The Michigan House Agriculture Committee heard testimony on House Bills 4881 and 4882, measures that would repeal licensing and bonding requirements under the state's Wholesale Potato Dealers Act, during a committee meeting. Representative Nyar, chair of the committee, introduced the bills and asked for support to remove what he described as "outdated and ineffective regulations" that burden Michigan potato producers.

The bills are part of what Representative Nyar called a "red tape package" aimed at eliminating state requirements he said are redundant with federal safeguards. "Potatoes are one of our state's top crops, supporting about 20,000 jobs and roughly $2.5 billion in revenue," Representative Nyar said. He told the committee the current $100,000 bond requirement and licensing system "has become a burdensome and ineffective benefit to the growers" and that federal standards now provide stronger protections and enforcement mechanisms.

Dr. Kelly Turner, who testified for the state's potato growers, told the panel there are "between 18 and 20 wholesale potato dealers" who meet the statutory definition in Michigan. Turner said the industry's supply chain has shortened over time and that the licensing program no longer functions as it once did. She told the committee a case in the early 1990s involving Jack Mall Potato Company in the Saginaw area left farmers unpaid and that, even then, the bond requirement would not have covered most losses. "At that time...this program didn't cover 10% of the loss that those farmers incurred," Turner said.

Turner said growers and industry stakeholders reviewed the program at a June 18 commission meeting and reached consensus that the license and bond requirements are no longer effective. She said the program yields limited revenue and consumes staff time: "...we would like MDARD to focus on some other things that really make some sense, instead of...trying to get money and bonds that they have to purchase that cost them money that really...is very ineffective." Representative Nyar and Turner both urged the committee to allow the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) to redirect resources to higher-value work for farmers and consumers.

Committee members asked for historical context. Representative Skaggs asked whether the bond requirement had ever been used to compensate growers for unpaid purchases since the law's origin; Representative Nyar and Turner said they did not have a specific instance to cite from recent decades and said any historical cases appeared limited. Representative Nyar said staff could follow up with more precise historical data.

The committee record shows written support on submitted cards from "Mikaela" of MDARD and from Tim Golding and Sunny Koch of Americans for Prosperity, Michigan. The committee did not take a formal vote on House Bills 4881 or 4882 during the session. The meeting did include two formal motions unrelated to the bills: Representative Coontz moved to adopt the minutes from the previous meeting, and Representative Alexander moved to excuse absent members; both motions were adopted without objection.

No formal direction to staff or referral action on the bills was recorded in the transcript. Committee members who asked questions indicated they wanted additional factual follow-up on the number of current licensees and any historical bond claims before taking further action.

The committee adjourned with no further business recorded.