Ohio Code 926.10 – Suspension or refusal of handler’s license
The director of agriculture, by order, may refuse to grant or may suspend or conditionally suspend a handler‘s license, without prior hearing, when the director determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the applicant or licensee:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 926.10
- Agent: means any person, other than a producer, who delivers an agricultural commodity to a licensed handler, either for sale or for storage, for the account of the producer. See Ohio Code 926.01
- Agricultural commodity: means corn, soybeans, wheat, or any other agricultural crop that the director of agriculture may designate by rule. See Ohio Code 926.01
- agriculture: includes farming; ranching; aquaculture; algaculture meaning the farming of algae; apiculture and related apicultural activities, production of honey, beeswax, honeycomb, and other related products; horticulture; viticulture, winemaking, and related activities; animal husbandry, including, but not limited to, the care and raising of livestock, equine, and fur-bearing animals; poultry husbandry and the production of poultry and poultry products; dairy production; the production of field crops, tobacco, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, flowers, sod, or mushrooms; timber; pasturage; any combination of the foregoing; the processing, drying, storage, and marketing of agricultural products when those activities are conducted in conjunction with, but are secondary to, such husbandry or production; and any additions or modifications to the foregoing made by the director of agriculture by rule adopted in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code. See Ohio Code 1.61
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Bond: includes an undertaking. See Ohio Code 1.02
- handler: means any person who is engaged in the business of agricultural commodity handling. See Ohio Code 926.01
- handling: means any of the following:
(1) Engaging in or participating in the business of purchasing from producers agricultural commodities for any use in excess of thirty thousand bushels annually;
(2) Operating a warehouse as a bailee for the receiving, storing, shipping, or conditioning of an agricultural commodity;
(3) Receiving into a warehouse an agricultural commodity purchased under a delayed price agreement;
(4) Providing marketing functions, including storage, delayed price marketing, deferred payment, feed agreements, or any other marketing transaction whereby control is exerted over the monetary proceeds of a producer's agricultural commodities by a person other than the producer. See Ohio Code 926.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Property: means real and personal property. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Receipt: means a warehouse receipt issued by a licensed handler. See Ohio Code 926.01
- Warehouse: means any building, bin, protected enclosure, or similar premises under the control of a licensed or unlicensed handler used for receiving, storing, shipping, or handling an agricultural commodity. See Ohio Code 926.01
(A) Has failed to maintain the insurance coverage required under section 926.07 of the Revised Code;
(B) Has failed to maintain accurate and complete records and accounts as required under section 926.11 of the Revised Code;
(C) Has failed to charge, collect, or remit the fee required under division (B) of section 926.16 of the Revised Code;
(D) Has refused to allow the director or the director’s authorized representative to examine, at a reasonable time, the applicant’s or licensee’s accounting records, accounts, agricultural commodity inventories, or warehouse;
(E) Does not possess sufficient agricultural commodities to cover the outstanding receipts or tickets issued or assumed by the applicant or licensee under bailment agreements;
(F) Has issued a receipt in violation of this chapter or any rules adopted under it;
(G) Does not have the net assets specified in division (B) of section 926.06 of the Revised Code or has failed to obtain a bond or other protection for any deficiency in required net assets as provided in that division;
(H) Does not have the obligations for agricultural commodities purchased under delayed price agreements secured or represented as required under division (B) or (C) of section 926.29 of the Revised Code;
(I) Does not submit financial statements that comply with the requirements of division (C) of section 926.06 of the Revised Code within the applicable time period specified in that division;
(J) Does not notify the director of a statutory agent‘s change of address or of the death, removal, resignation, or revocation of the appointment of a statutory agent or does not appoint another agent in accordance with section 926.051 of the Revised Code.
The applicant or licensee to whom a denial, suspension, or conditional suspension order is issued shall be afforded a hearing in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code, after which the director shall issue or deny the license applied for in the pending application or reinstate or revoke the suspended or conditionally suspended license. The director may suspend, conditionally suspend, or revoke a license after a hearing held in accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code for any other violations of this chapter or any rules adopted under it.
The director shall cause a notice to be posted on the property of a person whose license has been suspended, conditionally suspended, or revoked stating the limitations or restrictions imposed on the person in the handling of agricultural commodities as a result of the suspension, conditional suspension, or revocation. The notice shall not be removed from the property without written authorization from the director.
If a handler’s license is revoked, the handler immediately shall notify, in a manner determined by the director, all parties that are storing agricultural commodities in the handler’s warehouse and all holders of receipts issued by the handler, if known. The handler shall liquidate the commodities in the manner determined by the director.