Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules

611 W. Ottawa Street

Lansing, MI 48909

Phone: 517-335-8658 Fax: 517-335-9512

AGENCY REPORT TO THE

JOINT COMMITEE ON ADMNINISTRATIVE RULES (JCAR)

1. Agency Information

Agency name:

Agriculture and Rural Development

Division/Bureau/Office:

Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division

Name of person completing this form:

Jamie Guardiola

Phone number of person completing this form:

517-284-5730

E-mail of person completing this form:

GuardiolaJ1@michigan.gov

Name of Department Regulatory Affairs Officer reviewing this form:

Brad Deacon

2. Rule Set Information

MOAHR assigned rule set number:

2019-33 AC

Title of proposed rule set:

Seed Potatoes

3. Purpose for the proposed rules and background:

The Michigan potato industry pushed this legislation to keep up with industry standards of seed

potato certification across the nation. Certification helps prevent disease in crops. The purpose of

these rules is to regulate distribution and planting of seed potatoes that meet the requirements of

certified seed in 1959 PA 221, MCL 286.71 to 286.75, and the rules promulgated under that act.

Furthermore, these rules will regulate exceptions that would allow farmers to plant uncertified seed in

instances when there are insufficient volumes of any cultivator of certified seed potatoes on lots of 1-

acre or greater.

4. Summary of proposed rules:

The proposed rules are to regulate distribution and planting of seed potatoes that meet the

requirements of certified seed in 1959 PA 221, MCL 286.71 et seq., and the rules promulgated under

that act. Furthermore, these rules will regulate exceptions that would allow farmers to plant

uncertified seed in instances when there are insufficient volumes of any cultivator of certified seed

potatoes on lots of 1 acre or greater.

MCL 24.242 and 24.245

Agency Report to JCAR-Page 2

5. List names of newspapers in which the notice of public hearing was published and

publication dates:

Kalamazoo Gazette on November 21, 2019

•Cadillac News on November 22, 2019

•Escanaba Daily Press on November 25, 2019

Michigan Register on December 1, 2019

6. Date of publication of rules and notice of public hearing in Michigan Register:

12/1/2019

7. Date, time, and location of public hearing:

12/19/2019 09:00 AM at Greenstone Farm Credit Services , 3515 West Rd, East Lansing, MI 48823

8. Provide the link the agency used to post the regulatory impact statement and cost-benefit

analysis on its website:

https://dtmb.state.mi.us/ARS_Public/Transaction/RFRTransaction?TransactionID=48

9. List of the name and title of agency representative(s) attending public hearing:

Brad Deacon, Regulatory Affairs Officer; Robin Rosenbaum, Plant Health Section Manager;

Elizabeth Dorman, Plant Pathology Program Manager; Jamie Guardiola, Office of Legal Affairs

Assistant.

10. Persons submitting comments of support:

No comments were received. Only one member of the public attended, and he was a former legal

intern who worked for the Department and assisted with research and development of the proposed

rules. It is important to note that the seed potato industry was included throughout the process

through the statutorily created Advisory and they had input into the substance and language of the

draft rules and reviewed the regulatory impact statement. They were also notified about the public

hearing and the public comment period.

11. Persons submitting comments of opposition:

No comments were received.

12. Identify any changes made to the proposed rules based on comments received during the

public comment period:

Name &

Organization public hearing

Comments made at Written

Comments

Agency Rationale Rule number

for change

& citation

changed

None

N/A

13.Date report completed:

1/21/2020

MCL 24.242 and 24.245