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Minutes for SB117 - Committee on Agriculture
Short Title
Allowing boards of county commissioners to declare the wild blackberry a noxious weed within counties.
Minutes Content for Mon, Mar 20, 2017
Chair Hoffman opened the hearing on SB117 at 4:45pm.
Kyle Hamilton, Assistant Revisor, Office of The Revisor of Statutes, provided an overview of SB117 and the statutes that it affects. (Attachment 2)
Mike Beam, Sr. Vice President, Kansas Livestock Association (KLA), appeared before the Committee in support of SB117. The wild blackberry is a prime example of an invasive species that causes economic and ecological concerns in some counties of the state, but not all. It is very difficult to eradicate - burning by itself will not work. Spot spraying at the right time, following a burn for several years is the only way to control this species. It is logical to KLA that this species be added to the county option list. (Attachment 3)
Mr. Beam answered questions from the Committee.
Written testimony in support of SB117 was received from:
- Daniel Mushrush, Strong City KS (Attachment 4)
- Mike Holder, District Extension Director, KSRE Flint Hills Extension District (Attachment 5)
Senator Marci Francisco, 2nd District, appeared before the Committee as a neutral of SB117. She has a member of the public that asked her to carry an amendment on the floor to add the Old World Bluestem to the bill. She asked if the Chair would hold the hearing open until tomorrow so the individual could testify. The Chair advised that he planned to work SB117 tomorrow, but would allow the individual to submit written testimony and have it distributed to the Committee prior to working the bill.
There were no opponents of SB117.
The hearing on SB117 was closed at 5:02pm.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:02pm.
