Chapter Chapter 1. Louisiana Agricultural Commodities Commission

Adjudicatory Proceeding—an open public hearing by the commission to determine whether violations of R.S. 3:3401-3425 or the regulations contained in this Part have occurred. Such proceedings are conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (R.S. 49:950 et seq.). …

A. The officers of the commission shall be a chairman and a vice-chairman, who shall serve for terms concurrent with the commissioner, but may be elected for an indefinite number of terms. B. After the initial election of officers, the chairman and vice-chairman shall be elected …

A. The following agricultural commodities shall be regulated by the commission at all times: 1. rice; 2. rough rice; 3. all agricultural commodities commonly classed as grain; including: a. wheat; b. corn; c. oats; d. rye; e. soybeans; f. barley; g. grain sorghum; 4. cotton. B. W…

A. Applications for renewal of warehouse, cotton merchant and grain dealer licenses shall be received no later than April 30 of each year. Applications for initial license may be filed at any time during the year. For both initial and renewal licenses, the following information s…

A. The commission may refuse to issue or renew a warehouse, cotton merchant, or grain dealer license in any of the following circumstances: 1. the applicant cannot demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commission that he is competent to operate the business for which the license…

A. No person shall operate a warehouse subject to regulation under R.S. 3:3401-3425 unless licensed by the commission or under the U.S. Warehouse Act. The following types of warehouses are specifically defined as warehouses subject to regulation under R.S. 3:3401-3425: 1. any fac…

A. The building shall be of sound construction, in good physical condition, and suitable for storage of the agricultural commodities to be stored therein. B. The building shall be weathertight so as to protect the commodities stored in it from the elements at all times. C. The bu…

A. Temporary storage facilities may be approved by the commission on a case by case basis. Temporary storage may only be operated in conjunction with an existing, licensed warehouse and the capacity to be approved shall be compatible with the warehouseman's operational and financ…

A. Each applicant shall execute and file security, on forms provided by the commission, which security shall be issued by a company authorized to do business in Louisiana prior to issuance of the license. B. The security shall be conditioned upon: 1. the faithful performance of a…

A. At all times, each warehouse shall carry sufficient provisional stock insurance to assure protection against fire and other disasters for all agricultural commodities in storage in an amount proportionate to the licensed capacity of the facility. Provisional stock insurance re…

A. The licensee shall give written notice to the commission within three days after any of the following occurs: 1. loss or damage to stored commodities or licensed facilities; 2. change of ownership of a licensed warehouse, including a change in the members of a partnership or i…

A. No person shall buy and/or sell agricultural commodities for producers, or represent producers in the purchase or sale of agricultural commodities, unless licensed as a grain dealer by the commission. B. No grain dealer may store agricultural commodities belonging to any other…

A. Each grain dealer shall achieve and maintain a relatively even hedge position within no more than three business days after deposit of agricultural commodities by producer. Relatively even hedge position means that the grain dealer has entered into contracts to buy or sell com…

A. Assessments shall be due and payable from the producer at the first point of sale as defined in §101 of this Part. B. Each grain dealer shall deduct the assessments set forth in this rule and in R.S. 3:3422 from the proceeds to be paid to producers at the time of sale of commo…

A. Fees are due and payable upon the receipt of an invoice from the department. A late payment shall be assessed for all invoices paid after 30 days from the date of the invoice. The amount which shall be assessed shall be 10 percent of the outstanding balance. B. Applicable fees…

A. Immediately upon deposit with a licensed warehouse or a licensed grain dealer of any agricultural commodity or farm product regulated under R.S. 3:3401-3425, the warehouse or grain dealer shall issue a scale ticket to the depositor which conforms to the requirements of this Ru…

A. A licensee may issue warehouse receipts by use of a paper warehouse receipt system, an electronic warehouse receipt system, or both. B. Except as herein provided, all warehouses shall use paper or electronic sequentially numbered warehouse receipts. C. Warehouses licensed unde…

A. Except as herein provided, all paper warehouse receipts shall only be sequentially pre-numbered warehouse receipts on forms furnished by the commission. B. Agents of the commission shall note the issuance of all partial releases, by number of each such partial release, on the …

A. The issuance and transfer of warehouse receipts in electronic form are specifically authorized by this Part. Any such warehouse receipts shall have the same validity and enforceability, for all purposes, as those in paper form. B. An EWR shall be in the format prescribed in th…

A. All agricultural commodities shall be graded and sampled in accordance with official USDA grading standards, as detailed in The Official United States Standards for Grain handbook. B. Procedures that result in equivalent results to USDA procedures are acceptable. C. Requiremen…

A. Standards established in Regulations Under the United States Grain Standard Act, As Amended, USDA, Federal Grain Inspection Service (CFR, Title 7, Chapter VIII, Pt. 800 (Section 800.0 to 800.219), 801 (Section 801.1-801.12), 802 (Section 802.0 to 802.13), and 810 (Section 810.…

