A. No person shall do business as a cotton handler without first obtaining a license from the Commissioner.

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Terms Used In Virginia Code 3.2-4765

  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Cotton gin: means a facility where cotton seed and cotton lint are produced from raw cotton. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
  • Cotton handler: means any person doing business as a cotton gin, cotton merchant, or cotton warehouse. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
  • Cotton merchant: means any person who buys cotton from a producer for the purpose of resale, or acts as a broker or agent for a producer in arranging the sale of cotton. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
  • Cotton warehouse: means any enclosure in which producer-owned cotton is stored or held for longer than 48 hours. See Virginia Code 3.2-4764
  • Department: means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. See Virginia Code 3.2-100
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
  • United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255

B. Every person intending to do business as a cotton handler, shall make application to the Commissioner for a license on or before July 1 of each year on a form provided by the Commissioner. Any license granted by the Commissioner shall expire on June 30 following the date of issuance. The application shall specify:

1. An address where the applicant will receive correspondence by first-class mail;

2. Every address where the records of the cotton handler will be kept;

3. Every address, including street address, building number, and city or town:

a. In the case of a cotton gin, where the cotton will be ginned; or

b. In the case of a cotton warehouse, where the cotton will be warehoused;

4. The full name and first-class mail address, including the street, city or town, and state, of a person who is authorized to receive service of process on behalf of the cotton handler; and

5. The form of business organization that the cotton handler will assume. If the applicant will be doing business as a sole proprietorship, he shall disclose the full name of the sole proprietor and the name under which the sole proprietor will be doing business. If the applicant will be doing business as a partnership, he shall disclose the full name of each of the partners, the name of the partnership, and the name under which the partnership will be doing business. If the applicant will be doing business as a corporation, he shall disclose the full name of each of the officers of the corporation, the name of the corporation, and the name under which the corporation will be doing business. If the applicant will be doing business as a limited liability company or foreign limited liability company, he shall disclose the full name of the manager of the company, the name of the company, and the name under which the company will be doing business as a cotton handler. If the company has no manager, the applicant shall disclose the full names of the members of the company.

C. The applicant shall submit with the application a nonrefundable application fee of $50.

D. Every person submitting an application for a license as a cotton handler who will be doing business as a cotton gin or cotton merchant shall furnish at the time of application for a license a bond in the amount of $50,000 in accordance with § 3.2-4767. Nothing in this subsection shall require a person doing business as a cotton gin to be separately licensed or bonded as a cotton merchant.

E. Except as otherwise provided in subsection F, every person making application for a license as a cotton handler doing business as a cotton warehouse shall furnish, at the time of application for the license, proof of insurance with a company licensed to do business in the Commonwealth in an amount equal to the fair market value of the maximum amount of cotton that can be stored in the warehouse, and a bond in the amount of $500,000 in accordance with § 3.2-4767.

F. In lieu of satisfying the requirements of subsection E, a cotton handler doing business solely as a cotton warehouse may furnish proof of a valid license issued pursuant to the United States Warehouse Act (USWA) (7 U.S.C. § 241 et seq.). A cotton handler governed by this subsection shall notify the Commissioner of any change in the status of its USWA license within 24 hours after being notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

2000, c. 584, §§ 3.1-722.30 to 3.1-722.32; 2008, c. 860.