Bill proposed moving livestock brand work to Agriculture Department

The bill proposed moving brand records, inspection services, and livestock theft investigations from the Nebraska Brand Committee to a division in the Agriculture Department. The division would handle brand applications and records, arrange inspection services, and receive and assign reports of missing or stolen livestock and livestock-related fraud. The Agriculture director would appoint a brand recorder to lead the division. The brand recorder could hire staff, contract for services, or make agreements with government agencies with the director's approval. The general operative date was January 1, 2027, when related Nebraska Brand Committee jobs would transfer. The bill's statement of intent called for the division by September 1, 2026.

The bill proposed statewide brand inspections on request and fee-based, with the Department of Agriculture establishing inspection fees. The proposal covered livestock inspections statewide and removed the brand inspection area and its mandatory branding requirements, as described in the bill. Requests could come from law enforcement, courts, lenders with a legal or financial interest, livestock markets or packing plants, parties to livestock transactions, and owners missing cattle. For inspections outside the former inspection area, the bill provides for charges based on actual inspection expenses, including mileage and an hourly rate capped at $30; investigation-related charges would be assessed against the person committing the violation. The bill's general operative date was January 1, 2027.

The bill proposed changing how people report and handle livestock found at large when the owner is unknown or ownership cannot be established. These procedures concern livestock found running at large when its owner is unknown or the person presenting it cannot establish ownership. A person taking up an estray would report it to the county sheriff; the bill removes the former geographic distinction in the reporting rule. If ownership could not be established, the animal would be treated as an estray and sold. Sale proceeds could cover actual investigation costs, up to those costs. The bill's general operative date was January 1, 2027.