View Bill Status
View Bill Text
View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact
H0568...............................................by AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS
AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING - Amends existing law relating to agricultural
field burning to provide that a public records exemption shall not apply to
certain information; and to provide that the Department of Agriculture
shall provide advance notice and shall post information regarding
agricultural field burning.
02/07 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/08 Rpt prt - to Agric Aff
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2006
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 568
BY AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING; AMENDING SECTION 9-340D, IDAHO CODE,
3 TO PROVIDE THAT A PUBLIC RECORDS EXEMPTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO CERTAIN
4 INFORMATION RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL
5 CORRECTION; AND AMENDING SECTION 22-4803, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT THE
6 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SHALL PROVIDE ADVANCE NOTICE AND SHALL POST
7 INFORMATION REGARDING AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING.
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
9 SECTION 1. That Section 9-340D, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 9-340D. RECORDS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE -- TRADE SECRETS, PRODUCTION
12 RECORDS, APPRAISALS, BIDS, PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. The following records are
13 exempt from disclosure:
14 (1) Trade secrets including those contained in response to public agency
15 or independent public body corporate and politic requests for proposal,
16 requests for clarification, requests for information and similar requests.
17 "Trade secrets" as used in this section means information, including a for-
18 mula, pattern, compilation, program, computer program, device, method, tech-
19 nique, process, or unpublished or in progress research that:
20 (a) Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not
21 being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper
22 means by other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure
23 or use; and
24 (b) Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances
25 to maintain its secrecy.
26 (2) Production records, housing production, rental and financing records,
27 sale or purchase records, catch records, mortgage portfolio loan documents, or
28 similar business records of a private concern or enterprise required by law to
29 be submitted to or inspected by a public agency or submitted to or otherwise
30 obtained by an independent public body corporate and politic. Nothing in this
31 subsection shall limit the use which can be made of such information for regu-
32 latory purposes or its admissibility in any enforcement proceeding.
33 (3) Records relating to the appraisal of real property, timber or mineral
34 rights prior to its acquisition, sale or lease by a public agency or indepen-
35 dent public body corporate and politic.
36 (4) Any estimate prepared by a public agency or independent public body
37 corporate and politic that details the cost of a public project until such
38 time as disclosed or bids are opened, or upon award of the contract for con-
39 struction of the public project.
40 (5) Examination, operating or condition reports and all documents relat-
41 ing thereto, prepared by or supplied to any public agency or independent pub-
42 lic body corporate and politic responsible for the regulation or supervision
43 of financial institutions including, but not limited to, banks, savings and
2
1 loan associations, regulated lenders, business and industrial development cor-
2 porations, credit unions, and insurance companies, or for the regulation or
3 supervision of the issuance of securities.
4 (6) Records gathered by a local agency or the Idaho department of com-
5 merce, as described in chapter 47, title 67, Idaho Code, for the specific pur-
6 pose of assisting a person to locate, maintain, invest in, or expand business
7 operations in the state of Idaho.
8 (7) Shipping and marketing records of commodity commissions used to eval-
9 uate marketing and advertising strategies and the names and addresses of
10 growers and shippers maintained by commodity commissions.
11 (8) Financial statements and business information and reports submitted
12 by a legal entity to a port district organized under title 70, Idaho Code, in
13 connection with a business agreement, or with a development proposal or with a
14 financing application for any industrial, manufacturing, or other business
15 activity within a port district.
16 (9) Names and addresses of seed companies, seed crop growers, seed crop
17 consignees, locations of seed crop fields, variety name and acreage by vari-
18 ety. Upon the request of the owner of the proprietary variety, this informa-
19 tion shall be released to the owner. Provided however, that if a seed crop has
20 been identified as diseased or has been otherwise identified by the Idaho
21 department of agriculture, other state departments of agriculture, or the
22 United States department of agriculture to represent a threat to that particu-
23 lar seed or commercial crop industry or to individual growers, information as
24 to test results, location, acreage involved and disease symptoms of that par-
25 ticular seed crop, for that growing season, shall be available for public
26 inspection and copying. Provided further, this exemption shall not apply to
27 any information relating to the open burning of crop residue grown in agricul-
28 tural fields including, but not limited to, information regarding specific
29 property locations, acreage to be burned, and time frames for burning. This
30 exemption shall not supersede the provisions of section 22-436, Idaho Code.
