Two legislators announced plans today to introduce a bill that would stop state agencies from requiring participation in voluntary federal programs.

State Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, and State Sen. Greg Brophy, R-Wray, were reacting to a decision this week by officials at the Colorado State Fair to expel two competitors over questions about their compliance with a voluntary federal animal identification program.

Fair administrators concluded that the contestants did not properly register their animals under a controversial federal program known as the National Animal Identification System.

The state fair board voted in January to require competitors to comply with the "premises ID" component of the system — to, essentially, spell out the location where the animals were raised.

"I am shocked and embarrassed that officials at the State Fair have treated these kids so poorly," Brophy said.

Brophy was among a group of legislators who complained about the requirement in a June letter to the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service and the state's agricultural commissioner.

In the letter, they objected to requiring participation in the voluntary federal premises ID program, and asked them to drop the requirement from county fairs and the state fair.

"We have rules and policies here at the fair that we have to follow," said Chris Wiseman, the fair's general manager. "It's unfortunate that it led to the disqualification of two young people."

Cathy Calderwood, whose daughter was one of the kids kicked out of the sale, opposes the system. But she also said she believed she had done nothing wrong by listing the premises ID for the LaPlata County Fairgrounds. The entry rules, she said, required only that a "valid" premises ID be listed.

"We don't believe we've done anything wrong," she said.

The National Animal Identification System is designed to stop the spread of disease and make it easier to respond to an animal health crisis.

Those who sign up register their "premises" — providing information on where the animal was raised and can be found — and the animals themselves.

It is hugely controversial. Many farmers and ranchers are leery of registering their property and animals with the federal government. Some fear being held liable if a disease is traced to one of their animals. Some are worried the system could be used to compromise their property rights.

"Children should not be used as political tools to force the implementation of a controversial program, especially when the federal program is voluntary," Gardner said. "Mandates placed on the backs of children to force their parents into compliance with a supposedly voluntary program are simply wrong."