Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas House Bill HB1744 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
2		-	Act 530 of the Regular Session
3	2		CRH154 03/10/2025 4:45:23 PM CRH154
4	3		State of Arkansas 1
5	4		95th General Assembly A Bill 2
6	5		Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1744 3
7	6		4
8	7		By: Representative Wooldridge 5
9	8		By: Senator D. Wallace 6
10	9		7
11	10		For An Act To Be Entitled 8
12	11		AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING AGRICULTURE; TO 9
13	12		AMEND THE LAW RELATED TO FERTILIZER; AND FOR OTHER 10
14	13		PURPOSES. 11
15	14		12
16	15		13
17	16		Subtitle 14
18	17		TO AMEND THE LAW RELATED TO FERTILIZER. 15
19	18		16
20	19		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 17
21	20		18
22	21		SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 2-19-202(a)(1), concerning the registration 19
23	22		of fertilizer and fertilizer materials, is amended to read as follows: 20
24	23		(a)(1)(A) All manufacturers, jobbers, and manipulators of commercial 21
25	24		fertilizers and of fertilizer materials to be used in the manufacture of 22
26	25		fertilizer, who may desire to sell or offer for sale in Arkansas fertilizer 23
27	26		and fertilizer materials, shall first file for registration with the State 24
28	27		Plant Board Department of Agriculture , upon forms furnished by the Department 25
29	28		of Agriculture department. 26
30	29		(B) The forms shall include the name of the brand of each 27
31	30		fertilizer, fertilizer materials, or chemicals which they may desire to sell 28
32	31		in the state, either by themselves or their agents, together with the names 29
33	32		and addresses of the manufacturers or manipulators, and such other 30
34	33		information as may be required by the board State Plant Board in its rules. 31
35	34		32
36	35		SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-202(d)(1)(B)(i), concerning the 33
37	36		registration of special agricultural crop -use fertilizer, is amended to read 34
38	37		as follows: 35
39	38		(B)(i) The special agricultural crop -use fertilizers with 36 HB1744
40	39
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42	41		less than the twenty -unit minimum shall be permitted for sale only after the 1
43	42		fertilizer grade is registered with the board department. 2
44	43		3
45	44		SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-203(a), concerning the sale of 4
46	45		unregistered fertilizers, is amended to read as follows: 5
47	46		(a) It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer, individual, 6
48	47		corporation, or company, either by themselves or agents, to sell or offer for 7
49	48		sale in this state any fertilizer brand or fertilizer materials that have not 8
50	49		been registered with and the registration approved by the State Plant Board 9
51	50		Department of Agriculture or its authorized representative, as required by 10
52	51		this subchapter. 11
53	52		12
54	53		SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-206(c)(1), concerning the 13
55	54		determination of the market value of the materials used in the manufacture of 14
56	55		fertilizer and fertilizer material, is amended to read as follows: 15
57	56		(c)(1) The department board shall ascertain the market value of the 16
58	57		materials from the manufacturers of fertilizer and fertilizer materials 17
59	58		specified in this subchapter to be used in the manufacture of fertilizer and 18
60	59		fertilizer materials and from other reliable sources. This determination 19
61	60		shall be done to fix units of value on them to be used in determining the 20
62	61		amount of damages due when the official analysis shows a deficiency from the 21
63	62		guaranteed analysis as specified in this subchapter. 22
64	63		23
65	64		SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-207 is amended to read as follows: 24
66	65		2-19-207. Sampling fertilizers. 25
67	66		The inspectors for the Department of Agriculture shall obtain samples 26
68	67		of fertilizer or fertilizer materials in the following manner: 27
69	68		(1) They shall draw samples with a core instrument that shall 28
70	69		not be less than twelve inches (12 ″) in length in a manner that will procure a 29
71	70		representative sample from such shipments of fertilizer or fertilizer 30
72	71		materials as they may be directed by the State Plant Board department or that 31
73	72		they may find uninspected; 32
74	73		(2) Where there are ten (10) packages or less, they shall take 33
75	74		samples from every package; where there are ten (10) or more packages, they 34
76	75		shall take samples from ten (10) packages, plus a sample for each additional 35
77	76		ton. In no case do more than twenty (20) packages need to be sampled; 36 HB1744
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80	79		(3) After thoroughly mixing the samples so drawn, they shall 1
81	80		fill a container to be approved by the board department with a portion of the 2
82	81		mixed sample for chemical analysis or inspection; and 3
83	82		(4) Accompanying these samples, a report shall be made giving 4
84	83		the name of the commodity inspected, number of packages represented by 5
85	84		sample, the name of the manufacturer, the guaranteed analysis, the place 6
86	85		where inspected, the date of inspection, and the name of the inspector. 7
