Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 526 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1741 3
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By: Representative Wooldridge 5
By: Senator D. Wallace 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS AGRICULTURAL LIMING 9
MATERIALS ACT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 10
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Subtitle 13
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS AGRICULTURAL 14
LIMING MATERIALS ACT. 15
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 17
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code §§ 2 -19-304 through 2-19-307 are amended to 19
read as follows: 20
2-19-304. Sampling and analysis. 21
(a) The State Plant Board Department of Agriculture through its 22
authorized agents is authorized to select from any package, bulk load, or lot 23
of liming material exposed for sale or distribution in this state a quantity 24
not less than two pounds (2 lbs.) for a sample, to be used for the purpose of 25
an official analysis for comparison with the statement required by § 2 -19-303 26
or the rules provided for therein. 27
(b) The board department and its authorized agents shall have free 28
access during reasonable business hours to all premises where liming 29
materials are manufactured, sold, or stored, and vehicles wherein 30
distributed, and are authorized at all times to stop -sale by written order 31
any and all liming materials that are unregistered, misbranded, fail to meet 32
the guarantee, or otherwise fail to comply with the provisions of this 33
subchapter. 34
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2-19-305. Penalty for deficiency from guaranteed analysis. 36 HB1741
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(a) If any liming material offered for sale in this state shall, upon 1
official analysis, prove deficient from its statement of guarantee to the 2
extent of five percent (5%) or more, then the manufacturer, importer, or 3
guarantor of the liming material shall be liable for two (2) times the value 4
of the actual deficiency as shown by the official analysis. 5
(b)(1) Penalties assessed under this section, except those exceeding 6
the actual value of the shortages found, shall be paid to the consumer of the 7
lot of deficient liming material within thirty (30) days after the date of 8
notice from the State Plant Board Department of Agriculture to the 9
manufacturer, importer, or guarantor, receipts to be taken and promptly 10
forwarded to the board department. 11
(2) The value of the deficiencies exceeding the actual shortages 12
and the actual value of the shortages when the consumer cannot be found shall 13
be paid to the board department within forty-five (45) days after the date of 14
notice from the board department to the manufacturer, importer, or guarantor 15
and shall be deposited into the Plant Board Fund of the State Treasury. 16
(c) The board State Plant Board is authorized to cancel the present 17
registration or to refuse to register for the next season any liming 18
materials offered for sale or distribution by any manufacturer, importer, or 19
guarantor who fails or refuses to comply with this section. 20
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2-19-306. Registration. 22
(a) Before any liming material is sold or offered for sale or 23
distribution in this state, the manufacturer, importer, or other guarantor, 24
which is a person or firm that places or mixes liming materials of more than 25
one (1) manufacturer in a stockpile, shall register each liming material with 26
the State Plant Board Department of Agriculture . 27
(b)(1) The registration shall contain the statement referred to in § 28
2-19-303 or the rules provided for therein . 29
(2) and be accompanied by a fee A sum of fifteen dollars 30
($15.00) for each liming material shall be paid with the registration . 31
(c) Registrations shall expire June 30 of each year. 32
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2-19-307. Quarterly tonnage reports. 34
(a)(1)(A)(i) All manufacturers, importers, and other guarantors who 35
are registered under § 2 -19-306(a) shall forward to the State Plant Board 36 HB1741
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Department of Agriculture each quarter a report on forms prescribed by the 1
State Plant Board department, not later than thirty (30) days after the end 2
of each quarter. 3
(ii) Quarters shall end September 30, December 31, 4
March 31, and June 30 of each year. 5
(B)(i) The report shall include a sworn statement of the 6
total tonnage of all liming materials distributed in this state . 7
(ii) and shall be accompanied by the The sum of 8
thirty cents (30¢) per ton or fractional ton shall be paid. 9
(iii) Upon receipt of the report under subdivision 10
(a)(1)(A)(i) of this section, the department shall invoice the responsible 11
party for payment of the sum. 12
(2)(A) A fee sum of thirty cents (30¢) will accompany shall be 13
paid for each quarterly report of tonnage which amounts to less than one (1) 14
ton. 15
(B) Upon receipt of the report under subdivision (a)(2)(A) 16
of this section, the department shall invoice the responsible party for 17
payment. 18
(3)(A) When sales or distributions of liming materials are 19
between registrants, the registrant who sells or distributes to a person or 20
firm who is not a registrant shall be responsible for payment of the 21
inspection fee unless the payment is made by the registrant initiating the 22
transaction. 23
(B) Invoices of transactions between registrants shall be 24
marked “inspection fee paid” or “inspection fee not paid”; otherwise, the 25
registrant initiating the transaction shall be responsible for payment of the 26
inspection fee. 27
(C) The State Plant Board department shall issue receipts 28
for the amounts received and shall deposit the sums received as follows: 29
(i) Twenty cents (20¢) of the thirty -cent fee sum 30
per ton or fractional ton inspected shall be deposited with the Treasurer of 31
State as special revenues. It shall be credited to the State Plant Board 32
Plant Board Fund to be used for its maintenance, operation, support, and 33
improvement; and 34
(ii)(a) Ten cents (10¢) of the thirty -cent fee sum 35
per ton or fractional ton inspected shall be remitted to the Board of 36 HB1741
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Trustees of the University of Arkansas. This amount shall be credited to a 1
fund to be known as the “University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, 2
Soil Testing and Research Fund” to be maintained in accounts in one (1) or 3
more financial institutions in the State of Arkansas. This amount shall be 4
expended exclusively for soil testing service and soil fertility research and 5
extension by the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas under 6
appropriations made by the General Assembly. It shall be expended in support 7
of one (1) or more soil testing laboratories and soil fertility research 8
activities at the main experiment stations, branch experiment stations, or 9
subbranch experiment stations, as determined and designated by the Vice 10
President for Agriculture of the University of Arkansas. 11
(b)(1) The Board of Trustees of the University 12
of Arkansas shall provide for the investment of any funds in the University 13
of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Soil Testing and Research Fund that are 14
not needed for current operations of the soil testing laboratories and soil 15
fertility service and research and extension activities and shall credit the 16
interest earned on the investment to the credit of the University of 17
Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Soil Testing and Research Fund. 18
(2) The investment shall be of the type 19
and nature authorized for the investment of average daily State Treasury 20
balances by the State Board of Finance. 21
(b)(1) The State Plant Board department or its agents shall have the 22
right at any time to inspect or audit the books of any manufacturer and 23
manipulator or their agents to determine the correctness of the monthly 24
reports required under this section. 25
(2) Refusal to allow this inspection or audit shall be deemed a 26
violation of this subchapter, and the violator shall be subject to the 27
penalties provided in it. 28
(3) For a late report or for failure to report the entire amount 29
sold, the sum owed for tonnage fee on the late report or unreported amount 30
shall be doubled, and penalties shall be deposited into the Plant Board Fund; 31
otherwise, registrations may be cancelled by the State Plant Board. 32
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APPROVED: 4/10/25 35
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