Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-215 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 27-215
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-215
Status: in_force

It shall be the duty of the soil erosion committee to notify the board of supervisors, the county assessor and the landowner within fifteen days after the performance of each contract by the county or separate soil erosion district, giving the assessor the name of the landowner, the legal description of the land, the amount to be paid to the county or district, and how payable, and to the landowner a notice that a special assessment will be made against his land by the assessor for the amount determined by the committee, and presented to the next meeting of the board of supervisors beginning more than ten days thereafter for approval. The assessor shall, at the next meeting of the board beginning more than ten days after such notice, file with the board of supervisors, in duplicate, on appropriate forms, keeping a copy thereof on file in his own office, an assessment of the land for a special improvement tax thereon equal to the amount fixed by the committee, and payable as provided by the contract. It shall be the duty of the board of supervisors at said meeting to hear any objections to such assessment, by the landowner or the holder of any lien thereon, and to determine the amount of the assessment, not to exceed the amount fixed by the committee, and to approve the assessment as finally determined. The clerk of the board shall forthwith certify such assessment to the tax collector of the county upon the duplicate of the assessment filed by the assessor. In event such assessment be not returned to or acted upon by the board at the first meeting for any reason, it may be returned, considered and acted upon at any subsequent meeting. When approved, such assessment shall be a lien upon the land subordinate only to the lien of other taxes, prior and subsequent, and no delay or irregularity in the giving of notices, the making of the assessment, the hearing and approval thereof, or the certification thereof to the tax collector, shall affect the validity of the assessment if the work was actually done upon the land and the amount of the assessment does not exceed the contract price. Appeals may be taken to the circuit court of the county as in other cases of assessments for taxation, by the landowner or the holder of any lien upon the land. Nothing herein contained shall prevent any landowner from making payment to the tax collector of the estimated amount to become due under his contract, or any part thereof, in advance of the time the same becomes due, and the tax collector shall receive any payment so tendered, and give the landowner credit therefor against the assessment when made.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-36-1 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 36-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-36-1
Status: in_force

The Southern Dairy Compact, the full text of which is hereinafter set forth and confirmed by the Mississippi Legislature, is hereby entered into on behalf of the State of Mississippi. The compact shall become effective when enacted into law by at least two (2) other states within the compact group of states and when the consent of Congress has been obtained. The full text of said compact is as follows:

§ 1. Statement of purpose, findings and declaration of policy.

The purpose of this compact is to recognize the interstate character of the southern dairy industry and the prerogative of the states under the United States Constitution to form an interstate commission for the southern region. The mission of the commission is to take such steps as are necessary to assure the continued viability of dairy farming in the south, and to assure consumers of an adequate, local supply of pure and wholesome milk.

The participating states find and declare that the dairy industry is an essential agricultural activity of the South. Dairy farms, and associated suppliers, marketers, processors and retailers are an integral component of the region's economy. Their ability to provide a stable, local supply of pure, wholesome milk is a matter of great importance to the health and welfare of the region.

The participating states further find that dairy farms are essential and they are an integral part of the region's rural communities. The farms preserve land for agricultural purposes and provide needed economic stimuli for rural communities.

In establishing their constitutional regulatory authority over the region's fluid milk market by this compact, the participating states declare their purpose that this compact neither displace the federal order system nor encourage the merging of federal orders. Specific provisions of the compact itself set forth this basic principle.

Designed as a flexible mechanism able to adjust to changes in a regulated marketplace, the compact also contains a contingency provision should the federal order system be discontinued. In that event, the interstate commission is authorized to regulate the marketplace in replacement of the order system. This contingent authority does not anticipate such a change, however, and should not be so construed. It is only provided should developments in the market other than establishment of this compact result in continuance of the order system.

By entering into this compact, the participating states affirm that their ability to regulate the price which southern dairy farmers receive for their product is essential to the public interest. Assurance of a fair and equitable price for dairy farmers ensures their ability to provide milk to the market and the vitality of the southern dairy industry, with all the associated benefits.

Recent, dramatic price fluctuations with a pronounced downward trend threaten the viability and stability of the southern dairy region. Historically, individual state regulatory action had been an effective emergency remedy available to farmers confronting a distressed market. The federal order system, implemented by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, establishes only minimum prices paid to producers for raw milk, without preempting the power of states to regulate milk prices above the minimum levels so established.

In today's regional dairy marketplace, cooperative rather than individual state action is needed to more effectively address the market disarray. Under our constitutional system, properly authorized states acting cooperative may exercise more power to regulate interstate commerce than they may assert individually without such authority. For this reason, the participating states invoke their authority to act in common agreement, with the consent of Congress, under the compact clause of the Constitution.

§ 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this compact, and of any supplemental or concurring legislation enacted pursuant thereto, except as may be otherwise required by the context:

(1) “ Class I milk ” means milk disposed of in fluid form or as a fluid milk product, subject to further definition in accordance with the principles expressed in subdivision (b) of § 3 of this compact.

(2) “ Commission ” means the Southern Dairy Compact Commission established by this compact.

(3) “ Commission marketing order ” means regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to § 9 and § 10 of this compact in place of a terminated federal marketing order or state dairy regulation. Such order may apply throughout the region or in any part or parts thereof as defined in the regulations of the commission. Such order may establish minimum prices for any or all classes of milk.

(4) “ Compact ” means this interstate compact.

(5) “ Compact over-order price ” means a minimum price required to be paid to producers for Class I milk established by the commission in regulations adopted pursuant to § 9 and § 10 of this compact, which is above the price established in federal marketing orders or by state farm price regulations in the regulated area. Such price may apply throughout the region or in any part or parts thereof as defined in the regulations of the commission.

(6) “ Milk ” means the lacteral secretion of cows and includes all skim, butterfat, or other constituents obtained from separation or any other process. The term is used in its broadest sense and may be further defined by the commission for regulatory purposes.

(7) “ Partially regulated plant ” means a milk plant not located in a regulated area but having Class I distribution within such area. Commission regulations may exempt plants having such distribution or receipts in amounts less than the limits defined therein.

(8) “ Participating state ” means a state which has become a party to this compact by the enactment of concurring legislation.

(9) “ Pool plant ” means any milk plant located in a regulated area.

(10) “ Region ” means the territorial limits of the states which are parties to this compact.

(11) “ Regulated area ” means any area within the region governed by and defined in regulations establishing a compact over-order price or commission marketing order.

(12) “ State dairy regulation ” means any state regulation of dairy prices, and associated assessments, whether by statute, marketing order or otherwise.

§ 3. Rules of construction.

(a) This compact shall not be construed to displace existing federal milk marketing orders or state dairy regulation in the region but to supplement them. In the event some or all federal orders in the region are discontinued, the compact shall be construed to provide the commission the option to replace them with one or more commission marketing orders pursuant to this compact.

