Title 46, Agriculture

It is hereby declared to be the policy of this chapter: (a) To aid agricultural producers in preventing economic waste in the marketing of their agricultural commodities and in developing more efficient methods of marketing agricultural products. (b) To enable agricultural produc…

Every marketing agreement and order shall define the area to which it applies which may be all or any contiguous portion of the State. The area may be defined as a production area in which case the agreement or order shall regulate all of the affected commodity produced within su…

There is hereby levied, and the Commission shall collect, upon each affected unit of any agricultural commodity specified in any marketing agreement or order an annual assessment which shall be paid by the producer upon each unit sold or marketed by him. Such assessments shall be…

In every marketing agreement and order the Commission, with the advice of the commodity board, shall prescribe the per unit rate of such assessment, and such rate may be at the full amount of, or at any lesser amount than the amount hereinabove limited. The rate may be altered or…

Each marketing order and agreement shall prescribe the time, place, and method for payment and collection of assessments upon any uniform basis applicable alike to all producers subject to such assessment. For such purposes the Commission may take such action and means as provide…

Moneys collected by the Commission pursuant to any marketing order or agreement from any assessment or as an advance deposit thereon shall be used by the Commission and the commodity board only for the purpose of paying for expenses and costs arising in connection with the admini…

Any moneys collected by the Commission and the commodity board pursuant to any marketing agreement or order during any season or year may be refunded on a pro rata basis at the close of such season or year or at the close of such longer period as the commodity board shall recomme…

Any due assessment levied in a specified amount under this chapter shall constitute a personal debt of every person so assessed or who owes such amount and it shall be due to the Commission when payment is called for by it. If any person fails to pay the Commission the full amoun…

The Commission shall deposit all moneys which are collected by him in a separate account allocated to each marketing order or agreement under which such moneys are collected and such deposits shall be in the name of the commodity board. All expenses and disbursements incurred and…

(A) The commission and the commodity board shall keep, separately for each agreement and order in accordance with accepted standards of good accounting practice, accurate records of all assessments, collections, receipts, deposits, withdrawals, disbursements, paid-outs, monies, a…

The Commission and the commodity board shall require that a bond be given by every administrator, administrative board, and employee occupying a position of trust under any marketing agreement or order, as provided in the agreement or order, in such amount as the Commission and t…

For purposes of this chapter: (a) "Commission" means the Agriculture Commission of South Carolina. (b) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture of the State of South Carolina. (c) "Marketing order" means an order issued by the Commission pursuant to this chapter. (d) "Mar…

(a) It shall be a misdemeanor: (1) For any person to violate any provision of this chapter or any provision of any marketing agreement or order duly issued. (2) For any person to willfully furnish a false or fraudulent report required by this chapter or to willfully fail or refus…

(a) The courts are hereby vested with jurisdiction: (1) To enforce this chapter and the provisions of each and every marketing agreement and order issued pursuant to this chapter; (2) To enjoin temporarily pending litigation and thereafter permanently enjoin any person from viola…

Upon the request of the Commission and the commodity board, the Attorney General shall institute proceedings to enforce the remedies and to collect the moneys provided for by this chapter. Whenever the Commission and the commodity board have reason to believe that any person has …

The remedies provided for herein shall be in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other remedies or penalties provided for in this chapter or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity, and such remedies shall be concurrent and alternative and neither singly nor combined sha…

The Commission and the commodity board are authorized to cooperate with the authorities of other states and of the United States, for the purpose of obtaining uniformity in the administration of Federal and State marketing regulations, and the Commission shall conduct joint heari…

The Commission and the commodity board under each marketing agreement and order shall not authorize any action which shall have for its purpose the establishment or maintenance of prices in violation of existing State and Federal laws.

Except as specifically provided in this chapter, a person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

The members of any commodity board, including employees thereof, and the Commission shall not be held responsible individually in any way whatsoever to any producer, processor, distributor or other handler or any other person for errors in judgment, mistakes, or other acts, eithe…

The Commission shall enforce this chapter but issuance, termination of marketing agreements and orders shall be accomplished according to the procedures set forth in this chapter. (a) This chapter shall be administered under the direct control and supervision of the Commission, i…

The Commission shall cause any proposed marketing agreement, order, amendment, or termination to be set out in writing which shall be designated "proposal." The Commission shall maintain on file in the Department a copy of each proposal and a record of all notices, hearing, findi…

No marketing order, agreement, amendment, or termination shall be issued without notice and public hearing. No marketing order or termination shall be issued without assent by referendum. The costs of initial hearings and the referendum in the case of marketing orders shall be pa…

