Bill Text

The Animal Feed Act

Section 1. Short Title.

The Act shall be known and may be cited as the “<insert your state’s name here> Animal Feed Act.”

Section 2. Legislative Findings.

The Legislature for the state of <insert your state’s name here> finds the following:

(A) Agriculture is important to the economic and general welfare of <insert your state’s name here>;

(B) Many bacteria reside in animals and humans;

(C) The use of antibiotics has been a common practice since the late 1940s in agriculture to promote the growth of animals, increase feed efficiency, and prevent disease, thereby increasing the output of eggs, milk, and meat;

(D) There is increasing evidence that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is on the rise and is an increasing risk to human health; and

(E) Eliminating the practice of adding low levels of antibiotics to animal feed that are routinely used to treat common ailments in humans will allow <insert your state’s name here> to maintain a profitable agricultural industry and promote general human health.

Section 3. Legislative Intent.

It is the intent of the Legislature to:

(A) Regulate the administration to healthy animals of low levels of antibiotics that are routinely used to treat human ailments in the overall interest of public welfare; and

(B) Create the “<insert your state’s name here> Animal Feed Act” to accomplish this purpose.

Section 4. Definitions.

For the purposes of this Act the following words have the following meanings:

(A) “Agricultural animal” refers to a domesticated livestock species, including but not limited to cow, equine, pig, and poultry species.

(B) “Animal feed” refers to any liquid or solid material administered to an agricultural animal for sustenance.

(C) “Antibiotic” refers to a drug or class of drugs used to treat bacterial infections.

(D) “Department of Agriculture” refers to the <insert your state’s name here> Department of Agriculture <or your state’s equivalent>.

(E) “Department of Environmental Quality” refers to the <insert your state’s name here> Department of Environmental Quality <or your state’s equivalent>.

(F) “Department of Health” refers to the <insert your state’s name here> Department of Health <or your state’s equivalent>.

(G) “Extension Service” refers to the <insert your state’s name here> University Cooperative Extension Service <or your state’s equivalent>.

(H) “Subtherapeutic” refers to the use of an antibiotic, in the absence of disease, to increase feed efficiency, or prevent disease in a healthy animal.

(I) “Therapeutic” refers to the use of an antibiotic to treat a bacterial infection.

Section 5. Antibiotic Use in Agriculture.

(A) The subtherapeutic use of antibiotics in agricultural animals is hereby prohibited as follows:

(1) After <recommend a date one year after Act enactment> no person or entity may sell, buy, or use animal feed containing fluoroquinolones for subtherapeutic use; and

(2) After <recommend a date two years after Act enactment> no person or entity may sell, buy or use animal feed containing penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, lincomycin, tylosin, virginiamycin, or other antibiotics used in human medicine for a subtherapeutic use.

(B) The Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall establish a list of antibiotics used in human medicine that are regularly used in agriculture. A list of recommended guidelines shall be established for the appropriate therapeutic uses of antibiotics in animals if the antibiotics are used in human medicine.

Section 6. Sale of Feed.

(A) Any person or entity who manufactures, distributes, or sells commercial animal feed containing antibiotics shall pay to the Department of Agriculture an annual surcharge of one percent of the person’s or entity’s annual gross sales of all commercial agricultural animal feeds sold that contain antibiotics.

(B) The money collected from the surcharge shall be managed according to the following provisions:

(1) Funds shall be deposited into a <insert preferred state fund> to the credit of the Department of Agriculture;

(2) The principal may not be spent and deposits made shall be returned to the person or entity that paid the surcharge five years after the payment; and

(3) The interest from the deposits collected from the surcharge shall be used in the following manner by the Director of the Department of Agriculture, or a designee thereof:

(a) In cooperation with the Extension Service, to support on-farm demonstrations of alternatives to antibiotics for growth promotion;

(b) To monitor antibiotic resistance in animals raised for human consumption;

(c) To survey antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella in retail meats;

(d) In consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality, to monitor bacteria, resistant bacteria, and antibiotic residues in drinking water supplies and;

(e) For the payments of the costs of inspection, sampling, analysis, and other expenses necessary for the administration of this Act.

Section 7. Severability.

If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Act, which can be given effect without regard to the invalid provision or application and, to this end, the provisions of this Act are severable.

Section 8. Promulgation of Regulations.

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health are authorized to make rules and perform any additional duties deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this Act.

Section 9. Effective Date.

This Act shall take effect immediately upon enactment.