(b) The compact shall be construed liberally in order to achieve the purposes and intent enunciated in § 1 of this compact. It is the intent of this compact to establish a basic structure by which the commission may achieve those purposes through the application, adaptation and development of the regulatory techniques historically associated with milk marketing and to afford the commission broad flexibility to devise regulatory mechanisms to achieve the purposes of this compact. In accordance with this intent, the technical terms which are associated with market order regulation and which have acquired commonly understood general meanings are not defined herein but the commission may further define the terms used in this compact and develop additional concepts and define additional terms as it may find appropriate to achieve its purposes.

§ 4. Commission established.

There is hereby created a commission to administer the compact, composed of delegations from each state in the region. The commission shall be known as the Southern Dairy Compact Commission. A delegation shall include not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) persons. Each delegation shall include at least one (1) dairy farmer who is engaged in the production of milk at the time of appointment or reappointment, and one (1) consumer representative. Delegation members shall be residents and voters of, and subject to such confirmation process as is provided for in the appointing state. Delegation members shall serve no more than three (3) consecutive terms with no single term of more than four (4) years, and be subject to removal for cause. In all other respects, delegation members shall serve in accordance with the laws of the state represented. The compensation, if any, of the members of a state delegation shall be determined and paid by each state, but their expenses shall be paid by the commission.

§ 5. Voting requirements.

All actions taken by the commission, except for the establishment or termination of an over-order price or commission marketing order, and the adoption, amendment or rescission of the commission's bylaws, shall be by majority vote of the delegations present. Each state delegation shall be entitled to one (1) vote in the conduct of the commission's affairs. Establishment or termination of an over-order price or commission marketing order shall require at least a two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) vote of the delegations present. The establishment of a regulated area which covers all or part of a participating state shall require also the affirmative vote of that state's delegation. A majority of the delegations from the participating states shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the commission's business.

§ 6. Administration and management.

(a) The commission shall elect annually from among the members of the participating state delegations a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a treasurer. The commission shall appoint an executive director and fix his or her duties and compensation. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, and together with the treasurer, shall be bonded in an amount determined by the commission. The commission may establish through its bylaws an executive committee composed of one (1) member elected by each delegation.

(b) The commission shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of its business by a two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) vote, and shall have the power by the same vote to amend and rescind these bylaws. The commission shall publish its bylaws in convenient form with the appropriate agency or officer in each of the participating states. The bylaws shall provide for appropriate notice to the delegations of all commission meetings and hearings and of the business to be transacted at such meetings or hearings. Notice also shall be given to other agencies or officers of participating states as provided by the laws of those states.

(c) The commission shall file an annual report with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, and with each of the participating states by submitting copies to the Governor, both houses of the Legislature, and the head of the state department having responsibilities for agriculture.

(d) In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere prescribed in this compact, the commission shall have the power:

(1) To sue and be sued in any state or federal court;

(2) To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(3) To acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property by gift, purchase, lease, license, or other similar manner, for its corporate purposes;

(4) To borrow money and issue notes, to provide for the rights of the holders thereof and to pledge the revenue of the commission as security therefor, subject to the provisions of § 18 of this compact;

(5) To appoint such officers, agents, and employees as it may deem necessary, prescribe their powers, duties and qualifications; and

(6) To create and abolish such offices, employments and positions as it deems necessary for the purposes of the compact and provide for the removal, term, tenure, compensation, fringe benefits, pension, and retirement rights of its officers and employees. The commission may also retain personal services on a contract basis.

§ 7. Rulemaking power.

In addition to the power to promulgate a compact over-order price or commission marketing orders as provided by this compact, the commission is further empowered to make and enforce such additional rules and regulations as it deems necessary to implement any provisions of this compact, or to effectuate in any other respect the purposes of this compact.

§ 8. Powers to promote regulatory uniformity, simplicity, and interstate cooperation.

The commission is hereby empowered to:

(1) Investigate or provide for investigations or research projects designed to review the existing laws and regulations of the participating states, to consider their administration and costs, to measure their impact on the production and marketing of milk and their effects on the shipment of milk and milk products within the region.

(2) Study and recommend to the participating states joint or cooperative programs for the administration of the dairy marketing laws and regulations and to prepare estimates of cost savings and benefits of such programs.

(3) Encourage the harmonious relationships between the various elements in the industry for the solution of their material problems. Conduct symposia or conferences designed to improve industry relations, or a better understanding of problems.

(4) Prepare and release periodic reports on activities and results of the commission's efforts to the participating states.

(5) Review the existing marketing system for milk and milk products and recommend changes in the existing structure for assembly and distribution of milk which may assist, improve or promote more efficient assembly and distribution of milk.

(6) Investigate costs and charges for producing, hauling, handling, processing, distributing, selling and for all other services performed with respect to milk.

(7) Examine current economic forces affecting producers, probable trends in production and consumption, the level of dairy farm prices in relation to costs, the financial conditions of dairy farmers, and the need for an emergency order to relieve critical conditions on dairy farms.

§ 9. Equitable farm prices.

(a) The powers granted in this section and § 10 of this compact shall apply only to the establishment of a compact over-order price, so long as federal milk marketing orders remain in effect in the region. In the event that any or all such orders are terminated, this article shall authorize the commission to establish one or more commission marketing orders, as herein provided, in the region or parts thereof as defined in the order.

(b) A compact over-order price established pursuant to this section shall apply only to Class I milk. Such compact over-order price shall not exceed One Dollar and Fifty Cents ($1.50) per gallon at Atlanta, Georgia; however, this compact over-order price shall be adjusted upward or downward at other locations in the region to reflect differences in minimum federal order prices. Beginning in 1990, and using that year as a base, the foregoing One Dollar and Fifty Cents ($1.50) per gallon maximum shall be adjusted annually by the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. For purposes of the pooling and equalization of an over-order price, the value of milk used in other use classifications shall be calculated at the appropriate class price established pursuant to the applicable federal order or state dairy regulation and the value of unregulated milk shall be calculated in relation to the nearest prevailing class price in accordance with and subject to such adjustments as the commission may prescribe in regulations.

(c) A commission marketing order shall apply to all classes and uses of milk.

(d) The commission is hereby empowered to establish a compact over-order price for milk to be paid by pool plants and partially regulated plants. The commission is also empowered to establish a compact over-order price to be paid by all handlers receiving milk from producers located in a regulated area. This price shall be established either as a compact over-order price or by one or more commission marketing orders. Whenever such a price has been established by either type of regulation, the legal obligation to pay such price shall be determined solely by the terms and purpose of the regulation without regard to the situs of the transfer of title, possession or any other factors not related to the purposes of the regulation and this compact. Producer-handlers as defined in an applicable federal market order shall not be subject to a compact over-order price. The commission shall provide for similar treatment of producer-handlers under commission marketing orders.

