§ 2-8-26 — Powers of Board and agents.

Oklahoma § 2-8-26

• Jurisdiction: Oklahoma
• Title 2: Agriculture

Text

The State Board of Agriculture shall have authority: 1. To sample, test, make analysis of, and inspect any agricultural seed or vegetable seed transported, sold, offered or exposed for sale within this state for planting purposes, at any time and place and to any extent necessary to determine whether the agricultural seed or vegetable seed are in compliance with the provisions of this subarticle and rules promulgated thereto; 2. To issue and enforce a written or printed "stop-sale" order to the person or vendor of any agricultural seed or vegetable seed which is in violation of any of the provisions of this subarticle or rules promulgated thereto; provided, that no "stop-sale" order shall be issued or attached to any seed without first giving the vendor an opportunity to comply with the provisions of this subarticle or to withdraw the seed from sale; 3. To furnish adequate facilities for seed testing and to employ qualified persons for making the tests; 4. To publish or cause to be published the results of the examination, analysis, and test of any agricultural or vegetable seed sampled in accordance with the provisions of this subarticle, together with any other information that the Board may deem advisable; 5. To cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture in the enforcement of the Federal Seed Act where mutual understanding is reached by written cooperative agreement; 6. To issue a license to any person upon payment of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each license of a retail seed dealer or One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) for each license of a retail-wholesale seed dealer to be applied for by each seed dealer upon forms furnished for that purpose. Out-of-state wholesale and retail seed dealers who sell or ship agricultural or vegetable seed into this state shall obtain a license in the same manner. A separate license shall be required for each place of business. Each license shall expire on a date to be determined by the Board. Any license issued under the provisions of this subarticle may be revoked by the Board upon satisfactory proof that the licensee has violated any of the provisions of this subarticle or any of the rules; 7. To provide that any person in this state shall have the privilege of submitting seed samples for test, subject to the charges made for samples submitted as prescribed in rules promulgated by the Board; 8. To provide that any agricultural or vegetable seeds sold, distributed, offered for sale, or exposed for sale in this state, the person or vendor responsible for labeling and distributing the seed shall pay an inspection fee of not to exceed eight cents ($0.08) per hundred-pound weight. Every person responsible for labeling and distributing seed to a retail seed licensee in Oklahoma, or each retail seed licensee who processes and sells seed to the consumer on which the inspection fee has not been paid, shall file not later than the last day of January and July a semiannual affidavit, setting forth the number of pounds of seed sold for the preceding six (6) calendar months; and upon filing this statement shall pay the inspection fee required. Each person labeling and distributing seed shall keep records required by the Board to indicate accurately the number of pounds of seed sold; 9. To examine records and to verify the statement of the number of pounds of seed sold and the inspection fee reported. The form of the statement for reporting and paying the seed inspection fees on a semiannual basis shall be prescribed in rules of the Board. Failure to make an accurate statement of the number of pounds of seed sold and payment of the inspection fee shall be a misdemeanor, and constitute sufficient cause for the revocation of the person's Oklahoma Seed License and to take any other appropriate action provided under the law. An inspection fee penalty of ten percent (10%) of the amount due or Ten Dollars ($10.00), whichever is greater, shall be assessed if the semiannual statement is not submitted when due; and 10. To collect all fees and other money as provided in this subarticle and deposit the monies in the State Department of Agriculture Revolving Fund.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1955, p. 67, art. 8(B), § 6, emerg. eff. June 3, 1955. Amended by Laws 1971, c. 34, § 2, operative July 1, 1971; Laws 1983, c. 84, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1983; Laws 2000, c. 367, § 89, emerg. eff. June 6, 2000; Laws 2004, c. 109, § 4.