Bill Text: MS SB2836 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Boll Weevil Management Act; revise certain provisions relating to the administration of.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2010-04-14 - Approved by Governor [SB2836 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-SB2836-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Agriculture
By: Senator(s) Lee (35th), Clarke, Dearing
Senate Bill 2836
AN ACT TO AMEND THE MISSISSIPPI BOLL WEEVIL MANAGEMENT ACT TO PROVIDE FOR A POST-ERADICATION PROGRAM; TO DELETE REFERENCES TO SUPPRESSION, PRE-ERADICATION AND ERADICATION PROGRAMS; TO REVISE THE POWERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI BOLL WEEVIL MANAGEMENT CORPORATION AND THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE; TO DELETE REFERENCES TO MANAGEMENT REGIONS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 69-37-3, 69-37-5, 69-37-7, 69-37-9, 69-37-11, 69-37-13, 69-37-17, 69-37-19, 69-37-21, 69-37-23, 69-37-27, 69-37-29, 69-37-31 AND 69-37-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; TO FURTHER AMEND SECTION 69-37-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REDUCE THE MAXIMUM ASSESSMENT THAT MAY BE LEVIED BY REFERENDUM AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE ASSESSMENTS SHALL BE REMITTED TO THE MISSISSIPPI BOLL WEEVIL MANAGEMENT CORPORATION BY ANY OUTSIDE ENTITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 69-37-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-3. The Legislature has determined that the boll weevil is a public nuisance, a pest and a menace to the cotton industry. The purpose of this chapter is:
(a) To provide procedures through which cotton growers in various geographical regions in Mississippi may initiate boll weevil * * *,
(b) To provide for certification of a cotton growers organization to cooperate with state and federal agencies in the administration of cost-sharing programs for * * * post-eradicaton of * * * in Mississippi, and
(c) To empower the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to promulgate and enforce regulations in support of such programs.
This chapter should be construed liberally to achieve these purposes.
SECTION 2. Section 69-37-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-5. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Assessment" means the amount per acre to be charged each cotton grower to finance, in whole or part, a boll weevil * * * post-eradication program * * * within this state. Such assessments would be based on scientifically sound data regarding the risk of reinfestation or the level of boll weevil infestation * * * and the anticipated cost of conducting the proposed program.
(b) "Boll weevil" means Anthonomus grandis Boheman in any stage of development.
(c) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Plant Industry within the regulatory office of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
(d) "Certificate" means a document issued or authorized by the Bureau of Plant Industry indicating that a regulated article is not contaminated with the boll weevils.
(e) "Corporation" means the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation certified by the Bureau of Plant Industry as the official certified cotton growers organization meeting the requirements under Section 67-37-13. * * *
(f) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce.
(g) "Cotton" means any cotton plant or cotton plant products upon which the boll weevil is dependent for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
(h) "Cotton grower" means any person who under the rules and regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture is actively engaged in cotton farming.
(i) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
* * *
(j) "Host" means any plant or plant product upon which the boll weevil is dependent for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
(k) "Infested" means actually infested with a boll weevil or so exposed to infestation that it would be considered infested according to criteria established by the program management and the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation.
(l) "Information gathering program" means any unified regional or statewide program designed to gather information that will be used in planning or implementing a boll weevil post-eradication program.
(m) "Management program" means any unified regional or statewide program designed to suppress or eradicate the boll weevil or to gather information that will be used in planning or implementing * * * post-eradication programs.
(n) "Permit" means a document issued or authorized by the Bureau of Plant Industry to provide for the movement of regulated articles to restricted designations for limited handling, utilization or processing.
(o) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society, association or other business entity.
(p) "Pest" means any species of plant, animal, or microbe that adversely affects cotton production; including, but not limited to: insects, weeds, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
* * *
(q) "Post-eradication program" means any unified program designed to maintain weevil free status in the program area.
(r) "Regulated article" means any article of any character carrying or capable of carrying the boll weevil, including cotton plants, seed cotton, cottonseed, other hosts, gin trash, gin equipment, mechanical cotton pickers and other equipment associated with cotton production, harvesting or processing.
* * *
(s) "Technical advisory committee" means a group of professional scientists in the fields of entomology, agronomy, agricultural economics and other appropriate disciplines appointed by the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation to provide technical guidance in developing and conducting effective boll weevil post-eradication programs.
