisions in various
12Code chapters providing for the issuance of licenses to
13manufacturers or distributors of commercial feed, manufacturers
14of fertilizers and soil conditioners, and distributors of bulk
15dry animal nutrient products. In the case of licenses for
16commercial feed and of fertilizers and soil conditioners, a
17license remains valid for a two-year period. For commercial
18feed, the license would expire on July 1 of each odd-numbered
19year and for fertilizers and soil conditioners, the license
20would expire on July 1 of an even-numbered year. In the case of
21bulk dry animal nutrient products, the license would for be for
22a two-year rather than one-year period expiring on July 1 of
23each even-numbered year. The license fee would increase from
24$10 to $20 for each place of distribution.
25AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION — AGRICULTURAL LIMING MATERIALS
26— REPORTS. The bill provides that DALS may but is no
27longer required to issue a report regarding the manufacture
28of agricultural liming material certified by the agency.
29Currently, the report must be issued each three months.
30WEIGHTS AND MEASURES — MOTOR VEHICLE FUEL. The bill
31provides that DALS rather than DNR may award demonstration
32grants to persons who purchase motor vehicles operated using
33alternative fuels.
34WEIGHTS AND MEASURES — COMMERCIAL WEIGHING AND MEASURING
35DEVICES — RELOCATION. The bill requires the Code editor to
-5-1transfer certain Code sections (e.g., definitional section)
2relating to the regulation of commercial weighing and measuring
3devices for purposes of enhancing readability.
4WATER QUALITY — GROUNDWATER PROTECTION FUND. The bill
5amends a provision which allocates moneys to DALS from the
6agriculture management account of the groundwater protection
7fund. It authorizes DALS to use any of those moneys to support
8programs, projects, and activities related to improving the
9quality of surface water or groundwater.
10WATER QUALITY — WATERSHED PLANNING. The bill eliminates a
11provision that authorizes DALS and DNR to establish one or more
12watershed demonstration projects.
-6-da/rn