Illinois is one of the states where children are required to register in NAIS in order to be part of the county and state fairs. HB 5776 was filed to reverse that policy.

HB 5776 was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives!

On April 1, the House unanimously voted yes on HB 5776. This bill would stop the IDOA from requiring NAIS premises registration or electronic identification for people competing in the state fairs. HB 5776 also provides an explicit right to withdraw from the program.

The bill has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee, which will assign it to a substantive Senate Committee. We will monitor the situation closely and let people know if calls to the Rules Committee members are appropriate.  The Senate and the Rules Committee are dealing with political issues that have nothing to do with NAIS, but which have to be sorted out before bills are expected to move.  Right now, focus your calls on your own Senator.  The more co-sponsors the bill has, the more pressure there will be to move the bill forward.

Take Action

1. Call and ask your Senator to co-sponsor the bill. You can look up who represents you here. Remember, HB 5776 is a state bill, so you want to contact your State Legislators, not your Congressional delegation. You can also call the Illinois Legislature's information line at: 217.782.3944.

2. Educate your community. Download materials from our Take Action or Articles page, and put them out at feed stores, riding stables, auction barns, farmers markets, co-ops, etc. We need everyone to know what NAIS is and what they can do about it!

Download this Illinois-specific flyer with contacts for the Senate Agriculture Committee.

HB 5776 was unanimously approved
by the House Agriculture Committee!

On March 4, the House Agriculture Committee voted to approve an amended version of HB 5776 by a 10-0 vote! The amended version is much stronger than the original bill, and included all of the amendments we asked for and more! It (1) removed the loophole that would have allowed the fair board and IDOA to require NAIS if they agreed; (2) added an explicit provision for withdrawing from the program; (3) added a ban on requiring NAIS-compliant electronic ID; (4) added poultry and rabbits to the protections of the bill; and (5) states that the agency does not have rulemaking authority under the bill.

HB 5776 is expected to go to the floor of the House very soon!
Please call your Representative today!

Take Action

1) Contact your Representative. If you don't know who they are, click here.

MESSAGE: Please co-sponsor HB 5776 and vote YES
when it comes to the floor!

Ask to speak to the Representative. If he or she is not available, talk with the staff. Ask them what they already know about NAIS, explain your objections to it, and respond to the issues they bring up. Some talking points are below. Stay in touch through email after the phone call, so that they know you really care about this issue.

2) Contact your Senator. If we succeed in the House, the next step will be the Senate. It's the same message as for your Representative, just be clear that the bill is still in the House and your phone call is looking towards the future.

3) Educate your community. Download materials from our site, and put them out at feed stores, riding stables, auction barns, farmers markets, co-ops, etc. We need everyone to know what NAIS is and what they can do about it! **Illinois-specific flyer coming soon!**

TALKING POINTS ABOUT NAIS

• It is wrong to use our children to implement a controversial program opposed by many of their parents.
• NAIS is not a good program for Illinois, even beyond the issue of our children.
• NAIS will hurt Illinois’ economy:
• No agency has completed a cost-benefit 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 Illinois Agriculture Department has scientific proof 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 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 is not necessary for the market. Age-and source-verification is already available through the USDA's Process Verified Program
• NAIS will not protect against terrorism and the technology is flawed
  • 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, created by the state agency and available to USDA, will provide a target for hackers.

• NAIS infringes on people's constitutional rights, including due process, privacy, and religious freedom.
• NAIS unfairly attacks the rights of pet owners and those who raise animals as food for their family.
• USDA states that NAIS is voluntary at the federal level, so there is no "federal mandate" requiring Illinois to implement this program
• Other states are also rejecting or limiting NAIS, so Illinois will not be disadvantaged by refusing to participate.

MORE INFORMATION ON HB 5776

HB 5776, as originally filed, stated: Sec. 205-26: Fairs; premises ID numbers. The Department shall not require a premises identification number to exhibit or enter livestock or horses at any fair or exhibition in Illinois, unless required by federal law or regulation without first receiving approval for such a requirement from the governing board of the fair or exhibition. We asked for several amendments: (1) removing the last clause to create an absolute bar; (2) provide a right to withdraw; (3) add poultry, since NAIS covers them; (4) prohibit NAIS-compliant electronic identification requirements. We got everything we asked for and more!

Amended version of HB 5776,
as approved by the House Agriculture Committee:

Sec. 205-26. Fairs; premises ID numbers. The Department shall not require a premises identification number or electronic identification under the National Animal Identification System to exhibit or enter livestock, poultry, rabbits, horses, or any other animal at any fair or exhibition in Illinois, unless required by federal law or regulation. The Department shall develop a process for persons to withdraw from the National Animal Identification System registration, and that process shall provide for the removal of a person's information from the Department's database. The Department shall also cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture to provide for people to withdraw from the federal database. ... [additional language addressing rulemaking authority that appears to be included on all bills at this time]

Say Thanks!

Tell the members of the House Committee on Agriculture "Thank you" for approving HB 5776 and the amendments!

• Chair: Dan Reitz, (217) 782-1018, (618) 443-5757
• Vice-Chair: Brandon Phelps, (217) 782-5131, (618) 253-4189
• Shane Cultra, (217) 558-1039, (815) 268-4090
• Robert Flider, (217) 782-8398, (217) 428-2708
• Richard Myers (author of the bill), (217) 782-0416, (309) 836-2707
• David Reis, (217) 782-2087, (618) 392-0108
• Jim Sacia, (217) 782-8186, (815) 232-0774
• Lisa Dugan, (217) 782-5981, (815) 939-1983
• Donald Moffitt, (217) 782-8032, (309) 343-8000
• Patrick Verschoore, (217) 782-5970, (309) 793-4716

MESSAGE: “THANK YOU for approving the amended version of HB 5776.

More Information

Although premises registration has been the focus of the publicity to date, it looks like it's not stopping there! The February/March edition of the Illinois Leader, the publication for 4-H Leaders, states:

"Sheep wethers will have statewide required weigh-in and electronic tagging dates and locations, as in 2007. Dates and locations are still to be announced. Electronic tagging of beef steers will also be required. Contact your local Extension office for more information."

We've been told that these are not 840 NAIS-compliant tags and that they can be removed after the Fair. But we do not have that in writing. Even if that is true, this procedure sets the stage for requiring NAIS-compliant tags. So we asked for an amendment to HB 5776 to prevent this from evolving into NAIS tagging (see above).