SANTA FE, N.M. (Legal Newsline) – Business groups are suing the State of New Mexico over legislation that imposes new fees in pet food.
On Dec. 30, the Pet Food Institute, the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council and Rio Grande Kennel Club filed suit in state court over the Commercial Feed Act’s new section.
That section – the Spay and Neuter Program Fee – imposes an annual fee on each pet food registered with the state Department of Agriculture. Most of those fees go toward spay and neuter services in the state.
The fee starts at $50 for 2021, then moves up to $75 in 2022 and $100 for 2023 and every year after that.
“While the fee is labeled a ‘fee’ by statute, there is no rational relationship between the fee and any governmental service provided,” the lawsuit says.
“At best, only 4% is for administration of related services; however, because the 4% is distributed to the department to administer all feeds under the Commercial Feed Act it is unclear the amount, if any, of the fee that will be used, by statute, to cover the cost of performing any associated service relating to pet food registration.”