Establishing license fees for food processing plants

BACKGROUND. Code chapter 137F regulates businesses engaged in commercial food preparation and sale. The regulations are administered and enforced by the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing.1). In 2023, the general assembly revised the method used to calculate annual license fees imposed on plants (2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 82). The fee amount is based on a series of increasing steps calculated using the plant’s gross annual sales during the prior year.6). BILL’S PROVISIONS. This bill revises the license fee schedule for plants. It distinguishes between two categories of plants: the first is a general category and the second is a category of plant where meat or poultry is processed on the premises of a farm or private residence. Under the general category, the fee amount is based on a series of three increasing steps calculated again using the plant’s gross annual sales. For a plant with annual gross sales of less than $200,000, the fee amount is $150; for a plant with annual gross sales of at least $200,000 but less than $2 million, the fee amount is $300; and for a plant with annual gross sales of $2 million or more, the fee amount is $500. Under the second category, the fee amount is a flat $75.