CHAPTER 686

An Act to amend and reenact §§ $-228.8, 8-228.4 as amended, 8-228.5,
8-228.6, 3-228.7, 3-228.8, 8-228.9 and 8-228.11 of Chapter 18.1, Title $
of the Code of Virginia, relating to seed potatoes.

22 eee 64 Aa Gh
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 3-228.8, 3-228.4 as amended, 3-228.5, 8-228.6, 3-228.7, 3-228.8,
3-228.9 and 3-228.11 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted
as follows:

§ 3-228.3. As used in this chapter:

(1) “Approved seed” Irish potatoes and parts thereof * shall mean
disease-free Irish potatoes and parts thereof which conform to the stand-
ards hereinafter provided for. ;

(2) “Person” shall mean and include individuals, partnerships, cor-
porations, companies, associations, cooperatives, and any and all other
business units, devices and arrangements.

§ 3-228.4. * It shall be unlawful for any person * to offer or expose
for sale, advertise, or ship into this State, any Irish potatoes or parts
thereof intended for propagation purposes, and/or to plant any Irish
potatoes or parts thereof intended for the production of commercial white
potatoes, which do not conform to the standards of “approved seed” po-
tatoes as herein * defined. ;

3-228.5. In order to provide disease-free * “approved seed” Irish
potatoes the State Seed Potato * Commission is hereby authorized to make
such reasonable rules and regulations to provide for * standards as may be

ed.

§ 8-228.6. There is hereby created a State Seed Potato * Commission,
consisting of * seven members from the principal potato growing areas,
five of whom shall be actively engaged in potato production and two of
whom shall be actively engaged as potato dealers. The members of the
Commission shall be appointed by the Governor and serve for four-year
terms each and until their successors are appointed and take office. Such
appointments may be made from recommendations submitted by the pro-
ducer and dealer organizations in the principal potato growing areas.
Four members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum.

The * Commission shall elect its own chairman and meet at least once
each year, prior to beginning of the seed potato buying season, and at
such other times during the year as it may deem necessary. At such meet-
ings it shall be the duty of the * Commission to make such amendments as
are necessary in the seed potato standards adopted by the * Commission
pursuant to this chapter, and to the rules and regulations promulgated
pursuant hereto for enforcing such standards. The * Chairman of the
Commission shall have the authority to request the Commissioner of Agrt-
culture and Immigration, the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Virginta
Polytechnic Institute, the Chairman of the State Certified Seed Commis-
sion, and the Director of the Virginia Truck Experiment Station to appoint
appropriate representatives as advisers to the State Seed Potato Com-
Mission.

§ 3-228.7. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture
and Immigration to employ qualified inspectors to assist in the enforcement
of this chapter and regulations adopted hereunder affecting the distribution
and sale of Irish potatoes and parts thereof intended for propagation
purposes or planted for the production of commercial white potatoes. The
Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration is hereby authorized to
require of personnel in his department the performance of duties which
involve technical and scientific questions in connection with the enforce-
ment of this chapter.

§ 3-228.8. To effectively enforce the provisions of this chapter, the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration shall require employees of
his department to inspect Irish potatoes and parts thereof shipped into,
advertised, possessed, sold or offered for sale within this State for the pur
pose of propagation or being planted for the production of commerctal
Irish potatoes, and the Commissioner and such employees may enter any
place of business, warehouse, common carrier or other place where such
potatoes are being stored * , being held or being planted, for the purpose
of making such inspection. It shall be unlawful for any person * having
custody of such potatoes or of the place in which the same are held to
interfere with such inspections. The fee for such inspection shall not ex-
ceed the current rate for Federal-State inspection of table stock potatoes
or the reasonable cost of inspection, whichever is less. Records such as
bills of lading or invoices accompanying each shipment of “approved seed”
Irish potatoes shall give the name of the consignee, consignor and/or
custodian. The Commissioner or his duly authorized agents shall have the
right to inspect such records for the purpose of the effective administration
of this chapter. When the Commissioner or his employees find potatoes or
parts thereof held, offered or exposed for sale in violation of any of the
provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant
thereto, he may issue a written or printed “stop sale” order to the owner
or custodian of any such potatoes and it shall be unlawful for anyone, after
receipt of such “stop sale” order, to sell for propagation purposes within
this State, any potatoes with respect to which such order has been issued
* until the Commissioner has evidence that such potatoes will be used for
other than propagation purposes or for propagation purposes outside of
this State. When the Commissioner has evidence that such potatoes will
be used for other than propagation purposes or for propagation purposes
outside of this State, he shall issue a notice releasing such potatoes from
the “stop sale” order. Further, any shipment of Irish potato seed being
offered or exposed for sale, advertised, planted, or held with intent to sell
or being planted for propagation purposes or for production of commerc

white potatoes, contrary to the provisions of this chapter shall be subject
to seizure on complaint of the Commissioner to a court of competent jurts-
diction in the county or city in which the Irish potatoes are located. In
the event the court finds the Irish potatoes to be in violation of the pro-
visions of this chapter and orders the condemnation thereof, the person
having possession of the Irish potatoes shall be permitted to post a bond
double the amount of the value of the Irish potatoes, and such person shall
have ten days from the date of the order of condemnation to denature,
destroy or process for other than propagation purposes the Irish potatoes
in such person’s possession. If the person in possession of the Irish potatoes
fails to post the bond required or act within the time limit set forth in the
preceding sentence, then the court shall order that the Irish potatoes shall
be denatured, destroyed or processed for other than propagation purposes.

§ 3-228.9. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, the
Commissioner is authorized and directed when disease-free stock is not
available to permit for such periods of time as, in his discretion, he may
deem necessary * the sale for propagation purposes of potatoes which do
not meet the standards established under this chapter, as such standards
may from time to time be amended, but which do meet such lesser stand-
ards as the * Commission may prescribe. The Commissioner is authorized
to permit the sale for propagation purposes of experimental varieties of
potatoes. He may delegate the authority granted him in this section to the
State Seed Potato Commission.

§ 3-228.11. Any person * violating any of the provisions of this
chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant hereto shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by
a fine * not to exceed five hundred dollars or confinement in jail not to
exceed twelve months or both. Whenever the Commissioner has reason to
believe there has been any violation of the provisions of this chapter or
of any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto he shall immedi-
ately notify in writing the person * in whose hand such potatoes are found
and to send a copy of such notice to the owner or shipper of the Irish
potatoes designating a time and place for a hearing. Any party so notified
shall be given an opportunity to be heard under such rules and regulations
as may be promulgated as herein provided. If it appears after proper
hearing, that any of the provisions of this chapter have been violated, the
Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration * may certify the facts to
the attorney for the Commonwealth in the county or city in which the
violation occurred, and furnish him with a copy of the results of the
inspection of such Irish potatoes, or parts thereof duly authenticated by
the inspector making such inspection, under the oath of such inspector.
It shall be the duty of such attorney of such county or city to prosecute
any case involving the violation of any provisions of this chapter or of
any rule or regulation when promulgated as herein provided when re-
quested to do so by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration.