TITLE 22

AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE

CHAPTER 51

SEED INDEMNITY FUND LAW

22-5110.  Violations — Penalties — Discretion of director to handle administratively. (1) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or the rules promulgated hereunder, or who shall impede, obstruct, hinder or otherwise prevent or attempt to prevent the director or his duly authorized representative in the performance of his duty in connection with the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed six (6) months, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both.

(2)  Any person operating as a seed buyer without a license or in any way representing, by actions or words, that they are so licensed when they are not, or any person who shall misrepresent, forge, alter, counterfeit or falsely represent a license as required by the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a felony and punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than ten (10) years, or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both.

(3)  Any person who shall issue, utter, or aid in the issuance or utterance or attempt to issue or utter a false or fraudulent receipt or scale weight ticket for any seed crop shall be guilty of a felony and punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than ten (10) years, or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both.

(4)  Any person violating any provision of this chapter, or rules promulgated under this chapter, may be assessed a civil penalty by the department equal to the loss for each offense or five hundred dollars ($500) a day for continuing violations. Persons against whom civil penalties are assessed shall be liable for the department’s reasonable attorney’s fees. Civil penalties may be assessed in conjunction with any other department administrative action. Moneys collected for violations of this section or rules promulgated under this section shall be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the seed indemnity fund.

(5)  Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring the director to report minor violations for prosecution when he believes that the public interest will be best served by suitable warnings or other administrative action. The director shall maintain a record of any administrative action involving a seed buyer with that seed buyer’s license file.

History:

[22-5110, added 2002, ch. 256, sec. 1, p. 740.]