Senate Bill No. 411
(By Senators Ross, Helmick, Sharpe, Scott and Plymale)
____________
[Introduced February 16, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Agriculture.]
____________
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 exemptions to
the inspecting of meat and meat products when animals are
slaughtered and dressed for exclusive use of owner, his
family and other nonpaying persons; and providing when owner
can pay a person who is not a commercial or custom
slaughterer for his 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 and regulations exempt
from inspection:
(i) Any commercial dealer, provided all carcasses, meat,
meat food products and meat by-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 or have
been approved by the United States department of agriculture and
shall be prepared, identified, labeled and sold in normal retail
quantities as prescribed by reasonable rules and regulations
promulgated by the commissioner;
(ii) The slaughtering by any person of animals of his own
raising, and the preparation by him of the carcasses, meat, meat
food products and meat by-products of such animals exclusively
for use by him and members of his household and his 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, meat food products and meat by-products of
such animals, exclusively for use, in the household of such
owner, by him and members of his household and his nonpaying
guests and employees: Provided, That the custom slaughterer or
custom processor is not handling adulterated carcasses, meat,
meat food products and meat by-products; maintains identity of
carcasses, meat, meat food products and meat by-products; and
maintains acceptable sanitation and operational controls as
prescribed by reasonable rules and regulations promulgated by the
commissioner: Provided, however, That nothing contained in this
article shall prevent any person, who has animals of his own
raising, when the meat, meat food products and meat by-products
of such animals are exclusively used by him and members of his
household and nonpaying guests and employees, 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;
(iii) Antemortem and postmortem inspection of a licensed
custom slaughterer;
(iv) 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the owner of
animals raised, maintained and slaughtered exclusively for his
own use, to pay for the services of slaughtering, butchering or
dressing the carcass, to a person who is not a commercial or
custom slaughterer.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.