CHAPTER 7
HB 393-FN - FINAL VERSION
26apr01...0752h
31jan02...2325eba
2002 SESSION
08/01
HOUSE BILL 393-FN
COMMITTEE: Environment and Agriculture
This bill generally revises the laws relative to plant nurseries and nursery stock. First time violators of specified prohibitions shall be guilty of violations rather than misdemeanors.
This bill is a request of the department of agriculture, markets, and food.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26apr01...0752h
31dec02...2325eba
01-0599
08/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Two
AN ACT relative to plant nurseries and nursery stock.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
7:1 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Definitions. RSA 433:21 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
433:21 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. "Certificate" means a document indicating that plant stock has been inspected and found to be apparently free from dangerous insects and plant diseases.
II. "Certified stock" means nursery stock derived from a licensed nursery or certified by a nursery inspector.
III. "Collected plants" means plants and plant parts defined as nursery stock, which are dug or otherwise removed from fields, woodlots, or forested lands for sale or distribution, which have not been grown under cultivation in a nursery for a year.
IV. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the New Hampshire department of agriculture, markets, and food.
V. "Department" means the New Hampshire department of agriculture, markets, and food.
VI. "Director" means the state entomologist, qualified by scientific training and practical experience, directly answerable to the commissioner, in charge of and responsible for the activities of the division of plant industry.
VII. "Division" means the division of plant industry of the New Hampshire department of agriculture, markets, and food.
VIII. "Eradication" means the elimination or removal of a pest from any defined geographic area.
IX. "Greenhouse" means a structure covered with glass, plastic, fiberglass, or other material in which plants are cultivated in a controlled environment.
X. "Horticultural services" means any arborist, landscape architect, or gardening consultant whose function is that of providing services relative to horticulture.
XI. "License" means an authorization from the director to sell plant stock.
XII. "Nursery" means a place or greenhouse where nursery stock is propagated, grown, stored, cultivated, or offered for sale.
XIII. "Nursery inspectors" means persons either full-time employees of the division or knowledgeable individuals hired on a part-time basis to conduct the work of the division.
XIV. "Nurseryman" means a person who owns, leases, manages, or is in charge of a nursery. All persons engaged in operating a nursery are farming within the meaning of RSA 21:34-a.
XV. "Nursery stock" means woody plants, including ornamental and fruiting trees, shrubs, vines, and all viable parts of these plants; herbaceous plants, including florist stock plants, annuals, perennials, vegetable plants, herbs, potted plants, and all viable parts of these plants; and any other plant or plant part designated by the commissioner. Nursery stock does not include cut Christmas trees, wreaths, seeds, dried herbs, vegetables, cut flowers, or such plant products.
XVI. "Plant dealer" means any person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation not a grower or an original producer of nursery stock in New Hampshire who buys or acquires, or receives on consignment nursery stock for the purposes of re-selling, transporting, or otherwise disposing of the stock.
XVII. "Plant diseases" means fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses, and plant parasites injurious to plants and plant products.
XVIII. "Plant pests" means any organism, including other plants, causing or capable of causing injury or damage to plants or plant products.
XIX. "Public nuisance" means a plant pest determined by the department to be dangerous or destructive to the agriculture or horticulture of New Hampshire.
XX. "Quarantine" means a legal action intended to prevent or delay the establishment of a pest of plants or crops.
XXI. "Soil" means the medium designated for plant propagation.
XXII. "Stop sale order" means a written notice issued by an inspector to the owner or custodian of any plant or plant products, which prohibits the sale or movement of plants or plant products.
7:2 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Rulemaking. Amend RSA 433:22, II and III to read as follows:
II. The issuing of [certificates] licenses as may be necessary.
III. Establishing fees for certificates and licenses issued under this subdivision, as well as any publications printed for distribution to the general public.
7:3 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Certified Stock. Amend RSA 433:23 to read as follows:
433:23 Certified Stock. All nursery stock shipped into New Hampshire shall bear on each consignment or package [an unexpired] a valid license or certificate number indicating that the contents of that consignment or package have been inspected by a duly authorized inspecting officer, and that the contents are apparently free from all dangerous insects and plant diseases, and are therefore certified stock.
7:4 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Regulation of Horticultural Services. Amend RSA 433:27 to read as follows:
433:27 Regulation of Horticultural Services. Any person engaged in horticultural services [and nurserymen] shall be subject to regulation by the commissioner under this subdivision.
7:5 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Nursery Stock Requirements. Amend RSA 433:28 to read as follows:
433:28 Nursery Stock Requirements.
I. Woody-stemmed deciduous nursery stock shall have moist green cambium tissue in the stem or stems and branches, and shall have viable buds or normal green, [unwilted] rigid growth. Growth shall be sufficient to permit the stock to live and grow in a form characteristic of the species when planted and given reasonable care[, except that in the case of rose bushes each stem shall show moist green undamaged cambium above the graft]. Nursery stock which does not meet those standards shall not be sold or offered for sale.
II. Hardy herbaceous biennials or perennials, when in a wilted, rotted, or other such condition indicative of subnormal vitality, shall not be sold or offered for sale.
