(The Center Square) – A group of Wisconsin lawmakers are pushing a bill that would end the ability of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to raise fees for animal market licenses, animal dealer licenses, animal trucker licenses and animal transport vehicle registrations after DATCP proposed significant increases in those fees last year.
DATCP had proposed increasing a livestock market fee from $420 to $7,430, trucker license fees from $60 to $370 and animal dealer fees from $220 to $670 last year before receiving significant pushback and later proposing smaller increases.
The changes came following a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that blocked legislators from oversight on rulemaking with Gov. Tony Evers telling agencies to bypass having rules heard in committee and instead simply enact them.
Both the Wisconsin Farm Bureau and Americans for Prosperity–Wisconsin worked to collect and share public feedback on the impact of the proposed fee increases.
Assembly Bill 627 passed the Assembly Committee on State Affairs on Wednesday with a 7-3 vote. The fees would instead be determined by statute if the bill passes the Assembly and Senate and then is signed by Evers.
Rep. Travis Tranel, R-Cuba City, said that he the bill is still necessary despite DATCP relenting on the proposed fees late last year.
“That willingness to engage stakeholders is appreciated, but concerns still remain,” Tranel, a bill sponsor, said in testimony to the committee. “However, the authority to raise fees through administrative action remains, which is why legislative oversight is still necessary.”
DATCP said in a fiscal estimate that the bill would force the agency to operate with a negative cash balance unless the fees or a funding source are changed.
“This bill would remove DATCP’s ability to propose fee adjustments through the statutorily set administrative rulemaking process,” the fiscal estimate said. “Without revenue adjustments, the appropriation will operate in a negative cash balance until additional funding sources are identified.”
DATCP Secretary Randy Romanski said in testimony that the programs had a negative cash balance of $267,000 at the end of last fiscal year, which is expected to grow to more than $1.1 million by the end of this fiscal year and said that Evers’ last budget proposal asked for seven new full time positions while four were ultimately granted.
Romanski said that he welcomed the opportunity to discuss with lawmakers the cost of underfunding the programs but the sponsoring lawmakers believe legislative oversight of the fee increases is necessary.
“Any discussion about future fee adjustments should be during the next budget process, which is the appropriate forum to work collaboratively and transparently with stakeholders on departmental needs,” Tranel said.
