Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3405 – Powers and duties of the commission
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3405
- Applicant: means a person or place of business that makes a formal application for a license, permit, certification, registration, or certificate issued pursuant to this Title. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:1
- Commission: means the Louisiana Agricultural Commodities Commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
- Cotton merchant: means every person, firm, corporation, association, or other legal entity who purchases or contracts to purchase, either directly or through a cotton agent, cotton grown or to be grown by producers in this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
- Grain: means corn, wheat, oats, rye, soybeans, barley, and grain sorghum. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
- Grain dealer: means any person who purchases any agricultural commodities from producers or represents producers in the sale of agricultural commodities. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
- Person: means any individual, partnership, company, firm, association, cooperative association, corporation, or any other legal entity engaged in any of the activities regulated under this Chapter. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
- Security: means any financial instrument or document issued for the benefit of or given to the commission by a licensee, or participation in any self-insurance fund program authorized by this Chapter as assurance for the fulfillment of the obligations imposed on the licensee by applicable law or regulations. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
- Warehouse: means any building, structure, or any other protected enclosure required to be licensed by the commission in which agricultural commodities or other farm products are stored for the public for a fee. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 3:3402
A. The commission shall:
(1) Adopt rules and regulations necessary to enforce the provisions of this Chapter, including rules to establish criteria for granting or denying licenses. All rules and regulations shall be adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
(2) Examine and investigate the qualifications of any applicant seeking licensure under this Chapter and determine the eligibility for licensure of each applicant.
(3) Issue licenses to warehouses regulated under this Chapter, under such terms and conditions as the commission may, by regulation, determine to be appropriate, provided that the commission shall require such warehouses to be of sound construction, provide security, and be insured as required under this Chapter.
(4) Issue licenses to grain dealers, provided that such persons shall provide security and be insured as required under this Chapter.
(5) Require each warehouse licensed under this Chapter to use only such warehouse receipts and scale tickets as may be furnished or approved by the commission, provided that such warehouse receipts and scale tickets shall be sequentially pre-numbered.
(6) Promulgate regulations setting forth the procedure whereby a farm product shall be regulated under this Chapter prior to the imposition of any requirement relative to the farm product.
(7) Regularly and at least once during each license period, examine, inspect, and audit each licensee under this Chapter.
(8) Issue licenses to cotton merchants regulated under this Chapter, under such terms and conditions as the commission may, by regulation, determine to be appropriate.
B. The commission may:
(1) Repealed by Acts 2010, No. 767, §2, eff. June 30, 2010.
(2) Establish reasonable guidelines for and require the submission of inventory reports.
(3) Require each person licensed under this Chapter to submit such reports as are necessary for the proper and efficient administration of this Chapter.
(4) Declare, by regulation, any agricultural commodity or other farm product to be subject to this Chapter.
(5) Establish and impose civil penalties for any violation of this Chapter or any rule or regulation adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Each day on which any violation occurs shall be considered a separate offense. No penalty may be imposed unless a violation is substantiated in an adjudicatory proceeding by the commission under Chapter 13 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. The commission may not impose any penalty in excess of one thousand dollars for each single day on which a violation occurs.
(6) Suspend or revoke the license of any warehouse, cotton merchant, or grain dealer licensed under this Chapter for any violation of this Chapter or any rule or regulation adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, provided that no license shall be revoked in the absence of an adjudicatory proceeding by the commission in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
(7) Sue to recover on or enforce the security required under this Chapter and to sue any licensee to recover any payment of a claim from the Self-Insurance Fund or the Grain and Cotton Indemnity Fund, or both, pursuant to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 3:3412 and 3412.1 respectively.
(8) Initiate legal proceedings seeking injunctive relief to restrain violations of this Chapter, the rules and regulations adopted by the commission, or the rulings of the commission. Venue for these proceedings shall be in the district court for the parish in which the violation occurred.
Added by Acts 1982, No. 563, §1, eff. July 22, 1982 and Jan. 1, 1983. Acts 1983, No. 8, §1; Acts 1983, No. 10, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1034, §1; Acts 2009, No. 24, §1, eff. June 12, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 767, §§1, 2, eff. June 30, 2010; Acts 2015, No. 430, §1.