Title 69, Agriculture, Horticulture, and Animals

It shall be unlawful for any person to bring or cause to be brought into this state any plant or plant product or other thing listed as required above herein, in the rules and regulations made pursuant hereto, unless thereby plainly and legibly marked thereon or affixed thereto, …

It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, give away, carry, ship, or deliver for carriage or shipment within this state, any plants or plant products or other thing or substitute listed, as required in such rules and regulations made by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Comm…

Any person in this state who receives from without the state any plant or plant product, or other thing or substance as to which the requirements of section next before the last above have not been complied with, or who receives any plant or plant product, or other thing or subst…

Whenever the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce finds that there exists outside of this state any destructive or nuisance insect pest, disease or noxious weed, the commissioner may give public notice thereof, specifying the locations, the plants and the plant products infes…

Whenever the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall find that there exists in this state, or any part thereof, any insect pest, disease or noxious weed, and that its dissemination should be controlled or prevented, the commissioner shall give public notice thereof, specif…

By virtue of the powers conferred herein and for the purpose of protecting the environment, agricultural and horticultural production, the plant life and plant products of this state, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce may prevent and prohibit the introduction into the …

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce for the same purposes and in the same manner and with the same authority, as provided in Section 69-25-27, may prohibit and prevent the introduction into or the transportation through the state of any such plants and plant products or …

The State Plant Board is abolished and its duties are transferred to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, and it shall henceforth be known as the Bureau of Plant Industry. There is created an Advisory Board to the Bureau of Plant Industry, composed of the following: the …

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall have power to make reciprocal agreements with the responsible officials of other states under which nursery stock or plants from any other state may be sold or delivered in Mississippi under the same conditions required for the s…

The boards of supervisors in the various counties of the state and the governing bodies in the various municipalities of the state are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to appropriate money out of the general funds of the counties and municipalities to be used…

For the purpose of carrying out the provisions and requirements of this article, and of the rules and regulations made, and notices given, pursuant thereto, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and his inspectors and employees shall have power to enter in or upon any plac…

Any person affected by any rule or regulations made, or notice given, pursuant to this article, may have a review thereof by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce for the purpose of having such rule, regulation or notice modified, suspended or withdrawn. Such review shall …

In construing and enforcing the provisions of this article, omission or failure of any official, agent or other person acting for or employed by any association, partnership, or corporation within the scope of his employment of office shall, in every case, also be deemed the act,…

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce or any of his inspectors or employees shall be a proper party in any court of equity to effectively carry out any of the provisions of this article when an injunction would be a proper remedy.

The provisions of this article shall not be so construed or enforced as to conflict in any way with any act of Congress regulating the movement of plants or plant products in interstate or foreign commerce.

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall have power and authority to enforce his rules, ordinances and regulations in any court of competent jurisdiction by civil, as well as criminal proceedings, and if the remedy to be pursued be by writ of injunction, no court of thi…

(1) Any person who shall violate any provisions or requirements of this article, or of the rules and regulations made or of any notice given pursuant thereto or shall forge, counterfeit, deface, destroy or wrongfully use any certificate provided for herein or in the rules and reg…

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall appoint a full-time executive secretary and director, hereinafter called the “Director of the Bureau of Plant Industry,” whose office shall be at Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science. The director shall…

(1) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce may conduct inspections and promulgate and enforce quarantine regulations as may be necessary in carrying out the provisions of this article. (2) (a) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall, from time to time, make rules…

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall keep himself informed as to known varieties of insect pests, diseases and noxious weeds, their origin, locality, nature and appearance thereof, the manner in which they are disseminated, and approved methods of treatment and erad…

(1) When any administrative allegation or charge is made against a person for violating the rules and regulations of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce or the laws under Sections 69-3-1 through 69-3-29, Sections 69-19-1 through …

(1) Within a reasonable time after the accused’s request for a hearing, the hearing committee shall conduct an evidentiary hearing. For good cause shown, the hearing committee may grant a continuance of the hearing. Written notice of the date, time and place of such hearing shall…

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall have jurisdiction over all persons and property necessary to administer and enforce the provisions of this article and he may adopt rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this article.

