Chap. 315.—An ACT relating to peanuts; to create the Virginia Peanut Commis-
sion and to prescribe its powers and duties; to authorize the Commission to
plan and conduct campaigns to promote education, advertising, publicity, sales
and research as to Virginia peanuts; to levy an excise tax on peanuts grown
in and sold in Virginia, to provide for its collection, and to appropriate the
revenue derived from it; to provide penalties for violation of this a

Approved March 17, 1948

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. Section 1. Definitions—As used in this act: (1) the word
“commission” shall mean the Virginia Peanut Commission. (2)
The word “processor” shall mean persons, individuals, corporations,
partnerships, trusts, associations, cooperatives, and any and all
other business units, devices and arrangements who clean, shell
or crush peanuts.

Section 2. Virginia Peanut Commission created.—There is
hereby created, within the Department of Agriculture and Immigra-
tion, an agency to be known as the Virginia peanut commission,
consisting of nine members representing as nearly as possible each
important peanut producing section of Virginia. Such commission
shall be appointed within thirty days after this act becomes effective,
by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. Each mem-
ber must be a citizen of Virginia and engaged in producing peanuts
in Virginia. The members of the commission shall serve for a
term of three years, provided that beginning with the first appoint-
ments three members shall be appointed for terms of one year,
three members for terms of two years, and three members for terms
of three years. The first terms hereunder shall commence July
one, nineteen hundred forty-eight. The commission shall elect one
of its members as chairman. The members of the commission shall
serve without compensation but they shall be reimbursed for actual
expenses incurred in attending meetings of the commission.

Section 3. Powers and duties of the commission.—(a) All
funds levied and collected under this act shall be administered by
the commission.
(b) It shall be the duty of the commission to plan and conduct
campaigns for education, advertising, publicity, sales promotion
and research as to Virginia peanuts, and the commission may make
contracts, expend moneys of the Peanut fund, and do whatever else
may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.

(c) The commission shall have authority to cooperate with
other state, regional and national agricultural and peanut organiza-
tions in research, advertising, publicity, education, and gther means
of promoting sale and use of peanuts, and to expend moneys of
the peanut fund for such purpose.

(d) The commission shall have authority to appoint a secretary
and other employees as may be necessary at salaries to be fixed by
the commission, subject to the provisions of the Virginia personnel
act. All employees handling money under this act shall be required
to furnish surety bonds.

Section 4. Excise Tax Levied—There is hereby levied on all
peanuts grown in and sold in this State for processing, beginning
with the nineteen hundred forty-eight crop, an excise tax of one
cent per hundred pounds; provided that peanuts sold for seed shall
not be subject to such tax, nor shall any peanuts be subject to
such tax after the tax thereon has been once paid. The processor
shall be liable for the collection and -payment of the tax on all
peanuts bought by him. ;

Section 4 Excise Tax Collected—The processor buying the
peanuts shall be liable for collecting the tax and paying it into the
State department of taxation to the credit of the peanut fund.
The tax collected between July first and December thirty-first of
each year shall be paid not later than February fifteenth of the
succeeding year, and the tax collected between January first and
June thirtieth shall be paid not later than July tenth of each year.

Section 6. The processor shall keep a complete record of the
amount of peanuts, subject to tax, bought by him for a period of
not less than two years. Such record shall be open to the inspection
of the State tax commissioner and his duly authorized agents.

Section 7. Unpaid excise tax and interest thereon shall be
collected how.—If the tax imposed hereby is not paid when due
the State department of taxation shall immediately notify the
taxpayer of such deficiency and shall add thereto a penalty of
five per centum of the amount due and if such deficiency be not
paid within thirty days from the date of such notice the same shall
bear interest at the rate of one-half of one per centum per month,
or fraction thereof, from the date the same was due, which shall
be collected as a part of the tax; provided that the department
may waive or remit the penalty of five per cent, or a portion thereof,
in its discretion for good cause shown. If any person be delinquent
in any payment of the tax or interest thereon, the amount shall be
collected by civil action in the name of the Commonwealth of Vir-
ginia at the relation of the State Tax Commission, and the person
adjudged in default shall pay the cost of such action. The Attorney
General, at the request of the Commissioner, shall forthwith insti-
tute action in the proper court for the collection of the amount of
any tax past due under this act, including interest thereon.

Section 8. Peanut Fund created; how administered.—All
moneys levied and collected under the provisions of this act, after
deducting the expense to the State of collecting the same, shall
be credited on the Comptroller’s books to a fund to be known as
the “peanut fund” which is hereby created; for the year beginning
July one, nineteen hundred forty-eight the cost of collecting the
tax hereby imposed shall be paid out of the general fund of the
State treasury but the general fund shall be reimbursed therefor as
soon as the collections for such year have been made.

The costs of collecting the tax levied hereby shall be paid out of
the peanut fund and the net proceeds of such fund are hereby
appropriated for the purposes herein set forth, and shall be used
exclusively for the administration of this act, including payment
for personal services and expenses of employees and agents of the
commission, rent, services, materials and supplies necessary to
effectuate the purposes and objects of this act. The unexpended
balance of the peanut fund at the end of each biennium shall not
be transferred to the general fund of the State treasury.

Section 9. Moneys to be expended how.—All moneys collected
under this act shall be expended by the Virginia peanut commis-
sion on warrants of the Comptroller on the State Treasurer issued
on vouchers signed by the duly authorized officer of the commission.

Section 10. Penalty for violating act—It shall be a misde-
meanor for any person knowingly to report falsely to the commis-
sion the quantity of peanuts subject to tax bought by him during
any period, or to falsify the records of the peanuts subject to tax
bought by him.

Any person subject to the provisions of this act who shall
fail to make the returns, or any of them, as herein required, or
who shall fail to keep the records as herein required, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor. Each month of such failure shall constitute a
separate offense.

Section 11. Invalidity of part of act not to affect remainder.
—lIf any clause, sentence or section of this act shall for any reason
be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such
adjudication shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence
or section of this act directly involved in the controversy in which
such adjudication shall have taken place.

2. This act shall be in force and effect on and after July first,
nineteen hundred forty-eight.