(e) In determining the price, the commission shall consider the balance between production and consumption of milk and milk products in the regulated area, the costs of production including, but not limited to the price of feed, the cost of labor including the reasonable value of the producer's own labor and management, machinery expense, and interest expense, the prevailing price for milk outside the regulated area, the purchasing power of the public and the price necessary to yield a reasonable return to the producer and distributor.

(f) When establishing a compact over-order price, the commission shall take such other action as is necessary and feasible to help ensure that the over-order price does not cause or compensate producers so as to generate local production of milk in excess of those quantities necessary to assure consumers of an adequate supply for fluid purposes.

(g) The commission shall whenever possible enter into agreements with state or federal agencies for exchange of information or services for the purpose of reducing regulatory burden and cost of administering the compact. The commission may reimburse other agencies for the reasonable cost of providing these services.

§ 10. Optional provisions for pricing order.

Regulations establishing a compact over-order price or a commission marketing order may contain, but shall not be limited to any of the following:

(1) Provisions classifying milk in accordance with the form in which or purpose for which it is used, or creating a flat pricing program.

(2) With respect to a commission marketing order only, provisions establishing or providing a method for establishing separate minimum prices for each use classification prescribed by the commission, or a single minimum price for milk purchased from producers or associations of producers.

(3) With respect to an over-order minimum price, provisions establishing or providing a method for establishing such minimum price for Class I milk.

(4) Provisions for establishing either an over-order price or a commission marketing order may make use of any reasonable method for establishing such price or prices including flat pricing and formula pricing. Provision may also be made for location adjustments, zone differentials and for competitive credits with respect to regulated handlers who market outside the regulated area.

(5) Provisions for the payment to all producers and associations of producers delivering milk to all handlers or uniform prices for all milk so delivered, irrespective of the uses made of such milk by the individual handler to whom it is delivered, or for the payment of producers delivering milk to the same handler of uniform prices for all milk delivered by them.

(A) With respect to regulations, establishing a compact over-order price, the commission may establish one (1) equalization pool within the regulated area for the sole purpose of equalizing returns to producers throughout the regulated area.

(B) With respect to any commission marketing order, as defined in § 2, subdivision (3) of this compact, which replaces one or more terminated federal orders or state dairy regulations, the marketing area of now separate state or federal orders shall not be merged without the affirmative consent of each state, voting through its delegation, which is partly or wholly included within any such marketing area.

(6) Provisions requiring persons who bring Class I milk into the regulated area to make compensatory payments with respect to all such milk to the extent necessary to equalize the cost of milk purchased by handlers subject to a compact over-order price or commission marketing order. No such provisions shall discriminate against milk producers outside the regulated area. The provisions for compensatory payments may require payment of the difference between the Class I price required to be paid for such milk in the state of production by a federal milk marketing order or state dairy regulation and the Class I price established by the compact over-order price or commission marketing order.

(7) Provisions specially governing the pricing and pooling of milk handled by partially regulated plants.

(8) Provisions requiring that the account of any person regulated under the compact over-order price shall be adjusted for any payments made to or received by such persons with respect to a producer settlement fund of any federal or state milk marketing order or other state dairy regulation within the regulated area.

(9) Provision requiring the payment by handlers of an assessment to cover the costs of the administration and enforcement of such order pursuant to Article VII, § 18(a) of this compact.

(10) Provisions for reimbursement to participants of the Women, Infants and Children Special Supplemental Food Program of the United States Child Nutrition Act of 1966.

(11) Other provisions and requirements as the commission may find are necessary or appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this compact and to provide for the payment of fair and equitable minimum prices to producers.

§ 11. Rulemaking procedure.

Before promulgation of any regulations establishing a compact over-order price or commission marketing order, including any provision with respect to milk supply under subsection 9(f) of this compact, or amendment thereof, as provided in Article IV, the commission shall conduct an informal rulemaking proceeding to provide interested persons with an opportunity to present data and views. Such rulemaking proceeding shall be governed by Section 4 of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, as amended ( 5 U.S.C. § 553 ). In addition, the commission shall, to the extent practicable, publish notice of rulemaking proceedings in the official register of each participating state. Before the initial adoption of regulations establishing a compact over-order price or a commission marketing order and thereafter before any amendment with regard to prices or assessments, the commission shall hold a public hearing. The commission may commence a rulemaking proceeding on its own initiative or may in its sole discretion act upon the petition of any person including individual milk producers, any organization of milk producers or handlers, general farm organizations, consumer or public interest groups, and local, state or federal officials.

§ 12. Findings and referendum.

(a) In addition to the concise general statement of basis and purpose required by Section 4(b) of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, as amended ( 5 U.S.C. § 553(c) ), the commission shall make findings of fact with respect to:

(1) Whether the public interest will be served by the establishment of minimum milk prices to dairy farmers under Article IV of this compact.

(2) What level of prices will assure that producers receive a price sufficient to cover their costs of production and will elicit an adequate supply of milk for the inhabitants of the regulated area and for manufacturing purposes.

(3) Whether the major provisions of the order, other than those fixing minimum milk prices, are in the public interest and are reasonably designed to achieve the purposes of the order.

(4) Whether the terms of the proposed regional order or amendment are approved by producers as provided in § 13 of this compact.

§ 13. Producer referendum.

(a) For the purpose of ascertaining whether the issuance or amendment of regulations establishing a compact over-order price or a commission marketing order, including any provision with respect to milk supply under subsection 9(f) of this compact, is approved by producers, the commission shall conduct a referendum among producers. The referendum shall be held in a timely manner, as determined by regulation of the commission. The terms and conditions of the proposed order or amendment shall be described by the commission in the ballot used in the conduct of the referendum, but the nature, content, or extent of such description shall not be a basis for attacking the legality of the order or any action relating thereto.

(b) An order or amendment shall be deemed approved by producers if the commission determines that it is approved by at least two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) of the voting producers who, during a representative period determined by the commission, have been engaged in the production of milk the price of which would be regulated under the proposed order or amendment.

(c) For purposes of any referendum, the commission shall consider the approval or disapproval by any cooperative association of producers, qualified under the provisions of the Act of Congress of February 18, 1922, as amended, known as the Capper-Volstead Act, bona fide engaged in marketing milk, or in rendering services for or advancing the interests of producers of such commodity, as the approval or disapproval of the producers who are members or stockholders in, or under contract with, such cooperative association of producers, except as provided in subdivision (1) hereof and subject to the provisions of subdivisions (2) through (5) hereof.

(1) No cooperative which has been formed to act as a common marketing agency for both cooperatives and individual producers shall be qualified to block vote for either.

