Committee postpones Department of Agriculture rule on bovine importation for further clarification

The Administrative Rules Committee postponed consideration of a Department of Agriculture proposal on the importation of bovines and domestic animals after staff pointed to several substantive drafting problems.

Staff said the rule's citation to 9 CFR was too broad for a provision specific to equine infectious anemia testing and requested a more specific citation to help users find the requirement. Staff also said the draft cited the national list of reportable animal diseases as a "definition," which is a list rather than a definitional text. Staff pointed to an internal conflict in the draft: paragraph d requires a permit or CVI to be attached to a waybill or in a driver's possession, while paragraph c allows the permit to be issued by telephone or in writing — a telephone issuance could not be physically attached or carried.

An agency representative said the responsible official had not been available to submit finalized language before the committee's deadline. Committee members asked for written clarification; Roseanne Hackens Phillips explicitly requested written information on the definition of infection. The committee voted to postpone rule 192 until next month to allow the agency time to provide the requested clarifications or a conditional approval request.

No final action was taken; the postponement will bring the rule back for further consideration after the agency submits clarifying language.