2007 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 243 – Agric Dept, seed lab tests

HOUSE BILL NO. 243

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Bill Status



H0243...............................................by REVENUE AND TAXATION
AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT - Amends existing law relating to records exempt
from disclosure to provide that certain records of laboratory test results
conducted by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture Seed Laboratory are
exempt from disclosure.
                                                                        
02/26    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/27    Rpt prt - to Agric Aff
03/01    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/02    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/05    3rd rdg - PASSED - 66-0-4
      AYES -- Anderson, Andrus, Barrett, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black,
      Block, Bock, Boe, Bolz, Brackett, Bradford, Chadderdon, Chavez, Chew,
      Clark, Collins, Crane, Durst, Eskridge, Hagedorn, Hart, Harwood,
      Henbest, Henderson, Jaquet, Killen, King, Kren, Labrador, LeFavour,
      Loertscher, Luker, Marriott, Mathews, Mortimer, Moyle, Nielsen,
      Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Patrick, Pence, Raybould, Ring, Ringo,
      Roberts, Ruchti, Rusche, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8),
      Shirley, Shively, Smith(30), Smith(24), Snodgrass, Stevenson, Thayn,
      Trail, Vander Woude, Wood(27), Wood(35), Mr. Speaker
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Edmunson, Lake, McGeachin, Wills
    Floor Sponsor - Patrick
    Title apvd - to Senate
03/06    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to St Aff
03/12    Rpt out - ref'd to Agric Aff
03/14    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
03/15    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/20    3rd rdg - PASSED - 30-3-2
      AYES -- Andreason, Bair, Bastian, Bilyeu, Broadsword, Burkett,
      Cameron, Coiner, Corder, Darrington, Fulcher, Geddes, Goedde,
      Hammond, Heinrich, Hill, Jorgenson, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little,
      Lodge, McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce, Richardson, Schroeder,
      Siddoway, Stegner
      NAYS -- Davis, Malepeai, Werk
      Absent and excused -- Gannon, Stennett
    Floor Sponsor - McGee
    Title apvd - to House
03/20    To enrol - Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/21    Pres signed - To Governor
03/27    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 205
         Effective: 07/01/07

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ]]]]
 Fifty-ninth Legislature                   First Regular Session - 2007
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 243
                                                                        
                             BY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO RECORDS EXEMPT FROM DISCLOSURE;  AMENDING  SECTION  9-340D,  IDAHO
  3        CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN RECORDS OF LABORATORY TEST RESULTS CONDUCTED
  4        BY  THE  IDAHO  STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SEED LABORATORY ARE EXEMPT
  5        FROM DISCLOSURE.
                                                                        
  6    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  7        SECTION 1.  That Section 9-340D, Idaho Code, be, and the  same  is  hereby
  8    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
  9        9-340D.  RECORDS  EXEMPT  FROM  DISCLOSURE  --  TRADE  SECRETS, PRODUCTION
 10    RECORDS, APPRAISALS, BIDS, PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. The following records  are
 11    exempt from disclosure:
 12        (1)  Trade  secrets including those contained in response to public agency
 13    or independent public  body  corporate  and  politic  requests  for  proposal,
 14    requests  for  clarification,  requests  for information and similar requests.
 15    "Trade secrets" as used in this section means information,  including  a  for-
 16    mula,  pattern,  compilation, program, computer program, device, method, tech-
 17    nique, process, or unpublished or in progress research that:
 18        (a)  Derives independent economic value, actual  or  potential,  from  not
 19        being  generally  known  to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper
 20        means by other persons who can obtain economic value from  its  disclosure
 21        or use; and
 22        (b)  Is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances
 23        to maintain its secrecy.
 24        (2)  Production records, housing production, rental and financing records,
 25    sale or purchase records, catch records, mortgage portfolio loan documents, or
 26    similar business records of a private concern or enterprise required by law to
 27    be  submitted  to or inspected by a public agency or submitted to or otherwise
 28    obtained by an independent public body corporate and politic. Nothing in  this
 29    subsection shall limit the use which can be made of such information for regu-
 30    latory purposes or its admissibility in any enforcement proceeding.
 31        (3)  Records relating to the appraisal of real property, timber or mineral
 32    rights  prior to its acquisition, sale or lease by a public agency or indepen-
 33    dent public body corporate and politic.
 34        (4)  Any estimate prepared by a public agency or independent  public  body
 35    corporate  and  politic  that  details the cost of a public project until such
 36    time as disclosed or bids are opened, or upon award of the contract  for  con-
 37    struction of the public project.
 38        (5)  Examination,  operating or condition reports and all documents relat-
 39    ing thereto, prepared by or supplied to any public agency or independent  pub-
 40    lic  body  corporate and politic responsible for the regulation or supervision
 41    of financial institutions including, but not limited to,  banks,  savings  and
 42    loan associations, regulated lenders, business and industrial development cor-
 43    porations,  credit  unions,  and insurance companies, or for the regulation or
                                                                        