(2) Any cooperative which is qualified to block vote shall, before submitting its approval or disapproval in any referendum, give prior written notice to each of its members as to whether and how it intends to cast its vote. The notice shall be given in a timely manner as established, and in the form prescribed, by the commission.

(3) Any producer may obtain a ballot from the commission in order to register approval or disapproval of the proposed order.

(4) A producer who is a member of a cooperative which has provided notice of its intent to approve or not to approve a proposed order, and who obtains a ballot and with such ballot expresses his approval or disapproval of the proposed order, shall notify the commission as to the name of the cooperative of which he or she is a member, and the commission shall remove such producer's name from the list certified by such cooperative with its corporate vote.

(5) In order to insure that all milk producers are informed regarding the proposed order, the commission shall notify all milk producers that an order is being considered and that each producer may register his approval or disapproval with the commission either directly or through his or her cooperative.

§ 14. Termination of over-order price or marketing order.

(a) The commission shall terminate any regulations establishing an over-order price or commission marketing order issued under this article whenever it finds that such order or price obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the declared policy of this compact.

(b) The commission shall terminate any regulations establishing an over-order price or a commission marketing order issued under this article whenever it finds that such termination is favored by a majority of the producers who, during a representative period determined by the commission, have been engaged in the production of milk the price of which is regulated by such order, but such termination shall be effective only if announced on or before such date as may be specified in such marketing agreement or order.

(c) The termination or suspension of any order or provision thereof shall not be considered an order within the meaning of this article and shall require no hearing, but shall comply with the requirements for informal rulemaking prescribed by Section 4 of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, as amended ( 5 U.S.C. § 553 ).

§ 15. Records; reports; access to premises.

(a) The commission may by rule and regulation prescribe recordkeeping and reporting requirements for all regulated persons. For purposes of the administration and enforcement of this compact, the commission is authorized to examine the books and records of any regulated person relating to his or her milk business and for that purpose, the commission's properly designated officers, employees, or agents shall have full access during normal business hours to the premises and records of all regulated persons.

(b) Information furnished to or acquired by the commission officers, employees, or its agents pursuant to this section shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure except to the extent that the commission deems disclosure to be necessary in any administrative or judicial proceeding involving the administration or enforcement of this compact, an over-order price, a compact marketing order, or other regulations of the commission. The commission may promulgate regulations further defining the confidentiality of information pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit (i) the issuance of general statements based upon the reports of a number of handlers, which do not identify the information furnished by any person, or (ii) the publication by direction of the commission of the name of any person violating any regulation of the commission, together with a statement of the particular provisions violated by such person.

(c) No officer, employee, or agent of the commission shall intentionally disclose information, by inference or otherwise, which is made confidential pursuant to this section. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or to imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or to both, and shall be removed from office. The commission shall refer any allegation of a violation of this section to the appropriate state enforcement authority or United States Attorney.

§ 16. Subpoena; hearings and judicial review.

(a) The commission is hereby authorized and empowered by its members and its properly designated officers to administer oaths and issue subpoenas throughout all signatory states to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony and the production of other evidence.

(b) Any handler subject to an order may file a written petition with the commission stating that any such order or any provision of any such order or any obligation imposed in connection therewith is not in accordance with law and praying for a modification thereof or to be exempted therefrom. He shall thereupon be given an opportunity for a hearing upon such petition, in accordance with regulations made by the commission. After such hearing, the commission shall make a ruling upon the prayer of such petition which shall be final, if in accordance with law.

(c) The district courts of the United States in any district in which such handler is an inhabitant, or has his principal place of business, are hereby vested with jurisdiction to review such ruling, provided a complaint for that purpose is filed within thirty (30) days from the date of the entry of such ruling. Service of process in such proceedings may be had upon the commission by delivering to it a copy of the complaint. If the court determines that such ruling is not in accordance with law, it shall remand such proceedings to the commission with directions either (1) to make such ruling as the court shall determine to be in accordance with law, or (2) to take such further proceedings as, in its opinion, the law requires. The pendency of proceedings instituted pursuant to this subdivision shall not impede, hinder, or delay the commission from obtaining relief pursuant to § 17 of this compact. Any proceedings brought pursuant to § 17 of this compact, except where brought by way of counterclaim in proceedings instituted pursuant to this section, shall abate whenever a final decree has been rendered in proceedings between the same parties, and covering the same subject matter, instituted pursuant to this section.

§ 17. Enforcement with respect to handlers.

(a) Any violation by a handler of the provisions of regulations establishing an over-order price or a commission marketing order, or other regulations adopted pursuant to this compact shall:

(1) Constitute a violation of the laws of each of the signatory states. Such violation shall render the violator subject to a civil penalty in an amount as may be prescribed by the laws of each of the participating states, recoverable in any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

(2) Constitute grounds for the revocation of license or permit to engage in the milk business under the applicable laws of the participating states.

(b) With respect to handlers, the commission shall enforce the provisions of this compact, regulations establishing an over-order price, a commission marketing order or other regulations adopted hereunder by:

(1) Commencing an action for legal or equitable relief brought in the name of the commission of any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction; or

(2) Referral to the state agency for enforcement by judicial or administrative remedy with the agreement of the appropriate state agency of a participating state.

(c) With respect to handlers, the commission may bring an action for injunction to enforce the provisions of this compact or the order or regulations adopted thereunder without being compelled to allege or prove that an adequate remedy of law does not exist.

§ 18. Finance of start-up and regular costs.

(a) To provide for its start-up costs, the commission may borrow money pursuant to its general power under § 6, subdivision (d), paragraph four (4) of this compact. In order to finance the costs of administration and enforcement of this compact, including payback of start-up costs, the commission is hereby empowered to collect an assessment from each handler who purchases milk from producers within the region. If imposed, this assessment shall be collected on a monthly basis for up to one (1) year from the date the commission convenes, in an amount not to exceed $.015 per hundredweight of milk purchased from producers during the period of the assessment. The initial assessment may apply to the projected purchases of handlers for the two-month period following the date the commission convenes. In addition, if regulations establishing an over-order price or a compact marketing order are adopted, they may include an assessment for the specific purpose of their administration. These regulations shall provide for establishment of a reserve for the commission's ongoing operating expenses.

(b) The commission shall not pledge the credit of any participating state or of the United States. Notes issued by the commission and all other financial obligations incurred by it shall be its sole responsibility and no participating state or the United States shall be liable therefor.

§ 19. Audit and accounts.

(a) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements, which shall be subject to the audit and accounting procedures established under its rules. In addition, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the commission shall be audited yearly by a qualified public accountant and the report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the commission.

(b) The accounts of the commission shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by duly constituted officers of the participating states and by any persons authorized by the commission.

(c) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to prevent commission compliance with laws relating to audit or inspection of accounts by or on behalf of any participating state or of the United States.

