2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE BILL NO. 40
BY SENATOR THOMPSON
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 3:1604(A)(4), 1604.1(B)(7), 1609(C) and (D), and 1612(A), to
3 enact R.S. 3:1612.1, and to repeal R.S. 3:1603(2), 1604.1(A)(6) and (7) and (B)(3)
4 and (4), and 1613 through 1617, relative to the Louisiana Boll Weevil Eradication
5 Law; to provide relative to the Boll Weevil Eradication Commission; to abolish the
6 Boll Weevil Eradication Fund; to provide for the transfer of any remaining monies
7 in the Boll Weevil Eradication Fund; to repeal assessments on cotton producers and
8 all related provisions; to repeal liens on cotton; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 3:1604(A)(4), 1604.1(B)(7), 1609(C) and (D), and 1612(A) are
11 hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 3:1612.1 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
12 §1604. Boll Weevil Eradication Commission
13 A. In accordance with R.S. 36:901, the Boll Weevil Eradication Commission
14 is hereby created within and is transferred to the Department of Agriculture and
15 Forestry and shall consist of eight members as follows:
16 * * *
17 (4) The chancellor of the LSU Agricultural Center Louisiana State
18 University Vice President for Agriculture, or his designee, who shall serve as an
19 ex officio member in an advisory capacity.
20 * * *
21 §1604.1. Powers and duties of the commission and commissioner
22 * * *
23 B.
24 * * *
ACT No. 185
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1 (7) To institute civil proceedings to enforce orders or rulings or other civil
2 relief to collect any assessments, late fees, fines, penalties or costs due under this
3 Part or otherwise enforce the provisions of this Part or rules or regulations adopted
4 pursuant to this Part.
5 * * *
6 §1609. Eradication zones; participation in eradication program; penalty fees
7 * * *
8 C. The commission may adopt rules and regulations prohibiting the planting
9 of noncommercial cotton in such eradication zones, and requiring that all cotton
10 producers of commercial cotton in the eradication zones participate in a program of
11 boll weevil eradication, including payment of assessments, as prescribed in the rules
12 and regulations. Notice of such prohibition and requirement shall be given by
13 publication for one day each week for three successive weeks in a newspaper having
14 general circulation in the affected area.
15 D. The commission may set, by rule or regulation, a reasonable schedule of
16 penalty fees to be assessed when cotton producers in designated eradication zones
17 do not meet the requirements of rules or regulations adopted by the commission with
18 respect to reporting of acreage and participation in the payment of assessments as
19 prescribed by regulation. Such penalty fees shall not exceed a charge of twenty-five
20 dollars per acre per year.
21 * * *
22 §1612. Penalties
23 A. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this Part or the rules or
24 regulations adopted under the provisions of this Part, or who alters, forges, or
25 counterfeits, or uses without authority, any certificate or permit or other document
26 provided for in this Part or in the rules or regulations adopted under the provisions
27 of this Part, or who, except in compliance with the rules or regulations adopted by
28 the commission, moves any regulated article which the commissioner found is
29 infested by the boll weevil into this state from any other state shall be subject, in
30 addition to any unpaid assessments or other unpaid fees associated with the
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1 eradication program, to a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for
2 each act of violation and for each day of violation. Each day on which a violation
3 occurs shall be a separate offense.
4 * * *
5 §1612.1. Disposition of funds
6 A. All fees, penalties, and other funds received under the provisions of
7 this Part shall be disposed of in accordance with the following provisions:
8 (1) All fees, penalties, and all other funds received by the commission
9 under the provisions of this Part, subject to the exceptions contained in Article
10 VII, Section 9 of the Constitution of Louisiana, shall be deposited immediately
11 upon receipt into the state treasury and shall be credited to the Bond Security
12 and Redemption Fund.
13 (2) Out of the funds remaining in the Bond Security and Redemption
14 Fund after a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations
15 secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable
16 within any fiscal year, the treasurer, prior to placing the remaining funds in the
17 state general fund, shall pay an amount equal to the total amount of funds paid
18 into the state treasury by the commission under the provisions of this Part into
19 the Horticulture and Quarantine Fund.
20 (3) All unexpended and unencumbered monies received from fees and
21 penalties in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall remain in the
22 Horticulture and Quarantine Fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by
23 the treasurer in the same manner as monies in the state general fund. All
24 interest earned on monies from the fund invested by the state treasurer shall be
25 deposited in the fund.
26 B. Subject to appropriation, the monies in the fund shall be used for the
27 following purposes:
28 (1) To provide for the expenses of the program established by this Part
29 and the expenses of the office of agricultural and environmental sciences, as
30 determined by the commissioner.
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1 (2) To fund any and all costs related to the eradication of boll weevils,
2 utilizing any or all powers granted to the commissioner or the department.
3 Section 2. R.S. 3:1603(2), 1604.1(A)(6) and (7) and (B)(3) and (4), and 1613 through
4 1617 are hereby repealed.
5 Section 3. The Boll Weevil Eradication Fund in the state treasury shall be abolished
6 as of the effective date of this Act and the state treasurer is hereby authorized and directed
7 to immediately transfer any monies remaining in the Boll Weevil Eradication Fund to the
8 Horticulture and Quarantine Fund.
9 Section 4. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
10 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
11 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
12 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
13 effective on the day following such approval.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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