Testimony of Garry Wagner,
Registration Coordinator
North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Senate Bill 2110
January 9, 2003, 9:30 a.m.
Senate Agriculture Committee
Roosevelt Room

Chairman Flakoll and members of the committee, my name is Garry Wagner. I am the Registration Coordinator for Feed, Fertilizer and Livestock Medicine for the Plant Industries Program Area in the Department of Agriculture. I am here to testify in support of SB 2110 that amends chapter 19-20.1 of the North Dakota Century Code. This bill relates to registration and inspection fees of fertilizers and soil conditioners.

This amendment will clarify the fertilizer registration, and licensing renewal period. The change would establish a registration period of two years but all registrations expire on June 30th of "every even number year". This has been the interpretation of the law by our staff for many years, but a recent request from a registrant and discussions with the assistant attorney general assigned to our office suggested that the current law is unclear. Clarification of a two year period for fertilizer registration and licensing allows the department to maintain a registration process that is more cost effective and time efficient. This allows the department to coordinate registration renewals.

The amendment also sets a minimum tonnage reporting fee of ten dollars in order to help defray the costs of processing and maintaining the program. Currently the state collects a fee of twenty cents per ton with no minimum fee. A company that sells specialty fertilizers such as lawn care products may sell only a ton of fertilizer but submits a fee of twenty cents. It takes as much time and work to process the one ton reports as it does the reports for larger amounts. This amendment allows the department to set a minimum fee of ten dollars for tonnage reports to off set administrative costs.

Thank you for considering SB 2110. I would be happy to answer any questions.