Senate Bill No. 196, identified as File No. 247, is a legislative proposal concerning the harvesting of rabbits for the local food supply. The bill designates the Commissioner of Agriculture as the state official responsible for inspecting rabbit producers and rabbit processing facilities. It stipulates that any inspections carried out by the commissioner or their designated agent must align with the health, sanitary, and safety-related provisions of the applicable Code of Federal Regulations. The bill also specifies that rabbit processing facilities that pass inspections by the Department of Agriculture will be recognized as approved food sources for household consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and retail food establishments. For the purposes of this bill, a "producer" is defined as a person engaged in farming who breeds, raises, or keeps no more than one thousand rabbits in a calendar year for food production.

The bill is set to be effective from October 1, 2024, and does not anticipate any fiscal impact on the state or municipal levels, as the required inspections are expected to be conducted by the existing staff of the Department of Agriculture. The Environment Committee reported favorably on the bill, with a vote of 19 in favor and 15 against on March 20, 2024. The bill analysis clarifies that the bill aims to impose inspection standards on rabbit processing facilities and to ensure that certain facilities that pass inspection are deemed safe for human consumption.