§ 20. Entry into force; additional members.

The compact shall enter into force effective when enacted into law by any three (3) states of the group of states composed of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia and when the consent of Congress has been obtained.

§ 21. Withdrawal from compact.

Any participating state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until one (1) year after notice in writing of the withdrawal is given to the commission and the governors of all other participating states. No withdrawal shall affect any liability already incurred by or chargeable to a participating state prior to the time of such withdrawal.

§ 22. Severability.

If any part or provision of this compact is adjudged invalid by any court, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part or provision directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this compact. In the event Congress consents to this compact subject to conditions, said conditions shall not impair the validity of this compact when said conditions are accepted by three (3) or more compacting states. A compacting state may accept the conditions of Congress by implementation of this compact.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-47-11 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 47-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-47-11
Status: in_force

If a certified farm, field or greenhouse unit is removed from organic management, it may be recertified after passage of three (3) years without the application of a prohibited pesticide and two (2) years without the application of a prohibited fertilizer or other prohibited material.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-209 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 27-209
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-209
Status: in_force

The board of supervisors of a county as designated in Section 69-27-201 may, on the recommendation of the soil erosion committee, or shall, if so required by the election hereinafter provided for, advertise for bids as in other cases and purchase the proper terracing and/or ditching machinery, either for the county as a whole or for any one or more supervisors districts thereof as a soil erosion district, and provide the necessary labor for the operation thereof, and the necessary supplies and maintenance to properly operate the same, subject, however, to the approval of the soil erosion committee herein otherwise provided. In event the board of supervisors shall fail or refuse to advertise for bids for the purchase of any machinery recommended by said soil erosion committee within sixty (60) days after receipt of such recommendation, it shall, on the filing with it of a petition signed by ten percent (10%) or more of the qualified electors of the county as a whole, or of one or more supervisors districts as the petition may provide, call and hold as in other cases a special election in said county, or in such one or more supervisors districts, within sixty (60) days after the filing of the petition, in which election the question shall be, for or against the purchase of terracing and/or ditching machinery for the county, or for one or more supervisors districts as the case may be; and if a majority of the votes cast in said election be in favor of the purchase of such machinery, then said board shall, at its next meeting, advertise for bids for the purchase thereof, and thereafter further perform the duties required of it hereunder with respect to soil erosion work. Such advertisement for bids shall constitute notice to the public of the intention of the board to make such purchase and the board may proceed accordingly unless on or before the first day of the meeting at which said bids are to be opened a petition, signed by twenty percent (20%) or more of the qualified electors of the county, exclusive of those who pay poll tax only, or if the soil erosion district is composed of one or more supervisors districts then of twenty percent (20%) or more of such soil erosion district, shall be filed with the clerk of the board protesting against such purchase, in which event such purchase shall not be made unless approved in an election called and held for the purpose in the manner provided for the calling and holding of elections on the question of the issuance of tax anticipation note or notes. Said board shall have full supervision of all soil erosion work, the machinery, labor, supplies, contracts, and the funds arising from work performed, from taxation, if any, or otherwise, except to the extent herein otherwise specifically provided; and in administering the soil erosion fund the board shall take into consideration the repairs and replacements incident to the operation of the character of machinery in use in order that the work may continue without undue interruption as long as may be necessary. In event machinery be purchased hereunder for soil erosion districts composed of one or more supervisors districts, but less than the whole county, then the soil erosion fund shall be administered in one or more subdivisions as may be necessary, so as to keep separate the operations of the several soil erosion districts of the county, and the taxes levied, if any, shall likewise be levied upon said separate soil erosion districts, in the same manner as for separate road districts; and for these purposes such separate soil erosion districts may be designated by name or number, to be declared by the board. All acts and proceedings of the board with respect to soil erosion work and the funds thereof shall be by order upon its minutes, as in other cases. Contracts for terracing and/or ditching shall be performed as nearly as possible in the order of their dates, any deviation therefrom by reason of necessity, public convenience, causes beyond the control of the committee, or agreement with the landowners, to be under the direction of the soil erosion committee. Only one (1) committee shall be appointed in said county, regardless of the number of soil erosion districts in operation therein.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-23-125 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 23-125
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-23-125
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall enforce the provisions of Sections 69-23-101 through 69-23-135 . The commissioner or his representative may enter upon public or private premises at reasonable times for the purpose of enforcing said sections, and may investigate complaints of injury or accidents resulting from use of restricted use pesticides.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-107 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 15-107
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-107
Status: in_force

(1) In addition to other authority vested in the Board of Animal Health, it shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To quarantine all herds of cattle where reactors are disclosed or found by private tests, auction barn sale tests, market cattle testing of slaughter cattle and dairy herds that are suspicious to the brucellosis ring test (milk).

(b) Owners of herds so quarantined in counties carrying out brucellosis eradication programs either in cooperation with the board of supervisors or Animal Health Division, Agricultural Research Services, USDA, shall have a maximum of sixty (60) days from date of quarantine issuance in which to have the quarantined portion of their herd officially tested for brucellosis. The herd owner shall be responsible for making herd test arrangements, using at his option either the federal veterinarian assigned to his area or any private practitioner licensed to test cattle in the herd owner's county under the area plan. It shall be the herd owner's responsibility to assemble, confine, and hold the quarantined cattle at a time and place agreed upon by himself and his selected veterinarian for the purpose of identifying and testing those animals required to be tested under the uniform methods and rules for establishing and maintaining modified certified brucellosis areas adopted by the United States Livestock Sanitary Association and approved by the Animal Health Division, Agricultural Research Services, USDA. These uniform methods and rules shall be followed explicitly in carrying out all official area brucellosis testing work, and owners of quarantined herds shall be responsible for retesting of quarantined portions of their herds within time limits prescribed by these rules. Within these time limits, quarantined herd owners shall enjoy the same options for veterinarian selection and time and test location as outlined above for the original test.

(c) Owners of quarantined herds who fail to take action in having their herd officially tested for brucellosis within sixty (60) days of quarantine issuance shall upon notice from the State Veterinarian assemble or have assembled these quarantined cattle at a place and time designated in order that the brucellosis test may be applied. Assistance shall be given by such owners in confining these cattle in order that the test may be administered properly, and the same cattle shall be returned for checking, tagging and branding of reactors at a time and place designated by the inspector or veterinarian in charge. It shall be the duty of the sheriff in any county in which the work of brucellosis testing is in progress to render to agents of the Board of Animal Health every assistance in enforcing the laws and regulations of said board. If the sheriff of any county shall neglect, fail or refuse to render this assistance when so required, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be punishable as in other cases of malfeasance or misfeasance.