87	86		8
88	87		SECTION 6. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-208(a)(1), concerning the delivery of 9
89	88		samples of fertilizer for analysis, is amended to read as follows: 10
90	89		(a)(1) Samples of fertilizer or fertilizer materials obtained by the 11
91	90		inspectors shall be delivered to the Department of Agriculture which shall 12
92	91		deliver the samples to the chief department chemist who shall make or cause 13
93	92		to be made a complete analysis thereof. 14
94	93		15
95	94		SECTION 7. Arkansas Code § 2-19-209(a)(2), concerning the amount 16
96	95		required to be paid per ton or fractional ton accompanying a tonnage report, 17
97	96		is amended to read as follows: 18
98	97		(2)(A)(i) The report shall be accompanied with the sum Upon 19
99	98		receipt of the report, the department shall invoice the responsible party for 20
100	99		payment of the sum of two dollars and forty cents ($2.40) per ton or 21
101	100		fractional ton. 22
102	101		(ii) A fee The sum of two dollars and forty cents 23
103	102		($2.40) will accompany shall be paid for each monthly report of tonnage which 24
104	103		amounts to less than one (1) ton. 25
105	104		(B) The department shall issue receipt for the amount 26
106	105		received and shall deposit the sums received as follows: 27
107	106		(i) Sixty-two cents (62¢) of the two -dollar-and-28
108	107		forty-cent fee sum per ton or fractional ton inspected shall be deposited 29
109	108		with the Treasurer of State as special revenues and shall be credited to the 30
110	109		Plant Board Fund to be used for the maintenance, operation, support, and 31
111	110		improvement of the State Plant Board programs; and 32
112	111		(ii)(a)(1) One dollar and seventy -eight cents 33
113	112		($1.78) of the two-dollar-and-forty-cent fee sum per ton or fractional ton 34
114	113		inspected shall be: 35
115	114		(A) Remitted to the Board of 36 HB1744
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118	117		Trustees of the University of Arkansas; and 1
119	118		(B) Credited to a fund to be known 2
120	119		as the “University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Soil Testing and 3
121	120		Research Fund” to be maintained in accounts in one (1) or more financial 4
122	121		institutions in the State of Arkansas. 5
123	122		(2) Funds shall be expended: 6
124	123		(A) Exclusively for soil testing 7
125	124		service and soil fertility research by the Board of Trustees of the 8
126	125		University of Arkansas under appropriations made by the General Assembly; and 9
127	126		(B) In support of one (1) or more 10
128	127		soil testing laboratories at the Division of Agriculture of the University of 11
129	128		Arkansas's research and extension centers and research stations as determined 12
130	129		and designated by the Vice President for Agriculture of the University of 13
131	130		Arkansas, and soil fertility activities within the State of Arkansas. 14
132	131		(b)(1) The Board of Trustees of the University 15
133	132		of Arkansas shall provide for the investment of any funds in the University 16
134	133		of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Soil Testing and Research Fund that are 17
135	134		not needed for current operations of the soil testing laboratories and soil 18
136	135		fertility service and research activities and shall credit the interest 19
137	136		earned on that investment to the credit of the University of Arkansas, 20
138	137		Division of Agriculture, Soil Testing and Research Fund. 21
139	138		(2) The investment shall be of the type 22
140	139		and nature authorized for the investment of average daily State Treasury 23
141	140		balances by the State Board of Finance. 24
142	141		25
143	142		SECTION 8. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-209(b)(3), concerning the penalty for 26
144	143		a late report or failure to report the entire amount of fertilizer sold, is 27
145	144		amended to read as follows: 28
146	145		(3) For a late report or for failure to report the entire amount 29
147	146		sold, the sum owed for tonnage fee on the late reported or unreported amount 30
148	147		shall be enhanced by ten percent (10%) if less than fifteen (15) days late, 31
149	148		twenty percent (20%) if less than thirty -one (31) days late, and doubled if 32
150	149		more than thirty (30) days late. Penalties shall be deposited into the Plant 33
151	150		Board Fund; otherwise, registrations may be cancelled by the State Plant 34
152	151		Board. 35
153	152		36 HB1744
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156	155		SECTION 9. Arkansas Code § 2 -19-211 is amended to read as follows: 1
157	156		2-19-211. Use of penalties from sums owed for fertilizer tonnage fees. 2
158	157		All penalties received by the Department of Agriculture for failure to 3
159	158		pay or report sums owed for fertilizer tonnage fees shall be remitted to the 4
160	159		Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, to be credited to the 5
161	160		University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Soil Testing and Research 6
162	161		Fund in the same manner as prescribed by § 2 -19-209 and to be used for the 7
163	162		same purposes as described in § 2 -19-209. 8
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166		-	~~APPROVED: 4/10/25~~ 11
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