Agriculture department supports repeal of obsolete cantaloupe inspection statute

Summary

Senate Bill 162 would repeal a Maryland statutory provision requiring cantaloupe inspections that the Department of Agriculture said has not been implemented for decades because grading and inspection functions moved to federal agencies (USDA/FDA); MDA testified in favor of repeal and called the statute obsolete.

Senator Simonaire described Senate Bill 162 as a housekeeping measure to repeal an obsolete statutory provision governing cantaloupe inspections. Department of Agriculture representatives told the committee they had not performed cantaloupe inspections in decades and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration now handle federal grading and inspection responsibilities for produce.

Rachel Jones of MDA said agency staff with decades of experience did not recall the state conducting cantaloupe inspections and supported repeal. The department characterized the provision as obsolete and endorsed removing it from statute. No opposition or committee vote is recorded in the hearing transcript.

The transcript records the sponsor's aim to reduce outdated laws on the books and the department's informational testimony that federal agencies now manage the activity referenced in the statute.