31 (10) Information obtained from books, records and accounts required in
32 chapter 47, title 22, Idaho Code, to be maintained by the Idaho canola and
33 rapeseed commission and pertaining to the individual production records of ca-
34 nola or rapeseed growers.
35 (11) Records of any risk retention or self-insurance program prepared in
36 anticipation of litigation or for analysis of or settlement of potential or
37 actual money damage claims against a public entity and its employees or
38 against the industrial special indemnity fund except as otherwise discoverable
39 under the Idaho or federal rules of civil procedure. These records shall
40 include, but are not limited to, claims evaluations, investigatory records,
41 computerized reports of losses, case reserves, internal documents and corre-
42 spondence relating thereto. At the time any claim is concluded, only statisti-
43 cal data and actual amounts paid in settlement shall be deemed a public record
44 unless otherwise ordered to be sealed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
45 Provided however, nothing in this subsection is intended to limit the attorney
46 client privilege or attorney work product privilege otherwise available to any
47 public agency or independent public body corporate and politic.
48 (12) Records of laboratory test results provided by or retained by the
49 Idaho food quality assurance laboratory. Nothing in this subsection shall
50 limit the use which can be made, or availability of such information if used,
51 for regulatory purposes or its admissibility in any enforcement proceeding.
52 (13) Reports required to be filed under chapter 13, title 62, Idaho Code,
53 identifying electrical or natural or manufactured gas consumption data for
54 an individual customer or account.
55 (14) Voluntarily prepared environmental audits, and voluntary disclosures
3
1 of information submitted on or before December 31, 1997, to an environmental
2 agency as defined in section 9-803, Idaho Code, which are claimed to be confi-
3 dential business information.
4 (15) Computer programs developed or purchased by or for any public agency
5 or independent public body corporate and politic for its own use. As used in
6 this subsection, "computer program" means a series of instructions or state-
7 ments which permit the functioning of a computer system in a manner designed
8 to provide storage, retrieval and manipulation of data from the computer sys-
9 tem, and any associated documentation and source material that explain how to
10 operate the computer program. Computer program does not include:
11 (a) The original data including, but not limited to, numbers, text,
12 voice, graphics and images;
13 (b) Analysis, compilation and other manipulated forms of the original
14 data produced by use of the program; or
15 (c) The mathematical or statistical formulas that would be used if the
16 manipulated forms of the original data were to be produced manually.
17 (16) Active investigative records and trademark usage audits of the Idaho
18 potato commission specifically relating to the enforcement of chapter 12,
19 title 22, Idaho Code, until the commencement of formal proceedings as provided
20 by rules of the commission; purchase and sales information submitted to the
21 Idaho potato commission during a trademark usage audit, and investigation or
22 enforcement proceedings. Inactive investigatory records shall be disclosed
23 unless the disclosure would violate the standards set forth in subsections
24 (1)(a) through (f) of section 9-335, Idaho Code. Nothing in this subsection
25 shall limit the use which can be made, or availability of such information if
26 used, for regulatory purposes or its admissibility in any enforcement proceed-
27 ing.
28 (17) All records copied or obtained by the director of the department of
29 agriculture or his designee as a result of an inspection pursuant to section
30 25-3806, Idaho Code, except:
31 (a) Records otherwise deemed to be public records not exempt from disclo-
32 sure pursuant to this chapter; and
33 (b) Inspection reports, determinations of compliance or noncompliance and
34 all other records created by the director or his designee pursuant to sec-
35 tion 25-3806, Idaho Code.
36 (18) All data and information collected by the division of animal indus-
37 tries or the state brand board pursuant to the provisions of section 25-207B,
38 Idaho Code, or rules promulgated thereunder.
39 (19) Records disclosed to a county official by the state tax commission
40 pursuant to subsection (4)(c) of section 63-3029B, Idaho Code.
41 (20) Records, data, information and materials collected, developed, gener-
42 ated, ascertained or discovered during the course of academic research at pub-
43 lic institutions of higher education if the disclosure of such could reason-
44 ably affect the conduct or outcome of the research, or the ability of the pub-
45 lic institution of higher education to patent or copyright the research or
46 protect intellectual property.
