House File 670 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 670
BY INGELS
A BILL FOR
1 An Act establishing a butchery innovation and revitalization
2 fund and program to be administered by the economic
3 development authority and creating a task force to explore
4 the feasibility of establishing a community college
5 artisanal butchery program.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 15E.370 Butchery innovation and
2 revitalization fund and program.
3 1. As used in this section unless the context otherwise
4 requires:
5 a. “Financial assistance” means assistance provided only
6 from the funds and assets legally available to the authority
7 pursuant to this section and includes assistance in the form of
8 grants, low-interest loans, and forgivable loans.
9 b. “Fund” means the butchery innovation and revitalization
10 fund.
11 c. “Located in” means the place or places at which
12 a business’s operations are located and where at least
13 ninety-eight percent of the business’s employees work, or where
14 employees that are paid at least ninety-eight percent of the
15 business’s payroll work.
16 d. “Program” means the butchery innovation and
17 revitalization program.
18 2. a. The fund is created in the state treasury under
19 the control of the authority and consists of any moneys
20 appropriated to the fund by the general assembly and any other
21 moneys available and obtained or accepted by the authority
22 for placement in the fund. The fund shall be used to award
23 financial assistance as provided under the program. The
24 authority shall use any moneys specifically appropriated for
25 purposes of this section only for the purposes of the program.
26 b. Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys in the fund
27 that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the
28 fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for
29 expenditure for the purposes designated until the close of the
30 succeeding fiscal year.
31 3. The authority shall establish and administer the program
32 for the purpose of awarding financial assistance to eligible
33 businesses for the following projects:
34 a. To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a
35 new, state-inspected small-scale meat processing business.
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1 b. To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a
2 new, federally inspected small-scale meat processing business.
3 c. To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a
4 new, licensed custom locker.
5 d. To expand or refurbish an existing, or to establish a
6 new, mobile slaughter unit that operates in compliance with
7 the most current mobile slaughter unit compliance guide issued
8 by the United States department of agriculture food safety and
9 inspection service.
10 4. The authority shall establish eligibility criteria for
11 the program by rule. The eligibility criteria must include all
12 of the following:
13 a. The business must be located in this state.
14 b. The business must not have been in violation of any
15 federal, state, or local environmental, worker safety, food
16 processing, or food safety laws, rules, or regulations at any
17 time within the last five years.
18 c. The business must only employ individuals legally
19 authorized to work in the state.
20 d. The business must not currently be in bankruptcy.
21 5. A business seeking financial assistance under this
22 section shall make application to the authority in the manner
23 prescribed by the authority by rule.
24 6. Applications shall be accepted during an annual
25 application period established by the authority. Upon
26 reviewing and scoring all applications that are received during
27 the annual application period, and subject to funding, the
28 authority shall award financial assistance to the selected
29 eligible businesses. The authority shall give priority to
30 eligible businesses whose proposed project under subsection 3
31 will do any of the following:
32 a. Create new jobs.
33 b. Create or expand opportunities for local small-scale
34 farmers to market processed meat under private labels.
35 c. Provide greater flexibility or convenience for local
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1 small-scale farmers to have animals processed.
2 7. A business that is awarded financial assistance under
3 this section may apply for financial assistance under other
4 programs administered by the authority.
5 8. The authority shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A
6 to administer this section.
7 Sec. 2. TASK FORCE —— ARTISANAL BUTCHERY PROGRAM.
8 1. The artisanal butchery program task force is created
9 within the economic development authority for the purpose of
10 exploring the feasibility of establishing a community college
11 artisanal butchery program.
12 2. Members of the task force shall be appointed by the
13 director of the economic development authority and must include
14 one representative of the economic development authority and
15 at least one representative of each of the following groups or
16 organizations:
17 a. The Iowa association of community college trustees.
18 b. The Iowa culinary institute.
19 c. Artisan butchers that reside and work in the state.
20 d. The department of agriculture and land stewardship meat
21 and poultry inspection bureau.
22 e. Meat science staff at the extension service at Iowa state
23 university of science and technology.
24 f. The Iowa meat processors association.
