milk tax disobedience?

[Dave Ridley]

i heard today from a rep that the  state democrats managed to pass a tax on milk..... i had been under the impression this failed.

does this mean we might be able to do "milk disobedience?"  maybe with a cow at the statehouse?

I doubt that the tax is administered at the point of consumer sale.  but i wonder if i might be possible to obtain milk direct from a dairy, bypass the tax, then announce that we're going to sell tax free milk in front of the state house or something.  maybe out of state milsk would also qualify for this purpose.

signs could say

democrat
milk tax
NHfree.com

If they ignored us maybe we could keep doing it for profit.

this idea might be nice way to start turning up the heat on the state dictactrats who have unleashed so much spending and new taxation. 

can anyone tell me if this tax really did go through?   any further thoughts on this idea?
I am still struggling to find the perfect , timely act of civil dis.   probably i will try doing the FIJA leafletting legally first so civil dis in that area is still hypothetical.

[Bald Eagle]

Or instead of throwing snowballs, we could hurl milk balloons with a water-balloon slingshot at the Statehouse, the Dems offices, their vehicles, or the Dems themselves.

Sour grapes, or sour milk?  Either way, their greedy tax leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

[Francois Tremblay]

What is it with extremists and milk? First PETA rants against giving milk to children, and now NH passes a tax against it.

[dalebert]

It probably will be an embedded tax and many people will miss the story or completely forget it. I'm picturing a sign that says "Did you know you just started paying a tax on milk?"

[Kat Kanning]

milk bombs...stinky!  I'm surprised the dairy lobby didn't object.

[sandm000]

If you were to plan a balloon event, I'd offer the use of some buckets behind my house to let the milk ripen properly in.

I suppose I should also volunteer to fill up balloons after the milk is aged.

[NHRes2004]

All I see on milk that passed so far is HB407-FN-A relative to assistance for milk producers.

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven

AN ACT relative to assistance for milk producers.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

374:1 New Chapter; Emergency Dairy Assistance Program. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 184-A the following new chapter:

CHAPTER 184-B

EMERGENCY DAIRY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

184-B:1 Program Established. There is hereby established in the department of agriculture, markets, and food, the emergency dairy assistance program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008.

184-B:2 Program Administration.

I. In order to apply for the emergency dairy assistance program, a milk producer, as defined by RSA 184:79, IX, shall calculate his or her actual production of milk in hundredweight for November 2006, December 2006, January 2007, and February 2007. Assistance shall be calculated by multiplying a milk producer's actual milk production times the difference between the average Suffolk county statistical uniform price ("Boston Blend") for November 2006, December 2006, January 2007, and February 2007 and the base price of milk at $16.94 per hundredweight. Producers who were not in production in November 2006, December 2006, January 2007, and February 2007, but who were in production in the calendar year of 2006, and who wish to receive this interim assistance shall provide the commissioner verifiable production evidence by September 1, 2007 for the lowest actual 4 months' milk production in 2006. For the purposes of this chapter, a milk producer, as defined in RSA 184:79, IX, who is receiving assistance shall not include governmental entities.

II. The milk producer shall apply to the commissioner of agriculture, markets, and food on forms provided by the commissioner for assistance by September 1, 2007 by reporting the average price. The commissioner may adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to the content and form of the application forms. In addition to reporting the average price, a producer applying for assistance shall provide the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food with 4 months' worth of verifiable production evidence. Acceptable forms of verifiable production evidence include: milk marketing payment stubs, bulk tank records, milk handler records, and daily milk marketing records.

III. Assistance shall be distributed beginning July 15, 2007. Payment will be in the form of a check made out to the producer from the state of New Hampshire.

IV. The following milk is ineligible for calculation in a milk producer's actual milk production for determination of assistance:

(a) Dumped milk that causes bulk load contamination for which a producer receives an insurance indemnity.

(b) Milk dumped on the farm by order of a department of agriculture, markets, and food or a department of health and human services official.

V. When applying for assistance, a milk producer shall sign an agreement to reimburse the department of agriculture, markets, and food for payments if the producer disperses the herd or reduces herd production by more than 50 percent by July 1, 2009. Funds collected by the department in the form of a reimbursement shall be deposited into the general fund.

184-B:3 Advisory Board.

I. There is hereby established for the duration of the program an emergency dairy assistance program advisory board. Such board shall manage appeals arising from RSA 184-B:4.

II. The board shall consist of the following:

(a) One member of the house of representatives who serves on the environment and agriculture committee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.

(b) One member of the senate who serves on the energy, environment, and economic development committee, appointed by the president of the senate.

(c) Three members of the public who are not milk producers or do not own a farm where milk is produced, appointed by the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food.

184-B:4 Appeals. The emergency dairy assistance program advisory board shall hear producer appeals. Appeals shall be based on unforeseen emergencies, contingencies, and extenuating circumstances.

184-B:5 Butterfat Content.

I. Producers with herds that produce milk with an average butterfat content of 4.0 percent or less shall receive assistance from the program as determined in RSA 184-B:2, I.

II. Producers with herds that produce milk with an average butterfat content between 4.01 percent and 4.5 percent shall receive assistance granted according to the formula in RSA 184-B:2, I, plus 10 percent.

III. Producers with herds that produce milk with an average butterfat content over 4.51 percent shall receive assistance granted according to the formula in RSA 184-B:2, I, plus an additional 20 percent.

374:2 Appropriation. The sum of $2,100,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, is hereby appropriated to the department of agriculture, markets, and food for the emergency dairy assistance program established in RSA 184-B:1. The governor shall draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. Any moneys not expended by June 30, 2008 shall lapse into the general fund.

374:3 Price of Milk. Amend RSA 434:56 to read as follows:

434:56 Establishment of Minimum Producer Dairy Prices. The commissioner, after consulting with the agricultural advisory board, may establish by order an equitable minimum price to be paid to dairy producers for raw milk produced in New Hampshire on the basis of the use thereof in the various classes, grades and forms. The commissioner, after consulting with the agricultural advisory board, may from time to time make, amend or rescind an order if the commissioner finds that the federal milk marketing order covering New Hampshire is adequate or inadequate as the case may be to ensure a stable raw milk production and distribution system in the state. [In no case shall the commissioner establish by order a price greater than the average price established for comparable classes, grades and forms of raw milk in the contiguous states.]

374:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect June 30, 2007.

Approved: July 18, 2007

Effective: June 30, 2007