Brief⁽¹⁾

H.B. 2486 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture, on behalf of the State of Kansas, to seek to enter into the Southern Dairy Interstate Compact with party states for the purpose of the orderly marketing of milk.

Background

This bill was introduced at the request of a spokesperson for the Kansas Dairy Association. At the hearing on the bill, the spokesperson for the Kansas Dairy Association stated that the bill would allow Kansas to join the Southern Interstate Dairy Compact if it is authorized by Congress later this year. The conferee stated that the Southern Compact is patterned after the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact that was authorized in the 1996 Farm Bill. The conferee also stated that the Compact would be governed by a Commission that establishes a fair and equitable price for Class I milk in the Compact region. Class I milk is that milk bottled for fluid purposes. Other classes of milk are used for the manufacture of other dairy products. The spokesperson stated that the members of the Compact Commission would be dairy producers, milk processors, and consumers which would give all parties affected a voice in setting the price.

Also appearing in support of the bill was the President of the Kansas Dairy Association and a spokesperson for the Kansas Farm Bureau. There were no opponents to the bill.

The fiscal note states that there would be no fiscal impact on state operations.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html.