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LINCOLN — The Nebraska Republican Party formally opposes State Sen. Ben Hansen’s proposal that would make brand inspection voluntary statewide and eliminate the governor-appointed state Brand Committee.
In a resolution adopted by the state party’s key leadership committee on Jan. 31, the GOP wrote that it had urged “all members of the Nebraska Legislature, particularly Republican senators, to oppose its passage.” It said the party opposed the bill in part because it could “lead to increased bureaucratic control under the Department of Agriculture.” The resolution said the GOP would distribute copies of the group’s stance to every Republican lawmaker in the officially nonpartisan statehouse.
Legislative Bill 1258 from Hansen, of Blair, would transfer the Brand Committee’s responsibilities to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, a state agency overseen by a gubernatorial appointee. Services provided by the Brand Committee are funded using fees. It would be housed differently but funded the same way under Hansen’s proposal.
The Brand Committee investigates cattle theft and verifies ownership through brand inspection when cattle are bought, sold or moved within or beyond the branding zone or area set in state law. Nebraska’s brand law applies mandatory inspections to cattle owners in the western two-thirds of the state.
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Hansen’s bill is the latest escalation in a years-long divide over the future of the Brand Committee among rural and agricultural constituencies — a fight that has flared recently, including during the last legislative session.
Some in the party started circulating the state GOP resolution online a few days before Tuesday’s legislative hearing on Hansen’s proposal, both of which highlighted the cattle industry’s division on the Brand Committee.
State GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper said the state party hadn’t widely shared the resolution, because the party has up to 30 days to post its meeting minutes. She said the NEGOP sent the resolution to the “appropriate people” — including state senators — to avoid blindsiding them.
Hansen called the GOP resolution “premature,” though he acknowledged that it might sway some lawmakers. He said he hoped the hearing on the bill Tuesday in the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee might matter more.
Most hearing attendees opposed Hansen’s proposed changes, making the case for the importance of the independent branding group. Some supported it, saying it would make the process more efficient.
“I noticed they put in there that they are all about government efficiency and limited government, which is exactly what my bill does,” Hansen said. “So it seemed like a little bit of a contradiction to their philosophy.”
State Sen. Tanya Storer of Whitman, a lawmaker from north-central Nebraska who has defended the Brand Committee, said Hansen’s bill would make a mockery out of one of the state’s most valuable industries — the cattle industry.
She said some who co-sponsored LB 1258 “listened to a handful of feedlot owners who have hired a lobbyist to represent them,” and painted an inaccurate picture of a system they say is ‘out of date or unfair.’”
The Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Cattlemen, and Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska also oppose the bill.
Matt Blackford, Brand and Property Rights Committee chair for Nebraska Cattlemen, opposed shifting decisions about governing the brand inspection area to the state. He prefers the status quo, he said. A couple of rural sheriffs expressed concerns about having the manpower to take on Brand Committee duties if needed and questioned whether the state can afford to pick up the tab, suggesting that some responsibilities might fall on local government.
Steve Shultz, a feedlot owner near North Platte, said the Brand Committee is important because it helps prevent cattle theft, especially as cattle prices have risen.
“We can argue that the Nebraska State Patrol should be defunded because they don’t catch every single traffic violator,” Shultz said, making a comparison to the Brand Committee being criticized.
Duane Gangwish, chair of the Brand Committee, said there is room for compromise because “we can’t continue to throw rocks … at each other.”
“There’s been a lot of talking,” Gangwish said. “There hasn’t been a lot of communication.”
Supporters of Hansen’s proposal also spoke at the hearing — mostly families that own feedlots. Cassie Lapaseotes, whose family owns a feedlot in Bridgeport, said she was threatened with a felony over cattle she raised because she didn’t have the correct paperwork.
“Nearly every person who testifies about problems with the current Brand Committee has had similar experiences,” Lapaseotes said. “That is not right, and it must change.”
Some dispute her claims of being threatened with a felony over paperwork, saying it was just a misunderstanding. She was given a warning, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Other supporters of Hansen’s changes said they want to get rid of “red tape” and said the bill would help.
Most attendees who spoke against the Hansen bill also spoke in support of LB 1187, a bill from Niobrara State Sen. Barry DeKay, which would raise certain brand fees to fund the brand committee.
Hansen said his goal is to “solve this issue once and for all, so this committee can focus its energies on many more major issues confronting agriculture.”
The committee took no immediate action on the bills.
