Lawmakers could take another swig of raw milk bill next year

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One state House of Delegates supporter of the raw milk bill predicts lawmakers will see the proposal again during the 2016 Regular Legislative Session.

“You lose a game, you kind of dust yourself off and you go on to the next season,” said Delegate Jim Butler (R-Mason, 14). “We need to get together, as a team, and talk to the people who want to be able to make decisions for themselves and I suspect we’ll bring it back up again.”

Last week, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed this year’s version of the raw milk bill. In his veto message, he said signing the bill “would pose a serious risk to public health.”

As written, SB 30 did not permit the retail sale of raw milk which has not been pasteurized or homogenized. Instead, it would have allowed for the creation of herd-share agreements so people could co-own milk producing animals for their raw milk.

Tom Balmer, executive vice president of the National Milk Producers Federation, said Tomblin made the right decision.

“We just happen to think that the medical community is correct on this one and that there are too many risks associated with the direct consumption of raw milk to outweigh any benefits of which we’re really not aware that have been documented,” Balmer said.

“We just don’t believe that such claims (about raw milk being healthier) have been substantiated in a way that holds up.”

Butler said people should be permitted to make their milk decisions on their own. “It seems to be along the classification of the laws that we have in this state and in the country, to some extent, ‘things to protect you from yourself,'” he said.

“It seems like, sort of, the ‘nanny state.’ We’ve all heard that term, that believes that they know better what’s good for you than what you do for yourself.”

Tomblin reportedly decided to veto the raw milk bill following consultations with those within the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Public Health, the medical community and others.

His veto message said raw milk could contain “bacteria that is particularly dangerous to children, pregnant women and those with compromised immunity” and said the Legislature should have allowed for oversight from the Bureau of Public Health in the legislation.

During the 2015 Regular Legislative Session, the final votes on the raw milk bill were 18-15 in the state Senate and 78-15 in the state House of Delegates.





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