Action Alert
February 28, 2007
Call your Senator now!
SB 1428, the bill to limit the National Animal Information System, just went through the "Committee of the Whole," and it passed. This is the debate stage of the bill when the full Senate comes to the Floor and discusses the bill. The next step is "Third Read," where the Senate actually votes on the bill.
Background: The Arizona Department of Agriculture currently has authority to implement NAIS, under section 3-1207 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. The original version of SB 1428 would have amended the existing statute to stop the NAIS completely. Before being approved by the Committee, SB 1428 was amended so that the agency cannot "mandate" or "force participation" in NAIS. At the "Committee of the Whole," Senator Johnson added a provision that allows people to opt out of the program and have their information deleted from it.
Next step: Senator Johnson will be introducing a non-discrimination amendment on the floor, to prevent coercive measures from being used to force people into NAIS. This amendment is critical to preventing the Department of Agriculture from abusing a voluntary program.
If you haven't already, please call your Senator. All 30 Senators will be voting on the bill in the next few days, so make sure that your Senator hears from you! Ask him or her to: 1) Vote "Yes" to Senator Johnson's floor amendment to SB 1428, which would bar any person or agency from discriminating against those who do not participate in NAIS; and 2) Vote "Yes" on SB 1428 with that amendment.
Below are some suggestions for talking points. Focus on just one or
two points, including how NAIS will affect YOU. If you don't know
who your legislators are, go to:
www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp.
You can find out more about the bill at:
www.azleg.state.az.us/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Number=SB1428
As always, if you have questions or concerns, you can reach us at noah@libertyark.net.
Talking points for calls:
NAIS will hurt Arizona's economy:
- There has been no cost analysis
- Costs of the program include the cost of the tags, hardware, software, time and labor
- Many small farmer and ranchers cannot afford these costs
- Service providers (veterinarians, feed stores, auction houses, meat processors, etc.) will be harmed when the farmers and ranchers go out of business.
- Remaining farmers will pass the costs on to consumers, lowering demand for local foods
Neither the USDA nor the state agency has scientific proof show that NAIS will improve disease control:
- It does not address the cause, treatment, or transmission of disease, in domestic or wild animals.
- It does not significantly improve on current methods for identification and tracking of disease.
NAIS is not necessary for the market. Age- and source-verification is already available through the USDA's Process Verified Program
NAIS will not improve food safety
- USDA itself has stated that this is not a food safety program
- Contamination of food with e. coli and other bacteria occurs at the slaughterhouse or afterwards, while NAIS will stop before that point.
NAIS will not protect against terrorism.
- The microchips chosen by the state can be cloned, destroyed, or infected with computer viruses, and reprogrammed. Any terrorist or thief can use this.
- The database of information held by the government and private industry will provide a target for hackers.
NAIS infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom.
USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring Arizona to implement this program.