III. Any bare-rooted or prepackaged woody-stemmed nursery stock having more than 2 inches of etiolated (nongreen) growth from individual buds shall not be sold or offered for sale.
IV. Balled and burlapped or containerized nursery stock in a weakened condition as evidenced by die-back or dryness of foliage shall not be sold or offered for sale.
V. Nursery stock infected with plant diseases or infested with plant pests shall not be offered for sale or given away.
7:6 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Nursery Inspection. RSA 433:29 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
433:29 Nursery Inspection. A nursery inspector shall inspect any nursery as determined necessary by the director. Nurseries shall be accessible at reasonable times for inspection. Nursery inspectors shall verify that nursery stock requirements are in compliance with RSA 433:28.
7:7 New Section; Nurseries and Nursery Stock; License Required. Amend RSA 433 by inserting after section 29 the following new section:
433:29-a License Required. A person, firm, or corporation may not engage in or continue in the business of selling nursery stock without first obtaining a license to conduct such business in the state. Licenses are non-transferable and each business shall possess a valid license for each business location.
7:8 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Diseased or Infested Stock; Stop Sale and Destruction. Amend RSA 433:30 to read as follows:
433:30 Diseased, Infested Stock; Stop Sale, Destruction.
I. Only sound, healthy nursery stock, which will maintain its vigor, shall be offered for sale. The offering for sale of stock which is infected with diseases or infested with [destructive] plant pests is a violation of this subdivision. Whenever the director has reason to believe that any nursery or plant dealer in the state has introduced or is offering for sale diseased or infested stock, the director or a nursery inspector shall inspect that stock. If, upon inspection, the director of a nursery inspector finds any such stock, [he] the inspector may order the plants, either individually or in blocks, to be:
(a) Made subject to a stop sale order.
(b) Treated by the nurseryman.
(c) Destroyed according to the nursery inspector's instructions.
II. Plants ordered destroyed or subject to a stop sale order must be clearly separable from noninfested stock. Any order must be confirmed in writing within 7 days or clearly marked on the inspection report. The order shall include the reason for action, a description of the nursery stock affected, and any recommended treatment. Destruction of condemned stock shall be at the expense of the owner. Stop sale tags may not be removed except by written permission of the director or upon suitable disposal of the infested plants.
III. A person issued any order under paragraph I may appeal that order by letter to the commissioner within 15 days after receiving the order. The letter shall state any grounds for appealing and designate the plants affected.
IV. A nursery inspector shall reinspect a nursery or plant dealer as determined necessary by the director. If the nursery or plant dealer is still in violation of the requirements and despite the inspector's efforts, a stop sale shall be implemented and the nursery or plant dealer license revoked. After further inspection, the director may reinstate the nursery or plant dealer license.
7:9 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Lack of Certificate of Inspection or Notification of Licensure. Amend RSA 433:31 to read as follows:
433:31 Lack of Certificate. If nursery stock is brought into the state without a certificate of inspection, or notification of licensure, the consignee shall return it to the consignor at the expense of the consignor, or shall call the director to inspect the nursery stock.
7:10 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Prohibitions; Penalties. RSA 433:32 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
433:32 Prohibitions; Penalties.
I. The following actions are prohibited:
(a) Selling, distributing, receiving, or delivering nursery stock which has not been licensed or certified.
(b) Using a nursery or plant dealer license after it has been revoked or suspended or has expired.
(c) Offering any hindrance or resistance to the carrying out of the provisions of this subdivision.
(d) Knowingly permitting any plant pest declared a public nuisance to exist on his or her premises or selling, offering for sale, giving away or moving any plants, plant products, or other material capable of harboring the pest.
II. Any person or employee or agent of that person, who violates any provision of this subdivision or rule adopted under this subdivision, shall be guilty of a violation. For any subsequent offense, a person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.
III. Any person who violates any provision of this subdivision or any rule adopted or order issued under this subdivision shall, in addition, be liable for a civil forfeiture not to exceed $5,000 for each violation, which may be collected in a civil action or in connection with an action for injunctive relief brought by the attorney general.
IV. Any person who violates any provision of this subdivision or any rule or order of the commissioner shall be subject to the imposition of an administrative fine levied by the commissioner, not to exceed $1,000 for each violation.
7:11 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Quarantine; Gender Neutral. Amend RSA 433:34 to read as follows:
433:34 Quarantine. The commissioner may establish quarantines as specified in the law or under [his] the rules to prevent [the] dissemination of plant pests within the state. When any pests that have the potential to cause serious damage to agriculture are found in any geographic area, that area and any adjacent areas shall be quarantined. After a quarantine is established, the commissioner shall adopt any rules necessary to prevent or reduce the movement of that pest from the quarantined area and may implement any limitation or treatment measures necessary for the containment or eradication of that pest.
7:12 Nurseries and Nursery Stock; Suspension of License. Amend RSA 433:35 to read as follows:
433:35 Suspension of [Certificate] License. The director may at any time suspend a [certificate] license issued under the provisions of RSA [433:29] 433:29-a if dangerous insect or plant disease pests are found upon the premises, either on the plants or in the soil, and shall not reinstate the [certificate] license until such time as such pests have been suppressed or eradicated.
7:13 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
(Approved: March 12, 2002)
(Effective Date: March 12, 2002)