SECTION 3. Section 69-37-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-7. The corporation * * * is authorized to carry out * * * a boll weevil post-eradication program in this state. The corporation is authorized to cooperate with any agency of any state or the federal government, any other agency in this state, any person engaged in growing, processing, marketing, or handling cotton, or any group of such persons in this state in programs to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and may enter into written agreements to effectuate such purposes. Such agreements may provide for cost sharing and for division of duties and responsibilities under this chapter and may include other provisions generally to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
SECTION 4. Section 69-37-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-9. The corporation or its authorized agent(s), after first notifying the owner, shall have authority to enter cotton fields, cotton processing facilities and other premises in order to carry out survey, suppression or eradication activities, including treatment with pesticides and monitoring of growing cotton or other host plants as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. The corporation or its authorized agent(s) shall have authority to make inspection of any fields or premises in this state and any property located therein for the purpose of determining whether such property is infested with the boll weevil and for determining the extent of infestation. Such inspection and other activities may be conducted in a reasonable manner without a warrant at any reasonable time. Any judge of this state may, within his or her jurisdiction and upon proper cause shown, issue a warrant giving the corporation the right of entry to any premises for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section or other activities authorized by this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section 69-37-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-11. Every person growing cotton in this state shall furnish to the corporation and the bureau * * * such information as * * * may be required concerning the size and location of all commercial cotton fields and of noncommercial plantings of cotton grown as an ornamental plant or for any other purposes.
SECTION 6. Section 69-37-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-13. (1) The corporation may enter * * * into agreements with the State of Mississippi, other states, the federal government and other parties as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(2) The corporation shall continue to meet the following requirements:
(a) It is a nonprofit organization and could qualify as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [26 USCS 501(c)(3)];
(b) Membership in the organization is open to all cotton growers in this state; * * *
(c) The organization has only one (1) class of voting members with each member entitled to only one (1) vote; and
(d) Demonstrates expertise in eradication and post-eradication program implementation.
(3) The organization's board of directors shall be composed of members who shall be chosen according to bylaws established by the cotton growers organization.
(4) All books and records of account and minutes of proceedings of the organization shall be available for inspection or audit * * * at any reasonable time.
(5) Employees or agents of the corporation who handle funds of the corporation shall be adequately bonded * * *.
SECTION 7. Section 69-37-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-17. * * *
(1) * * * The corporation shall authorize a referendum among cotton growers * * * on the question of whether an assessment, not to exceed Twelve Dollars ($12.00) per acre, shall be levied upon cotton growers * * * to offset, in whole or in part, the cost of boll weevil * * * post-eradication programs authorized by this chapter or by any other law of this state. * * *
(2) The assessment levied under this chapter shall be based upon * * * the anticipated cost of conducting the post-eradication program, as determined by the program management and the board of directors of the corporation, and the number of acres of cotton planted * * *. The amount of the assessment, the period of time for which it shall be levied, how it shall be levied, when it shall be paid * * * shall be determined by * * * the board of the corporation and established by regulations according to this section. The maximum amount of any such assessment * * * shall appear on all ballots for the referendum.
(3) All affected cotton growers shall be entitled to vote in any such referendum and * * * the corporation, shall determine any questions of eligibility to vote. A cotton grower must be growing cotton within * * * in order to be eligible to vote in elections and referenda * * *.
(4) Each eligible cotton grower shall be mailed a ballot upon which to cast a vote for or against the boll weevil * * * post-eradication program * * *.
(5) Passage of any referendum shall require * * * a simple majority of those voting approve the referendum.
(6) The assessments levied under this chapter shall be * * * remitted to the corporation through an outside entity, such as a bank or certified public accountant, chosen by the corporation and deposited into a FDIC account. The chosen entity shall submit deposit records to the bureau for collection and accounting purposes.
(7) The corporation shall provide to the department an annual audit of its accounts performed by a certified public accountant.
(8) The assessments collected by the corporation under this chapter shall not be "state" funds and shall be deposited by the corporation in a FDIC account.
(9) Upon * * * termination of a program, any unused funds shall be equitably returned to the contributing growers unless affected growers agree by majority vote to some other disposition of such funds.
SECTION 8. Section 69-37-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-19. (1) The arrangements for and management of any referendum held under this chapter shall be under the direction of the corporation. The corporation shall bear all expenses incurred in conducting the referendum, to include furnishing the ballots and arranging for the necessary poll holders.
(2) The corporation is authorized to request and receive assistance necessary from the MSU Extension Service, the bureau or other organizations as needed.
SECTION 9. Section 69-37-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-21. (1) In the event any referendum conducted under this chapter fails to receive the required number of affirmative votes, * * * the corporation, may be authorized to call other referenda.
(2) * * * Upon petition by twenty percent (20%) of the voting cotton growers * * *, the corporation shall be required to conduct a subsequent referendum on the question called in the petition, provided that the corporation is required to hold no more than one (1) petitioned referendum * * * during any given calendar year. All the requirements for an initial referendum must be met in any subsequent referenda. The results of each referendum, along with annual audits of all monies expended on programs affected by the referendum, shall be reported each year to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and the Chairmen of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee.
* * *
(3) No assessment under any subsequent referendum for a post-eradication program may exceed Twelve Dollars ($12.00) an acre, and it shall be incumbent upon the Boll Weevil Management Corporation to levy only that amount necessary to ensure the financial stability of the post-eradication program.