(d) All cattle which have reacted to the brucellosis test shall be tagged and branded and removed from the herd of cattle and shall be permitted to market for slaughter within a period of fifteen (15) days after the date of tagging and branding. When funds are available from the state or federal government, indemnities will be paid to the owner of reactors when properly appraised and disposed of.

(e) As stated in paragraph (b), current uniform methods and rules for establishing and maintaining modified certified brucellosis areas adopted by the United States Livestock Sanitary Association and approved by the Animal Health Division, Agricultural Research Services, USDA, shall be followed.

(2) Any person, firm or corporation failing to comply with any of the provisions of this section or interfering with any duly appointed officer of the Board of Animal Health in the discharge of his duty, or for having discharged his duties, shall be deemed in violation of the provisions of this section and shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 69-15-53 through 69-15-69 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-15 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 29-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-15
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for a person to remove any collar, tag or marking device on any animal not owned by such person and without the permission of the owner of the animal. Any person violating the provisions of this section, upon conviction for a first violation, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or by both. Any person violating the provisions of this section, upon conviction for a second or subsequent violation, shall be punished by imprisonment in the Penitentiary for not less than one (1) year or a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-13-13 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 13-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-13-13
Status: in_force

If any county in the State of Mississippi by vote comes from under the provisions of the present state-wide stock law, and said county thereafter becomes tick infested, all expenditures in connection with the tick eradication in said county or tick infested area or areas, must be paid from the funds of said county, except the salary and expenses of the state officers and agents. Furthermore, any county that comes from under the state-wide stock law under the provisions of Sections 69-13-1 to 69-13-27 and becomes infested with the Texas fever tick, the same shall, on complaint of the board of animal health, go back under the provisions of the state-wide stock law.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-51 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 27-51
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-51
Status: in_force

The commissioners of any two or more districts organized under the provisions of this article may cooperate with one another in the exercise of any or all powers conferred in this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-53-5 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 53-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-53-5
Status: in_force

(1) Every agritourism professional must post and maintain signs that contain the warning notice specified in this section. The sign must be placed in a clearly visible location at the entrance to the agritourism location and at the site of the agritourism activity. The warning notice must consist of a sign in black letters, with each letter to be a minimum of one (1) inch in height. Every written contract entered into by an agritourism professional for the providing of professional services, instruction or the rental of equipment to a participant, whether or not the contract involves agritourism activities on or off the location or at the site of the agritourism activity, must contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in subsection (2) of this section.

(2) The signs and contracts must contain the following notice of warning:

“WARNING

Under Mississippi law, there is no liability for an injury to or death of a participant in an agritourism activity conducted at this agritourism location if the injury or death results from the inherent risks of the agritourism activity. Inherent risks of agritourism activities include, among others, risks of injury inherent to land, equipment and animals, as well as the potential for you or another participant to act in a negligent manner that may contribute to your injury or death. You are assuming the risk of participating in this agritourism activity.”

(3) Failure to comply with the requirements concerning warning signs and notices provided in this section will prevent an agritourism professional from invoking the privileges of immunity provided by this chapter.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-35-11 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 35-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-35-11
Status: in_force

(1) With respect to any referendum conducted under the provisions of this act, the state ADA and extension service shall, before calling and announcing such referendum, fix, determine and publicly announce at least thirty (30) days before the date determined upon for such referendum, the date, hours and polling places for voting in such referendum, the amount and basis of the assessment proposed to be collected, the means by which such assessment shall be collected if authorized by the producers, and the general purposes to which said amount so collected shall be applied. No annual assessment levied under the provisions of this act shall exceed the federally mandated Fifteen Cents (15¢) per hundredweight of milk produced, however an amount not to exceed Ten Cents (10¢) per hundredweight of milk produced shall be credited to the State ADA for dairy product promotion or nutrition education programs.

(2) As an alternative method of conducting a referendum under the provisions of this act, the state ADA and extension service in its discretion may conduct the referendum by a mail ballot as herein provided. In the event that a decision is made to conduct a mail ballot, public notice of said mail ballot shall be made at least thirty (30) days before the date of said referendum. Said notice shall contain the same information required by subsection (1) of this section except that the notice will also state that the ballot is to be conducted by mail rather than at polling places. The notice shall also state that official ballots are being mailed on a date specified in the notice to all bulk tank units known by the state ADA and extension service to be eligible to vote and that any bulk tank unit not receiving by mail an official ballot by a date specified in the notice will have ten (10) days thereafter to apply for an official ballot at the office of the state ADA. The notice shall state the deadline for the receipt of all ballots and the address of the state ADA.

(3) Official ballots shall be prepared by the state ADA and extension service and mailed by first class mail to the last known address of all bulk tank units known to be eligible to vote. As announced in the public notice, said ballots shall be made available for a period of not less than ten (10) days, to those who are eligible to vote in said referendum and did not receive a ballot by mail.

(4) Before any bulk tank unit shall receive an official ballot, he shall furnish such proof as the state ADA and extension service may require of his eligibility to vote in said referendum. The state ADA shall keep a list of those bulk tank units who receive official ballots. No bulk tank unit may receive more than one (1) official ballot unless the bulk tank unit proves to the satisfaction of the state ADA and extension service that the ballot has been lost or destroyed.

(5) No votes shall be counted which are not on official ballots. To be eligible to be counted, ballots must be received by the state ADA at the place and by the deadline previously announced in the public notice of said referendum.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-63 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 27-63
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-63
Status: in_force

At any time after the organization of a district under the provisions of this article, any twenty-five (25) owners of land lying within the boundaries of such district may file a petition with the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee praying that the operations of the district be terminated and the existence of the district discontinued. The committee may conduct such public meetings and public hearings upon such petition as may be necessary to assist it in the consideration thereof. Within sixty (60) days after such a petition has been received by the committee, it shall give due notice of the holding of a referendum, and shall supervise such referendum, and issue appropriate regulations governing the conduct thereof, the question to be submitted by ballots upon which the words “For terminating the existence of the __________ (name of the soil and water conservation district to be here inserted)” and “Against terminating the existence of the __________ (name of the soil and water conservation district to be here inserted)” shall appear, with a square before each proposition and a direction to insert an X mark in the square before one or the other of said propositions as the voter may favor or oppose discontinuance of such district. All owners of lands lying within the boundaries of the district shall be eligible to vote in such referendum. Only such landowners shall be eligible to vote. No informalities in the conduct of such referendum or in any matters relating thereto shall invalidate such referendum or the result thereof if notice thereof shall have been given substantially as herein provided and said referendum shall have been fairly conducted.