                                       2
                                                                        
  1    supervision of the issuance of securities.
  2        (6)  Records gathered by a local agency or the Idaho  department  of  com-
  3    merce, as described in chapter 47, title 67, Idaho Code, for the specific pur-
  4    pose  of assisting a person to locate, maintain, invest in, or expand business
  5    operations in the state of Idaho.
  6        (7)  Shipping and marketing records of commodity commissions used to eval-
  7    uate marketing and advertising strategies and the names and addresses of grow-
  8    ers and shippers maintained by commodity commissions.
  9        (8)  Financial statements and business information and  reports  submitted
 10    by  a legal entity to a port district organized under title 70, Idaho Code, in
 11    connection with a business agreement, or with a development proposal or with a
 12    financing application for any industrial,  manufacturing,  or  other  business
 13    activity within a port district.
 14        (9)  Names  and  addresses of seed companies, seed crop growers, seed crop
 15    consignees, locations of seed crop fields, variety name and acreage  by  vari-
 16    ety.  Upon  the request of the owner of the proprietary variety, this informa-
 17    tion shall be released to the owner. Provided however, that if a seed crop has
 18    been identified as diseased or has been  otherwise  identified  by  the  Idaho
 19    department  of  agriculture,  other  state  departments of agriculture, or the
 20    United States department of agriculture to represent a threat to that particu-
 21    lar seed or commercial crop industry or to individual growers, information  as
 22    to  test results, location, acreage involved and disease symptoms of that par-
 23    ticular seed crop, for that growing season,  shall  be  available  for  public
 24    inspection  and  copying. This exemption shall not supersede the provisions of
 25    section 22-436, Idaho Code.
 26        (10) Information obtained from books, records  and  accounts  required  in
 27    chapter  47,  title  22,  Idaho Code, to be maintained by the Idaho canola and
 28    rapeseed commission and pertaining to the individual production records of ca-
 29    nola or rapeseed growers.
 30        (11) Records of any risk retention or self-insurance program  prepared  in
 31    anticipation  of  litigation  or for analysis of or settlement of potential or
 32    actual money damage claims against  a  public  entity  and  its  employees  or
 33    against the industrial special indemnity fund except as otherwise discoverable
 34    under  the  Idaho  or  federal  rules  of civil procedure. These records shall
 35    include, but are not limited to, claims  evaluations,  investigatory  records,
 36    computerized  reports  of losses, case reserves, internal documents and corre-
 37    spondence relating thereto. At the time any claim is concluded, only statisti-
 38    cal data and actual amounts paid in settlement shall be deemed a public record
 39    unless otherwise ordered to be sealed by a court  of  competent  jurisdiction.
 40    Provided however, nothing in this subsection is intended to limit the attorney
 41    client privilege or attorney work product privilege otherwise available to any
 42    public agency or independent public body corporate and politic.
 43        (12) Records  of  laboratory  test  results provided by or retained by the
 44    Idaho food quality assurance laboratory.  Nothing  in  this  subsection  shall
 45    limit  the use which can be made, or availability of such information if used,
 46    for regulatory purposes or its admissibility in any enforcement proceeding.
 47        (13) Reports required to be filed under chapter 13, title 62, Idaho  Code,
 48    identifying  electrical or natural or manufactured gas consumption data for an
 49    individual customer or account.
 50        (14) Voluntarily prepared environmental audits, and voluntary  disclosures
 51    of  information  submitted on or before December 31, 1997, to an environmental
 52    agency as defined in section 9-803, Idaho Code, which are claimed to be confi-
 53    dential business information.
 54        (15) Computer programs developed or purchased by or for any public  agency
 55    or  independent  public body corporate and politic for its own use. As used in
                                                                        
