§ 251-Z-3 — Licenses; fees

§ 251-z-3. Licenses; fees. 1. a. No person shall maintain or operate a\nfood processing establishment unless licensed biennially by the\ncommissioner. Application for a license to operate a food processing\nestablishment shall be made, upon a form prescribed by the commissioner.\nA renewal application shall be submitted to the commissioner at least\nthirty days prior to the commencement of the next license period.\n b. The applicant shall furnish evidence of the applicant's good\ncharacter, experience and competency, that the establishment has\nadequate facilities and equipment for the business to be conducted, that\nthe establishment is such that the cleanliness of the premises can be\nmaintained, that the product produced therein will not become\nadulterated and, if the applicant is a retail food store, that the\napplicant has an individual in a position of management or control who\nhas completed an approved food safety education program pursuant to\nsection two hundred fifty-one-z-twelve of this article. The\ncommissioner, if so satisfied, shall issue to the applicant, upon\npayment of the license fee of four hundred dollars, a license to operate\nthe food processing establishment described in the application. The\ncommissioner shall waive the license fee for two years for a first time\napplicant that processes food in a kitchen incubator food processing\nfacility, which for the purposes of this section is a food processing\nfacility used by multiple small and emerging food processing businesses,\nincluding both full-time facility tenants and businesses that rent space\non a temporary basis. The commissioner shall prorate the license fee\npaid by an applicant, if the applicant's food processing establishment\nhas as its only full time employees the owner or the parent, spouse, or\nchild of the owner, and/or not more than two full time employees, and if\nthat applicant vacates a food processing establishment six months or\nmore prior to the expiration of the license period, and, within one year\nof vacating such establishment, applies for a new license associated\nwith another food processing establishment, provided the applicant's\nlicense has not been suspended or revoked pursuant to section two\nhundred fifty-one-z-five of this article. The commissioner may establish\nrules and regulations governing the prorating of such fees and/or the\napplication of such fees from a prior license to a new one.\nNotwithstanding the preceding, an applicant that is a chain store shall\npay a license fee of one hundred dollars if its license expires six\nmonths or less from the date its license period began, two hundred\ndollars if its license expires between six months and one year from the\ndate its license period began, three hundred dollars if its license\nexpires between one year and eighteen months from the date its license\nperiod began, or four hundred dollars if its license expires between\neighteen months and two years from the date its license period began.\nHowever, the license fee shall be nine hundred dollars for a food\nprocessing establishment determined by the commissioner, pursuant to\nduly promulgated regulations, to require more intensive regulatory\noversight due to the volume of the products produced, the potentially\nhazardous nature of the product produced or the multiple number of\nprocessing operations conducted in the establishment. The license\napplication for retail food stores shall be accompanied by documentation\nin a form approved by the commissioner which demonstrates that the food\nsafety education program requirement has been met. The license shall\ntake effect on the date of issuance and continue for two years from such\ndate. Notwithstanding the preceding, a license issued to an applicant\nthat is a chain store shall expire on the date set forth on the\napplication form prescribed by the commissioner for such applicant.\n c. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an applicant\nthat is a "small-scale processor" shall pay a license fee of one hundred\nseventy-five dollars per facility. For the purposes of this section, a\n"small-scale processor" shall be defined as a processor which operates a\nfood processing establishment that is not exempt from licensing pursuant\nto section two hundred fifty-one-z-four of this article, is not a chain\nstore, and employs no more than ten full time employees.\n 2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to processors of\nsyrup made from tree sap or honey who do not purchase syrup made from\ntree sap or honey from others for repackaging, and who do not combine\nsyrup made from tree sap or honey with any other ingredients capable of\nsupporting the growth of infectious or toxigenic organisms, provided\nthat such establishments are maintained in a sanitary condition and\nmanner.\n