SECTION 10. Section 69-37-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-23. (1) * * * When assessments are established by passage of a referendum under Section 69-37-17, the commissioner shall have a lien for payment of such assessments, together with any penalties levied under this chapter, against all cotton grown by each cotton grower who grows cotton within the area. This lien shall be of equal dignity with liens for taxes in favor of the state and the commissioner is authorized to issue executions for the collection of such assessments in like manner as executions are issued for ad valorem property taxes due the state. The commissioner shall be responsible for collecting such liens.
(2) In addition, the commissioner shall have a special lien on cotton for payment of assessments, together with any penalties levied under this chapter, which shall be superior to any other lien provided by law, shall arise as of the time the assessments become due and payable, and shall cover all cotton grown by the cotton grower from the date the lien arises until such assessments are paid. However, any buyer of cotton shall take free of such lien if such buyer has not received written notice of the lien from the commissioner, or if he has paid for such cotton by a check in which the department is named as joint payee.
(3) A cotton grower who fails to pay when due and upon reasonable notice any assessment levied under this chapter shall be subject to a per acre penalty as established in the bureau's regulations, in addition to the assessment.
(4) Commercial cotton which is located in sites that cannot be treated adequately because of health, environmental or other concerns shall be deemed to be a public nuisance and shall be destroyed promptly. The commissioner, with the consent of the corporation and the approval of the Attorney General, may apply to the circuit court of the judicial circuit in which the public nuisance is located to have the nuisance condemned and destroyed. This injunctive relief shall be available to the commissioner notwithstanding the existence of any other legal remedy and the commissioner shall not be required to file a bond.
In such cases where commercial cotton is destroyed because of prevented treatment due to health or environmental concerns, the owner of such cotton shall be compensated for that portion of * * * the crop that is destroyed. The per acre amount of such payments shall be based on a reasonable estimate of the value of the crop as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the corporation and the affected producer. Payments for such losses shall be funded by assessment fees paid by cotton growers * * * and administered by the corporation.
SECTION 11. Section 69-37-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-27. * * * The bureau, with the concurrence of the corporation, is authorized to promulgate reasonable regulations regarding areas where cotton cannot be planted * * * zone when there is reason to believe that growing cotton in such areas will jeopardize the success of the program or present a hazard to public health or safety. The bureau is authorized to issue regulations prohibiting the planting of noncommercial cotton in such management zones and requiring that all growers of commercial cotton in these zones participate in the specified boll weevil management program and share equitably in the cost. Such costs shall be determined by the program management and the board of directors of the corporation * * *. Notice of such prohibition and requirement shall be given by publication for one (1) day each week for three (3) successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the affected area. The bureau is authorized to set by regulation a reasonable schedule of penalty fees to be assessed when growers * * * do not meet the requirements of regulations issued by the bureau with respect to reporting of acreage and participation in cost-sharing as prescribed by regulation. Such penalty fees shall not exceed a charge of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per acre. The cotton grower charged with such penalties shall have the right to appeal this decision to the corporation.
SECTION 12. Section 69-37-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-29. The commissioner, with the approval of the corporation, shall have authority to destroy, or cause to be treated with pesticides, volunteer or other noncommercial cotton and to establish procedures for the purchase and destruction of commercial cotton in post-eradication program when the corporation deems such action necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. No payment shall be made by the commissioner to the owner or lessee for the destruction or injury of any cotton which was planted in a nonplanting zone after publication of notice as provided in this chapter, or was otherwise handled in violation of this chapter or the regulations adopted under this chapter. However, the commissioner shall pay for losses resulting from the destruction of cotton which was planted in such zones before promulgation of such notice. Payments for such losses shall be funded by assessment fees paid by cotton growers within the designated region and administered by the corporation.
SECTION 13. Section 69-37-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-31. (1) The bureau is authorized to promulgate reasonable regulations restricting the pasturage of livestock, entry by persons, location of honeybee colonies or other activities affecting the boll weevil post-eradication program in affected areas, for limited periods of time, which have been or will be treated with pesticides or otherwise treated to cause the eradication of the boll weevil, or in any other areas that may be affected by such treatments.
(2) The bureau shall also have authority to adopt such other rules and regulations as it deems necessary to further effectuate the purposes of this chapter, provided that such other rules and regulations are approved by the board of directors of the corporation. In no event, however, shall the rules and regulations promulgated by the bureau and the board of the corporation apply * * *, if through referenda provided for herein, * * * participation is not approved in * * * a post-eradication or information-gathering program.
SECTION 14. Section 69-37-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-37-39. There is hereby created within the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "Boll Weevil Management Fund" into which shall be deposited all the revenues required to be deposited into such fund pursuant to Section 27-65-75(14), Mississippi Code of 1972. Money deposited into the fund shall not lapse at the end of any fiscal year and investment earning on the proceeds in such special fund shall be deposited into such fund. Money from such fund shall be disbursed therefrom upon warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer upon requisitions signed by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce to assist the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in carrying out its duties under the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Act (Section 69-37-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972). The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce may disburse all or any portion of the money the Department of Agriculture and Commerce receives from the fund to the corporation, as defined in Section 69-37-5, * * * to assist such organization in carrying out its duties under the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Act.
SECTION 15. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
