COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 411

(By Senators Ross, Helmick, Sharpe, Scott and Plymale)

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[Originating in the Committee on Agriculture;

reported February 23, 1996.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article two-b, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the exemptions to the inspection of meat products; and allowing an owner to pay a person who is not a commercial or custom slaughterer for his or her services.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article two-b, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2B. INSPECTION OF ANIMALS, MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS.

§19-2B-8. Exemptions.

(a) In order to accomplish the objectives of this article, the commissioner may by reasonable rules exempt from inspection:
(1) Any commercial dealer, provided all carcasses, meat products or poultry products sold or offered for sale by such dealer were slaughtered and/or processed in commercial establishments under state inspection or have been inspected and passed by the United States department of agriculture and shall be identified, labeled and sold in normal retail quantities as prescribed by reasonable rules promulgated by the commissioner;
(2) The slaughtering by any person of animals of his or her own raising, and the preparation by him or her of the carcasses, meat products or poultry products of such animals exclusively for use by him or her and members of his or her household and his or her nonpaying guests and employees; or custom slaughtered animals, by a custom slaughterer, delivered by the owner thereof for such slaughter and the preparation by such slaughterer or custom processor of the carcasses, meat products or poultry products of such animals, exclusively for use, in the household of such owner, by him or her and members of his or her household and his or her nonpaying guests and employees: Provided, That the custom slaughterer or custom processor is not handling adulterated carcasses, meat products and poultry products; maintains identity of carcasses, meat products and poultry products; and maintains acceptable sanitation and operational controls as prescribed by reasonable rules promulgated by the commissioner: Provided, however, That nothing contained in this article shall prevent any person, who has animals of his or her own raising, when the meat products of such animals are exclusively used by the person, members of his or her household and nonpaying guests and employees of the person, from slaughtering any of those animals or having any of those animals slaughtered or dressed by a person other than a commercial slaughterer or custom slaughterer, as defined in this article, and paying that person for these services;
(3) Antemortem and postmortem inspection of a licensed custom slaughterer;
(4) Any other operations which the commissioner may determine would best be exempted to further the purposes of this article, to the extent such exemptions conform to the federal Meat Inspection Act and the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act, as amended from time to time, and the regulations thereunder.
(b) Any institution operated by the state requiring inspection under this article shall be exempt from the licensing fee as required by section four of said article.