GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
H 2
HOUSE BILL 369*
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/9/13
Short Title: Increased Penalty/Seed Law Violations.-AB |
(Public) |
|
Sponsors: |
|
|
Referred to: |
|
|
March 21, 2013
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase penalties for violation of the Seed law.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 106-277.19 reads as rewritten:
"§
106-277.19. Revocation Revocation, suspension, or refusal
of license for cause; hearing; appeal.
In accordance with Chapter 150B of the General
Statutes, the Commissioner is authorized to suspend any seed license
issued for a period not to exceed three years, revoke any seed license
issued, or to refuse to issue a seed license to any person as hereinafter
provided, upon satisfactory proof that said person has repeatedly violated
any of the provisions of this Article or any of the rules and regulations
made and promulgatedadopted thereunder.thereunder; provided that
no license shall be revoked or refused until the person shall have first been
given an opportunity to appear at a hearing before the Commissioner. Any person
who is refused a license, or whose license is revoked by any order of the
Commissioner, may appeal within 30 days from said order to the Superior Court
of Wake County or the superior court of the county of his residence."
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 106-277.24 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106-277.24. Penalty for violations.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this
Article or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto shall be guilty of a
Class 3 misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall only pay a fine of
not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00).ten thousand dollars
($10,000). In determining the amount of the fine, the court shall consider the
retail value of the seed sold in violation of the law, and in cases involving
the unlawful sale of seed protected under the federal Plant Variety Protection
Act, the court shall order the payment of restitution to any injured party for
any losses incurred as a result of the unlawful sale."
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective December 1, 2013, and applies to violations committed on or after that date.