A. If a warehouse operator has reason to believe that any identity-preserved commodities are out-of-condition, or are becoming out-of-condition, he shall give immediate notice of such fact to the director of the commission and to the owner of the commodities. B. The director shal…

A. Each grain dealer, cotton merchant and warehouse shall maintain the following records, when applicable to the commodity stored or traded, on a current basis in the company's principal office in this state at all times: 1. current financial statement; 2. bank statements; 3. ban…

A. Each cotton merchant, grain dealer and warehouse shall file a report of assessments collected from producers, on the form provided by the commission, and remit such assessments to the commissioner no later than the fifteenth day of each month. The assessment report shall be fi…

A. Each licensee shall permit any officer or authorized representative of the commission or the commissioner to enter all locations listed on the application for license and inspect, examine, and/or audit all contents, facilities, equipment, records, books, accounts, samples, and…

A. Each grain dealer and cotton merchant shall post its original license issued by the commission in a conspicuous location at its principal place of business. A copy of the license shall be posted at all other locations covered by the license. B. Each warehouse location shall po…

A. Whenever the chairman has any reason to believe that a violation of R.S. 3:3401-3425 or the regulations contained in this Part has occurred, he shall call a meeting of the commission for the purpose of conducting an adjudicatory hearing to make a determination with respect to …

A. A complete inspection of the physical facilities and the contents thereof shall be made of each licensee at least once during each license period, but may be made more frequently. Such inspection of facilities and contents may or may not be made in conjunction with an audit of…

A. Warehouses which require more frequent inspection and verification of contents, for whatever reason, may secure such services by making an application to the commission. B. Voluntary inspection of facilities and contents, and verification thereof, on a schedule which shall be …

A. The regulations contained in this Part shall not apply to the following: 1. cold storage facilities; 2. facilities which store only commodities which are imported from outside the boundaries of the continental United States; 3. seed dealers licensed under R.S. 3:1431 et seq., …

A. The Grain and Cotton Indemnity Fund is hereby created pursuant to R.S. 3:3410.2.

A. The following words and terms are defined for purposes of this Subchapter and supplement the words and terms defined in §101 of this Part. Claimant—a producer, as defined in §101 of this Part. Fund—the Grain and Cotton Indemnity Fund. Insolvency—the inability of a licensee to …

A. Upon the insolvency of a licensee, the fund shall be used to reimburse a producer who has not otherwise been fully compensated for grain or cotton sold to the licensee.

A. The commission shall charge an assessment at the rate of 1/25 of one percent on the value of all agricultural commodities regulated under this Chapter which are purchased by grain dealers and cotton merchants licensed in this state. B. The assessments shall be levied only on c…

A. Cotton merchants operating on a cooperative basis shall pay the assessment rate of 1/25 of one percent of the value of the commodity at the time of each payment, including any initial advance payment, progress payments and final payment to its members as proceeds of the crop.

A. The monies in the Grain and Cotton Indemnity Fund shall be used solely for the administration and operation of the fund. B. Any claimant who wishes to assert a claim shall provide, under oath, written and notarized proof of a loss covered by this fund within 60 days of the los…

A. Any claimant who wishes to assert a claim against a licensee who became or becomes insolvent after January 1, 2008, but before the promulgation of these rules shall provide, under oath, written and notarized proof of a loss covered by this fund within 30 days of notification o…

A. Any decision of the commission to deny or grant a claim for payment from the fund may be appealed to the commission by the licensee or claimant by seeking an adjudicatory hearing to have said decision reconsidered by the commission in accordance with Chapter 13 of Title 49 of …

A. When a claim is paid by the commission from the fund, the claimant, by accepting said payment, subrogates his rights to the commission up to the full amount of payment. B. Any recovery for reimbursement to the fund shall include interest computed at the U.S. Treasury two-year …

A. When any loss is or may be covered by other insurance or bond, the other insurance or bond is primary and the commission shall require the claimant to exhaust his remedies as to the other insurer before considering the payment of the claim. B. After all other remedies are exha…

A. Where the commission finds that litigation is pending, which could determine whether payment of a claim is due or to whom payment of a claim is due, the claim in question may be stayed until the judgment in said litigation has become final and definitive. The commission shall …

A. Providing false information to the commission by a claimant or licensee regarding a claim for reimbursement from the fund is a violation of this Subchapter, if the person providing the information knew or should have known the information was false.

A. Findings of violations and imposition of penalties may be made only by a ruling of the commission based upon an adjudicatory proceeding held in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. B. Whenever the commissioner has any reason to believe that a vio…

A. Any claimant or licensee who has been found in an adjudicatory hearing to be in violation of the provisions of this Subchapter shall be subject to the following civil penalties. B. Any claimant or licensee who knew or should have known that he was providing the commission with…