47 (21) Records, data, information and materials collected or utilized during
48 the course of academic research at public institutions of higher education
49 provided by any person or entity other than the public institution of higher
50 education or a public agency.
51 (22) The exemptions from disclosure provided in subsections (20) and (21)
52 of this section shall apply only until the academic research is publicly
53 released, copyrighted or patented, or until the academic research is completed
54 or terminated. At such time, the records, data, information, and materials
55 shall be subject to public disclosure unless: (a) another exemption in this
4
1 chapter applies; (b) such information was provided to the institution subject
2 to a written agreement of confidentiality; or (c) public disclosure would pose
3 a danger to persons or property.
4 (23) The exemptions from disclosure provided in subsections (20) and (21)
5 of this section do not include basic information about a particular research
6 project that is otherwise subject to public disclosure, such as the nature of
7 the academic research, the name of the researcher, and the amount and source
8 of the funding provided for the project.
9 (204) Records of a county assessor containing information showing the
10 income and expenses of a taxpayer, which information was provided to the
11 assessor by the taxpayer to permit the assessor to determine the value of
12 property of the taxpayer.
13 SECTION 2. That Section 22-4803, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
14 amended to read as follows:
15 22-4803. AGRICULTURAL FIELD BURNING. (1) The open burning of crop residue
16 grown in agricultural fields shall be an allowable form of open burning when
17 the provisions of this chapter, and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto,
18 and the environmental protection and health act, and any rules promulgated
19 pursuant thereto, are met, and when no other economically viable alternatives
20 to burning are available, as determined by the director, for the purpose of:
21 (a) Disposing of crop residues;
22 (b) Developing physiological conditions conducive to increased crop
23 yields; or
24 (c) Controlling diseases, insects, pests or weed infestations.
25 (2) The following provisions shall apply to all agricultural field burn-
26 ing:
27 (a) In order to minimize impacts upon populated areas of the counties
28 designated in subsection (3) of this section, any person conducting crop
29 residue burning must make every reasonable effort to burn only when
30 weather conditions are conducive to adequate smoke dispersion, and the
31 burning does not emit particulates or other material which exceed the
32 state and federal ambient air quality standards; and
33 (b) The open burning of crop residue shall be conducted in the field
34 where it was generated.
35 (3) In Kootenai, Benewah, Boundary, Bonner, Shoshone, Latah, Clearwater,
36 Nez Perce, Lewis and Idaho counties, the legislature finds that there are a
37 great many cereal grain, field grass, forage grass, and turf grass fields, and
38 it is a practice to burn these fields to control disease, weeds and pests in
39 these counties. Therefore, in the counties specifically identified in this
40 subsection, no person shall conduct or allow any crop residue burning without
41 first registering each field with the department each year burning is con-
42 ducted, and without first receiving authorization from the department that the
43 conditions of subsection (2)(a) of this section are met. This provision is not
44 met unless all information required by the department for registration is
45 received by the department prior to field ignition.
46 (4) The use of reburn machines, propane flamers, or other devices to
47 ignite or reignite a field for the purpose of crop residue burning shall be
48 considered an allowable form of open burning when the provisions of this chap-
49 ter, and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto, the environmental protection
50 and health act, and any rules promulgated thereto, are met.
51 (5) Any rules promulgated by the DEQ relating to opacity standards shall
52 not apply to crop residue burning.
53 (6) The department shall provide advance notice to the respective law
5
1 enforcement agencies and emergency services in an affected area regarding the
2 specific date, time and location of an approved agricultural field burning.
3 The department shall also post such information on its website for public
4 notification purposes.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 15486
This legislation relates to agricultural field burning; amending
Section 9-340D, Idaho Code, to provide that a public records
exemption shall not apply to certain information relating to
agricultural field burning and to make a technical correction;
and amending Section 22-4803, Idaho Code, to provide that the
Department of Agriculture shall provide advance notice and shall
post information regarding agricultural field burning.
FISCAL NOTE
There will be no impact on the General Fund.
Contact
Name: Representative Tom Trail
Phone: (208) 332-1000
Senator Shawn Keough
Representative Shirley Ringo
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 568