The committee shall publish the result of such referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine whether the continued operation of the district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible. If the committee shall determine that the continued operation of such district is administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and deny the petition. If the committee shall determine that the continued operation of such district is not administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and shall certify such determination to the commissioners of the district. In making such determination the committee shall give due regard and weight to the attitudes of the owners and operators of lands lying within the district, the number of landowners eligible to vote in such referendum who shall have voted, the proportion of the votes cast in such referendum in favor of the discontinuance in the district to the total number of votes cast, the approximate wealth and income of the landowners of the district, the probable expense of carrying on erosion-control operations within such district, and such other economic and social factors as may be relevant to such determination, having due regard to the legislative findings set forth in Section 69-27-3 . However, the committee shall not have authority to determine that the continued operation of the district is administratively practicable and feasible unless at least a majority of the votes cast in the referendum shall have been cast in favor of the continuance of such district.

Upon receipt from the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee of a certification that the committee has determined that the continued operation of the district is not administratively practicable and feasible, pursuant to the provisions of this section, the commissioners shall forthwith proceed to terminate the affairs of the district. The commissioners shall dispose of all property belonging to the district at public auction and shall pay over the proceeds of such sale to be covered into the state treasury. The commissioners shall thereupon file an application, duly verified, with the Secretary of State for the discontinuance of such district, and shall transmit with such application the certificate of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee setting forth the determination of the committee that the continued operation of such district is not administratively practicable and feasible. The application shall recite that the property of the district has been disposed of and the proceeds paid over as in this section provided, and shall set forth a full accounting of such properties and proceeds of the sale. The Secretary of State shall issue to the commissioners a certificate of dissolution and shall record such certificate in an appropriate book of record in his office.

Upon the issuance of a certificate of dissolution under the provisions of this section, all ordinances and regulations theretofore adopted and in force within such district shall be of no further force and effect. All contracts theretofore entered into, to which the district or commissioners are parties, shall remain in full force and effect for the period provided in such contracts. The State Soil and Water Conservation Committee shall be substituted for the district or commissioners as party to such contracts. The committee shall be entitled to all benefits and subject to all liabilities under such contracts and shall have the same right and liability to perform, to require performance, to sue and be sued thereon, and to modify or terminate such contracts by mutual consent or otherwise as the commissioners of the district would have had. Such dissolution shall not affect the lien of any judgment entered under the provisions of Section 69-27-41 , nor the pendency of any action instituted under the provisions of such section, and the committee shall succeed to all the rights and obligations of the district or commissioners as to such liens and actions.

The State Soil and Water Conservation Committee shall not entertain petition for the discontinuance of any district nor conduct referendums upon such petitions nor make determinations pursuant to such petitions in accordance with the provisions of this section, more often than once in one (1) year.

In the event a majority of the landowners vote to dissolve a district the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee shall dissolve same.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-3-17 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 3-17
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-3-17
Status: in_force

(1) The duty of enforcing this article is vested in the commissioner. The commissioner may establish rules and regulations not inconsistent with this article, may employ such agents and persons, and may make use of other employees of the department as deemed necessary for enforcement of this article.

(2) This article and the regulations of the department are of statewide concern and occupy the whole field of regulation regarding the cultivation, harvesting, production, processing, registration, labeling, sale, storage, transportation, quarantine, distribution, notification of use, planting, or other use of seeds to the exclusion of all local regulations. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this article, no ordinance or regulation of any political subdivision may prohibit or regulate any matter relating to the registration, labeling, sale, storage, transportation, quarantine, distribution, notification of use, planting and use of seeds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-39-15 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 39-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-39-15
Status: in_force

The commissioner may issue and enforce a written or printed “stop sale, use or removal” order to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural liming material and to hold at a designated place when the commissioner finds such agricultural liming material is being offered or exposed for sale in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or regulations adopted pursuant thereto until the law has been complied with and the agricultural liming material is released in writing by the commissioner or the violation has been otherwise legally disposed of by written authority. The commissioner shall release the agricultural liming material so withdrawn when the requirements of the provisions of this chapter or regulations adopted pursuant thereto have been complied with and all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the withdrawal have been paid.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-311 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 29-311
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-311
Status: in_force

(1) A person shall not, without the effective consent of the owner, enter or remain in an animal facility with the intent to disrupt or damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility if the person:

(a) Had notice that the entry was forbidden; or

(b) Received notice to depart but failed to do so.

(2) For purposes of this section, “notice” means:

(a) Oral or written communication by the owner or someone with apparent authority to act for the owner;

(b) Fencing or other enclosure obviously designed to exclude intruders or to contain animals; or

(c) A sign or signs posted on the property or at the entrance to the building, reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders, indicating that entry is forbidden.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-361 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 27-361
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-361
Status: in_force

Bonds issued under Sections 69-27-345 through 69-27-365 shall be legal investments for commercial banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations and insurance companies organized under the laws of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-35-9 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 35-9
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-35-9
Status: in_force

It is hereby further declared to be in the public interest and highly advantageous to the agricultural economy of the state that, producers and handlers of milk and dairy products shall be permitted by referendum to be held among producers in the state and subject to the provisions of this act, to levy upon themselves an assessment on such milk produced in the state, for the purpose of financing or contributing towards the financing of a program of promotion and nutrition education designed to strengthen the dairy industry's position in the marketplace and to maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and use for fluid milk and dairy products produced in the state and the United States. It is hereby further declared to be in the public interest and highly advantageous to the agricultural economy of the state that the state ADA conduct the referendum in coordination with the extension service in accordance with the provisions of this act and the Federal Dairy Promotion Program codified in 7 U.S.C. 4501, et seq.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-17-11 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 17-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-17-11
Status: in_force

