Other locations have annual fees or licenses for beekeeping, to offset the
administrative costs associated with having the state manage the bee
populations (state inspectors, certificates, record keeping, what have you).

Did you ever wonder about the efficacy of state run inspection programs? I just recently did an overview  of the differences between various state and provincial laws and programs. Some states have very active apiary programs and some have none. One might ask what the levels of disease are in those various states. I contacted many of the people who have that information and they all refused to divulge it. 

So, we cannot evaluate the merit of apiary inspection at all. It is accepted in some states as a crucial service. In other states, they regard it as not worth spending a dime on. It is of interest that states that did away with apiary inspection mostly did it at the behest of beekeepers, though in others it was simply a way to save money spent on programs that benefitted a very few. 

Peter L Borst

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