(1) Any individual aggrieved by a final decision of the hearing committee shall be entitled to judicial review. (2) An appeal from the decision of the hearing committee shall be made by filing a written notice of appeal with the circuit court clerk of the county where the accused…

(1) When a violation occurs, or is about to occur, that presents and clear and present danger to the public health, safety or welfare and requires immediate action, the commissioner, department field inspectors, or any person authorized by the commissioner, may issue an order to …

When any penalty assessed by the hearing officer or committee is not paid, the department may file suit in a court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of reducing the order of the hearing officer or committee to judgment, and if successful on the merits, the department shal…

All honey bees shipped or moved into the State of Mississippi shall be accompanied by a certificate of inspection signed by the State Entomologist, State Apiary Inspector or corresponding official of the state or country from which such bees are shipped or moved. Such certificate…

The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall have full and plenary power to deal with Africanized honey bees (Apris mellifera scutellata) and with American and European foul brood, and all other contagious or infectious diseases and parasites of honey bees which, …

The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, its agents and employees, shall have authority to enter any depot, express office, storeroom, warehouse or premises for the purpose of inspecting any honey bees or beekeeping fixtures or appliances therein or thought to be t…

The shipment or movement into this state of any used or secondhand beehives, honey combs, frames or other beekeeping fixtures is hereby prohibited except under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

(1) Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article or of the rules or regulations of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, adopted in accordance with the provisions thereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon convict…

This article shall be known as the “Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act.” The regulation of hemp cultivation and processing shall be governed exclusively by the provisions of the Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act. A municipality, county or other political subdivision of this state sh…

(a) For purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a) “Bureau of Plant Industry” means a division of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce created under the pro…

There shall be established in the State Treasury a special fund for the department to administer the State Plan. The fund shall consist of amounts received from appropriations, and any other proceeds from gifts, grants, federal funds, application fees, registration fees, and any …

(1) Pursuant to the provisions of this article, cultivation and processing of hemp, as defined in Section 69-25-203, are authorized in this state. Cultivation and processing of hemp are subject to regulation by the department and may only be performed by persons or business entit…

(a) Hemp growers must keep a copy of their hemp grower’s license in all vehicles used to transport hemp under normal cultivation activities. Any person transporting or delivering hemp for commerce purposes shall have a dated invoice, bill of lading, or manifest in his or her poss…

(1) (a) The commissioner or the commissioner’s designee may enter, at reasonable times, upon any public or private property at which hemp is being cultivated or processed for the purpose of determining compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it. The Director of the B…

(1) Upon a determination by the commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, the following may constitute negligent violations:(a) Failing to provide a legal description of land on which the grower produces hemp;(b) Failing to obtain a license or other required authorization from…

If a hemp grower violates the State Plan, including growing hemp containing a delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration that exceeds three-tenths percent (0.3%) on a dry mass basis or a tolerance range as specified by USDA, with a culpable mental state greater than neglige…

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person or business entity to:(a) Violate this chapter or any rules or regulations promulgated under this chapter;(b) Fail to comply with a corrective action plan issued by the commissioner under Section 69-25-213(2);(c) Transport hemp or hemp mate…

(1) Any person convicted of a felony relating to a controlled substance under state or federal law before, on or after the date of enactment of this article [June 29, 2020], shall be ineligible, during the ten-year period following the date of the conviction to participate in the…

Necessity of surety bond. No person shall operate as a hemp processor without first having secured a surety bond pursuant to this section. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to require hemp processors to secure a surety bond. A hemp processor may…

(1) The provisions of this article which provides authority to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to administer the provisions of the “Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act,” shall be subject to legislative appropria…