25 g. Small-scale hog farmers that farm in the state.
26 h. Small-scale cattle farmers that farm in the state.
27 i. Owners or operators of licensed custom lockers located
28 in the state.
29 j. Owners or operators of state-inspected small-scale meat
30 processing facilities located in the state.
31 k. Owners or operators of federally inspected small-scale
32 meat processing facilities located in the state.
33 l. Individuals who hold a master’s or doctoral degree in
34 meat science and who reside in the state.
35 3. The economic development authority shall provide the
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1 task force with staff and administrative support.
2 4. The task force shall consider staffing and equipment
3 requirements, potential enrollment numbers, overall employment
4 outlook for graduates, apprenticeship and internship
5 opportunities, program costs, curriculum, and regulatory and
6 legal requirements.
7 5. The task force shall submit an interim report by
8 December 31, 2021, and a final report by December 31, 2022,
9 to the general assembly and to the chairpersons and the
10 vice-chairpersons of the committees on economic growth
11 and education that includes the task force’s findings and
12 recommendations.
13 EXPLANATION
14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
15 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
16 This bill establishes a butchery innovation and
17 revitalization fund (fund) and a butchery innovation and
18 revitalization program (program) to be administered by the
19 economic development authority (authority), and creates a task
20 force to explore the feasibility of establishing a community
21 college artisanal butchery program.
22 The bill creates the fund in the state treasury under
23 the control of the authority, which consists of any moneys
24 appropriated to the fund by the general assembly and any
25 other moneys available to the authority for placement in the
26 fund. The fund must be used to provide financial assistance
27 (assistance) as provided under the program. “Assistance”
28 is defined to include assistance in the form of grants,
29 low-interest loans, and forgivable loans.
30 The authority must use any moneys specifically appropriated
31 for purposes of the program only for the purposes of the
32 program. The appropriated moneys that remain unencumbered or
33 unobligated at the close of the fiscal year do not revert but
34 remain available for expenditure for the program until the
35 close of the succeeding fiscal year.
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1 The authority must establish and administer the program
2 for the purpose of awarding assistance to eligible businesses
3 for projects that expand or refurbish, or that establish a
4 new, state or federally inspected small-scale meat processing
5 business, licensed custom locker, or mobile slaughter unit.
6 A mobile slaughter unit must operate in compliance with the
7 most current mobile slaughter unit compliance guide issued by
8 the United States department of agriculture food safety and
9 inspection service.
10 The authority must establish eligibility criteria for the
11 program by rule, and the criteria must include the requirements
12 detailed in the bill. A business seeking assistance under the
13 program must make application to the authority in the manner
14 prescribed by the authority by rule. Applications must be
15 accepted during an annual application period established by
16 the authority. After reviewing and scoring all applications
17 received during the application period, and subject to
18 funding, the authority must award assistance to the selected
19 eligible businesses. The bill requires the authority to give
20 priority to eligible businesses whose proposed project will
21 create new jobs; create or expand opportunities for local
22 small-scale farmers to market processed meat under private
23 labels; or provide greater flexibility or convenience for local
24 small-scale farmers to have animals processed.
25 A business that is awarded assistance under the program may
26 apply for assistance under other programs administered by the
27 authority.
28 The authority is required to adopt rules to administer the
29 fund and program.
30 The artisanal butchery program task force is created within
31 the authority for the purpose of exploring the feasibility of
32 establishing a community college artisanal butchery program.
33 Members of the task force are appointed by the director of the
34 authority and must include representatives of various groups
35 and organizations as detailed in the bill. The authority
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1 must provide the task force with staff and administrative
2 support. The task force must consider staffing and equipment
3 requirements, potential enrollment numbers, overall employment
4 outlook for graduates, apprenticeship and internship
5 opportunities, program costs, curriculum, and regulatory and
6 legal requirements.
7 The bill requires the task force to submit an interim
8 report by December 31, 2021, and a final report by December
9 31, 2022, to the general assembly and to the chairpersons and
10 the vice-chairpersons of the committees on economic growth
11 and education, that includes the task force’s findings and
12 recommendations.
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