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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/19/2024 07:05 PM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20190&cosponId=32231
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2019 - 2020 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: August 5, 2020 08:57 AM
From: Senator Judith L. Schwank and Sen. Elder A. Vogel, Jr.
To: All Senate members
Subject: Assisting Pennsylvania's Dairy Industry
 
Soon we will introduce legislation that will allow the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board (PMMB) to expand oversight on currently un-licensed dealers which will assist the PMMB analyze the effectiveness and impact of the Milk Marketing Law.  For background, in 2018, the Senate passed SR384 (Schwank) that directed the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) to study Pennsylvania’s dairy industry.  In 2019, the LBFC released their report and contained within were nine recommendations to assist the industry.  One of the nine recommendations was licensing milk retailers to capture more detail about milk sales in Pennsylvania. 
 
The Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board responded by pointing out they already license milk dealers, charges and collects license fees, and receive reports regarding packaged milk sales in Pennsylvania by those licensed dealers.  However, the PMMB does not currently collect data on milk purchased/received by a retailer from an out-of-state source not within Pennsylvania.  The PMMB does not currently license these importing distributors because they do not fall under the definition of any of the entities the PMMB is authorized to license.  Because the PMMB cannot license importing distributors, the information it has regarding packaged milk sales by Pennsylvania retailers is incomplete.
 
Licensing these distributors that are importing milk from out-of-state would then allow the PMMB to collect the information it currently does not have, without placing additional licensing and reporting burdens on retailers for which the PMMB already has the required information.  In the near-term, the information regarding imported milk would be particularly useful during the PMMB semi-annual Over-Order Premium hearings to evaluate the impact of the premium on packaged milk movement into Pennsylvania.
 
Collecting this data is the first step in a comprehensive plan the PMMB is developing to allow the industry and General Assembly to analyze, understand, communicate, and adapt the Milk Marketing Law to continue to best serve Pennsylvania’s entire dairy industry as that industry continues to evolve.

Please join us in co-sponsoring this important two-piece legislation.
 


Document #1

Introduced as SB1261

Description: The first bill adds Milk Distributors to the Milk Marketing Law and outlines licensing requirements.  This will allow the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board to collect information it currently does not have the authority to collect and is necessary for effective administration of the Milk Marketing Law.
 

Document #2

Description: The second bill adds Milk Distributors to the Milk Marketing Fee Act which currently provides for Milk Dealer license fees and how they are charged and collected by the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board.