                                       3
                                                                        
  1    this subsection, "computer program" means a series of instructions  or  state-
  2    ments  which  permit the functioning of a computer system in a manner designed
  3    to provide storage, retrieval and manipulation of data from the computer  sys-
  4    tem,  and any associated documentation and source material that explain how to
  5    operate the computer program. Computer program does not include:
  6        (a)  The original data including,  but  not  limited  to,  numbers,  text,
  7        voice, graphics and images;
  8        (b)  Analysis,  compilation  and  other  manipulated forms of the original
  9        data produced by use of the program; or
 10        (c)  The mathematical or statistical formulas that would be  used  if  the
 11        manipulated forms of the original data were to be produced manually.
 12        (16) Active  investigative records and trademark usage audits of the Idaho
 13    potato commission specifically relating to  the  enforcement  of  chapter  12,
 14    title 22, Idaho Code, until the commencement of formal proceedings as provided
 15    by  rules  of  the commission; purchase and sales information submitted to the
 16    Idaho potato commission during a trademark usage audit, and  investigation  or
 17    enforcement  proceedings.  Inactive  investigatory  records shall be disclosed
 18    unless the disclosure would violate the standards  set  forth  in  subsections
 19    (1)(a)  through  (f)  of section 9-335, Idaho Code. Nothing in this subsection
 20    shall limit the use which can be made, or availability of such information  if
 21    used, for regulatory purposes or its admissibility in any enforcement proceed-
 22    ing.
 23        (17) All  records  copied or obtained by the director of the department of
 24    agriculture or his designee as a result of an inspection pursuant  to  section
 25    25-3806, Idaho Code, except:
 26        (a)  Records otherwise deemed to be public records not exempt from disclo-
 27        sure pursuant to this chapter; and
 28        (b)  Inspection reports, determinations of compliance or noncompliance and
 29        all other records created by the director or his designee pursuant to sec-
 30        tion 25-3806, Idaho Code.
 31        (18) All  data  and information collected by the division of animal indus-
 32    tries or the state brand board pursuant to the provisions of section  25-207B,
 33    Idaho Code, or rules promulgated thereunder.
 34        (19) Records  disclosed  to  a county official by the state tax commission
 35    pursuant to subsection (4)(c) of section 63-3029B, Idaho Code.
 36        (20) Records, data, information and materials collected, developed, gener-
 37    ated, ascertained or discovered during the course of academic research at pub-
 38    lic institutions of higher education if the disclosure of such  could  reason-
 39    ably affect the conduct or outcome of the research, or the ability of the pub-
 40    lic  institution  of  higher education  to patent or copyright the research or
 41    protect intellectual property.
 42        (21) Records, data, information and materials collected or utilized during
 43    the course of academic research at public  institutions  of  higher  education
 44    provided  by  any person or entity other than the public institution of higher
 45    education or a public agency.
 46        (22) The exemptions from disclosure provided in subsections (20) and  (21)
 47    of  this  section  shall  apply  only  until the academic research is publicly
 48    released, copyrighted or patented, or until the academic research is completed
 49    or terminated. At such time, the records,  data,  information,  and  materials
 50    shall  be  subject  to public disclosure unless: (a) another exemption in this
 51    chapter applies; (b) such information was provided to the institution  subject
 52    to a written agreement of confidentiality; or (c) public disclosure would pose
 53    a danger to persons or property.
 54        (23) The  exemptions from disclosure provided in subsections (20) and (21)
 55    of this section do not include basic information about a  particular  research
                                                                        
                                       4
                                                                        
  1    project  that is otherwise subject to public disclosure, such as the nature of
  2    the academic research, the name of the researcher, and the amount  and  source
  3    of the funding provided for the project.
  4        (24) Records  of  a  county  assessor  containing  information showing the
  5    income and expenses of a taxpayer,  which  information  was  provided  to  the
  6    assessor  by  the  taxpayer  to  permit the assessor to determine the value of
  7    property of the taxpayer.
  8        (25)  Results of laboratory tests conducted by the Idaho state  department
  9    of  agriculture seed laboratory on samples submitted by seed producers or seed
 10    companies. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the use which can  be  made,
 11    or  availability of such information pursuant to the provisions of subsections
 12    (9) and (10) of section 22-418, Idaho Code.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



                       STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

                            RS 17122

Records of test results from private laboratories, out-of-
state laboratories, and the Idaho food quality assurance laboratory
are kept confidential. This bill would extend the same
confidentiality to test results from tests conducted at Idaho State
Department of Agriculture Seed Laboratory on samples submitted by
seed producers or seed companies. Lab results from submitted
samples are not used in or as a basis for Idaho State Department of
Agriculture enforcement actions. This laboratory does not do any
testing for plant diseases. 


                           FISCAL NOTE

There is no fiscal impact.




Contact
Name: Mike Cooper
Department of Agriculture 
Phone: 332-8500


STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE                            H 243