The Commission shall publish notice of any hearing before considering and acting upon any proposal for a period of not less than five days in a newspaper of general circulation in Columbia, Greenville, and Charleston and such other newspapers as the Commission may prescribe, and …

Every hearing shall be public and all testimony shall be under oath and a permanent record maintained. The Commission shall designate a member of the Department to be the hearing examiner in any hearing, and he may exercise any power herein conferred upon the Commission in connec…

With the approval and subject to the rules and regulations of the Department, local marketing authorities, hereby declared to be cooperative and non-profit-making, may be formed in the various communities of the State to engage in the marketing of agricultural products and all ac…

Any county or municipality or combination thereof in this State may, at the discretion of its or their governing body or bodies, establish in and for such county or in or near and for such municipality or groups of municipalities a farm marketing center and acquire, own, operate,…

Any such farm marketing center may include a cannery, a creamery, a meat-packing house, an assembly plant for poultry and eggs, a feed-grinding and mixing plant and any other equipment necessary and proper for the processing and preparing for market of any of the products of the …

In order to enable any county or municipality or combination of them to acquire a site or sites for the purposes specified in this article, they shall have the power of eminent domain. The counties or municipal corporations by their appropriate officers may secure the purchase pr…

The Department shall investigate and consider all petitions for local marketing authorities filed with it and, if a need for such local authority and reasonable chances for success shall appear, the department shall certify such facts to the Secretary of State who, without charge…

The Commissioner of Agriculture of the State of South Carolina, herein referred to as "Commissioner," acting by and through employees of the Department of Agriculture of South Carolina, herein referred to as "Department" is hereby authorized to establish and supervise a Roadside …

The Commissioner is hereby authorized to prescribe standards for participation in the program. Such standards shall relate to design, external and internal appearance, location, sanitation and cleanliness, product quality, fair and honest marketing practices and any other factors…

The operators of roadside markets desiring to participate in the program shall file an application with the Commissioner on a form prescribed by him, who, after inspection, shall determine eligibility of the market to participate in the program. Participation in the program shall…

The Commissioner shall prescribe and make available signs showing the Department's approval and membership in the program. Such signs shall be issued to applying markets which comply with standards established by the Commissioner and such markets may display such signs as long as…

Inspectors of the Department shall conduct periodic inspections of approved markets and any failure to meet prescribed standards shall be sufficient cause for the Commissioner to revoke market approval and to require return of the sign furnished the market by the Department, whic…

When an application for participation is disapproved or when previously granted approval is revoked, the market owner shall be given written notice setting forth the reason for the action taken and shall, upon request, be afforded a hearing in accordance with applicable provision…

(A) It is unlawful for a market to: (1) display a sign indicating approval by the department or participation in the program before the approval by the department; or (2) continue to display the sign after final administrative action revoking the approval of the market; or (3) fa…

Market approval and the sign indicating the same shall be transferable between owners, provided the Department is given notice of such change of ownership within ten days of such event but shall, in no event, be transferable from one location to another nor shall approval of one …

In order to comply with the provisions of this article and rules and regulations promulgated hereunder the Commissioner is authorized and empowered to expend funds of the State appropriated to the Department for use under promotion and expansion of agricultural products.

After receiving a certificate of incorporation, a local marketing authority shall proceed to perfect a permanent organization by the adoption of bylaws, the election of permanent officers and the transaction of all business necessary for such permanent organization. The officers …

The Commissioner is authorized to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations designed to implement this program and to accomplish the purposes of this article and, after legally adopted and promulgated, such rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of law.

In addition to the remedies provided herein and notwithstanding the existence of an adequate remedy at law, the Commissioner is hereby authorized to apply to any circuit court of the State where jurisdiction over the defendant can be obtained for an injunction and such court shal…

The work of local marketing authorities shall be supervised by the department, and all local marketing authorities shall be entitled to the inspection, grading, buying and selling services of the department, as well as to all possible assistance in crop, land and soil selection, …

(A) When a buyer claims to have been damaged by the failure of seed for planting to produce or perform as represented by the label required to be attached to seed pursuant to Section 46-21-215, or by warranty, or as a result of negligence, as a prerequisite to the buyer's right t…

(A) The Commissioner shall appoint an arbitration committee composed of five members and five alternate members. One member and one alternate must be appointed upon the recommendation of each of the following: (1) the Dean of Extension, College of Agriculture, Clemson University;…

As used in this chapter, except for Article 9: (1) "Advertisement" means all representations, other than those on the label, relating to seed within the scope of this chapter. (2) "Agricultural seed" means grass, forage, cereal, oil, fiber, and other kinds of crop seeds commonly …