Madison- Rep. Mark Radcliffe (D-Black River Falls) along with Senator Kathleen Vinehout authored two positive pieces of legislation to benefit the agriculture industry in this state. The first – Assembly Bill 236- Agriculture Education Science bill- aims to ensure that if an agriculture course is certified as a science equivalent, that they are awarded a science credit towards completion of graduation requirements.
Specifics of the Agriculture Education Science Bill
· Reflects that agriculture education classes are becoming more firmly established in the sciences.
· Highlights that the Department of Public Instruction has a system in place to evaluate individual agriculture courses to determine if they are at a level to be certified as a science equivalent
· Ensures that those classes certified as equivalent count towards the two science credits required for a student to graduate from high school.
“By passing this bill we are reflecting agricultures diversity by recognizing that many agriculture courses have been adapted to a rigorous science curriculum and students deserved to be recognized- not penalized- for taking those courses,” said Rep. Radcliffe.
The second measure passed in the Assembly this week– Assembly Bill 116 – Veterinarian Pesticide Bill – acted to remove some outdated and over cumbersome regulations which essentially required vet clinics to get a license to apply things like tick medication that any consumer can buy over the counter..
Specifics of the Veterinarian Pesticide Bill
· Recognizes that pesticide application has changed over the years from full baths of pesticides to small spots or pills of medication to treat an animal
· Acknowledges that under previous legislation veterinarians and veterinarian technicians were required to take a test and have a permit to sell pesticides that are now sold commonly over-the- counter.
· Eliminates the requirement for a permit issued by DATCP to use or repackage pesticides.
“With this vote we did the smart thing for veterinarian clinics and staff.” said Rep. Radcliffe. “By eliminating the outdated requirement that a vet clinic must have a permit issued by DATCP we have allowed for veterinarians and vet techs to do the same things any consumer can essentially do, and we’ve removed the government red-tape by doing so.”
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