The said Board of Animal Health is hereby authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations not inconsistent with this article, which may be necessary to its effective administration.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-46-7 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 46-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-46-7
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may accept and expend funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the Legislature and funds from any other source in order to carry out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. Such funds shall be deposited into a special fund hereby established in the State Treasury to be known as the “Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund.” Unexpended amounts derived from bond proceeds or private funds, or both, remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on such amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. All other unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall lapse into the State General Fund. The board may provide to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce not more than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 538, Laws of 2001, and/or Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 542, Laws of 2002, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Department of Agriculture may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds. The board may provide to the Mississippi Development Authority not more than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 538, Laws of 2001, and/or Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 542, Laws of 2002, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the Mississippi Development Authority in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Development Authority may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Development Authority may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(b)(i) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may provide to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce not more than One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1 of Laws of 2004, Third Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(ii) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may provide to the Mississippi Development Authority not more than One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1 of Laws of 2004, Third Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the Mississippi Development Authority in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Development Authority may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Development Authority may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(iii) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may provide to the Department of Audit not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1 of Laws of 2004, Third Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Department of Audit may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Department of Audit may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(2) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board shall set aside One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) of the monies in the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund, that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, for the purpose of providing funds to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce for use in making payments to ethanol producers under Section 69-51-5 during the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30, 2004. Any monies set aside which are not used for such purposes during the fiscal year shall no longer be set aside for such purposes after the end of the fiscal year. In addition, if the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce determines during such fiscal year that no ethanol producer will be eligible for such payments during the fiscal year, the commissioner shall inform the board of his determination and the monies set aside shall no longer be set aside for such purposes. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may escalate its budget and expend funds, when provided by the board under this subsection (2), in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(3) In anticipation of the issuance of bonds authorized for the purpose of providing funds for the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund, the State Bond Commission is authorized to negotiate and enter into any purchase, loan, credit or other agreement with any bank, trust company or other lending institution or to issue and sell interim notes for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. All borrowings made under this subsection (3) shall be evidenced by notes of the State of Mississippi, which shall be issued from time to time, for such amounts, in such form and in such denomination and subject to such terms and conditions of sale and issuance, prepayment or redemption and maturity, rate or rates of interest not to exceed the maximum rate authorized for bonds in Section 75-17-101 , and time of payment of interest as the State Bond Commission shall agree to in such agreement. Such notes shall constitute general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and shall be backed by the full faith and credit of the state. Such notes may also be issued for the purpose of refunding previously issued notes. No note shall mature more than three (3) years following the date of its issuance. The State Bond Commission is authorized to provide for the compensation of any purchaser of the notes by payment of a fixed fee or commission and for all other costs and expenses of issuance and service, including paying agent costs. Such costs and expenses may be paid from the proceeds of the notes. Borrowings made under the provisions of this subsection (3) shall not exceed the aggregate sum of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) outstanding at any one time.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-35-23 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 35-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-35-23
Status: in_force

The state ADA and extension service shall likewise prepare and distribute in advance of such referendum all necessary ballots for the purposes thereof, and shall, under rules and regulations promulgated, arrange for the necessary poll holders for conducting the said referendum; and following such referendum and within ten (10) days thereafter shall canvas and publicly declare the result of such referendum.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-211 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-211
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-211
Status: in_force

The county boards of supervisors of counties engaged in eradicating tuberculosis in livestock under the area plan in co-operation with the board of animal health and the United States Bureau of Animal Industry may pay out of the general funds of the county money for necessary expenditure including the employment of accredited or approved veterinarians and for the payment of indemnity to cattle owners who have animals slaughtered because of having reacted to a tuberculin test authorized by the board and the United States Bureau of Animal Industry. Provided that said animals so classed are appraised and slaughtered as provided in the rules and regulations of the board of animal health. The indemnity received shall not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) for each grade animal or one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each registered animal so condemned.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-13-7 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 13-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-13-7
Status: in_force

If two or more adjoining counties shall at an election called pursuant to Section 69-13-1 , vote against the state-wide stock law, then in such case, no fence or other barrier along the boundary lines of such county shall be necessary. However, in the event that two or more counties shall at such an election vote against the state-wide stock law, but an adjoining county or counties shall elect to remain under the provisions of the state-wide stock law, then the county or counties voting against the state-wide stock law shall, at its or their own proper cost and expense, before the provisions hereof shall become effective in such county or counties, build and erect and maintain along the line or lines of such counties a good and substantial fence or other sufficient barrier to prevent the intrusion of all such livestock mentioned in Section 69-13-1 as are permitted by the provisions of said section in such county or counties voting against the state-wide stock law, over, on, and upon the territory of the county or counties remaining under the provisions of the state-wide stock law. The fence herein provided shall be a fence satisfactory to and prescribed by the board of animal health, but no cattle guard or other obstruction shall be constructed or placed on any state highway. However, any infested county must provide watchmen night and day at such points to prevent cattle from passing through the gap where county fences would cross state highways.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-37-23 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 37-23
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-37-23
Status: in_force

(1) For statewide management when assessments are established by passage of a referendum, the commissioner shall have a lien for payment of the assessments, together with any penalties levied under this chapter, against all cotton grown by each cotton grower who grows cotton within the state. This lien shall be of equal dignity with liens for taxes in favor of the state and the commissioner is authorized to issue executions for the collection of the assessments and liens described in this section in like manner as executions are issued for ad valorem property taxes due the state.

(2) In addition, the commissioner shall have a special lien on cotton for payment of assessments, together with any penalties levied under this chapter, which shall be superior to any other lien provided by law, shall arise as of the time the assessments become due and payable, and shall cover all cotton grown by the cotton grower from the date the lien arises until the assessments are paid. However, any buyer of cotton shall take free of the lien if the buyer has not received written notice of the lien from the commissioner, or if he has paid for the cotton by a check in which the department is named as joint payee.

(3) A cotton grower who fails to pay when due and upon reasonable notice any assessment levied under this chapter shall be subject to a per acre penalty as established in the bureau's regulations, in addition to the assessment.

(4) Commercial cotton that is located in sites that cannot be treated adequately because of health, environmental or other concerns shall be deemed to be a public nuisance and shall be destroyed promptly. The commissioner, with the consent of the corporation and the approval of the Attorney General, may apply to the circuit court of the judicial circuit in which the public nuisance is located to have the nuisance condemned and destroyed. This injunctive relief shall be available to the commissioner notwithstanding the existence of any other legal remedy and the commissioner shall not be required to file a bond.

In those cases where commercial cotton is destroyed because of prevented treatment due to health or environmental concerns, the owner of the cotton shall be compensated for that portion of the crop that is destroyed. The per acre amount of the payments shall be based on a reasonable estimate of the value of the crop as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the corporation and the affected producer. Payments for those losses shall be funded by assessment fees paid by cotton growers and administered by the corporation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-305 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-305
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-305
Status: in_force

A person shall not, without the effective consent of the owner, acquire or otherwise exercise control over an animal facility, an animal from an animal facility or other property from an animal facility with the intent to deprive the owner of the facility, animal or property and to disrupt or damage the enterprise conducted at the animal facility.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-57 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 27-57
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-57
Status: in_force

(1) Within sixty (60) days after a petition pursuant to Section 69-27-55 has been filed with the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, it shall cause due notice to be given of one or more proposed hearings upon the question of the desirability and necessity in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, of the adjustment of the boundaries or creation of such district, upon the question of appropriate boundaries of such district, upon the propriety of the petition and other proceedings taken under this article, and upon all questions relevant to such inquiries. All owners and operators of land within the territory described in the petition, and of lands within any territory considered for addition to such described territory, and all owners and all operators of land within the existing district or districts from which territory is being considered for withdrawal, and all other interested parties, shall have the right to attend such hearings and be heard. If it shall appear upon the hearing that it may be desirable to include within the proposed adjusted boundary or within the proposed district territory outside of the area within which due notice of the hearing has been given, the hearing shall be adjourned and due notice of further hearing shall be given throughout the entire area to be considered and such further hearing held.

(2) After such hearing or hearings, if the committee shall determine, upon the facts presented at such hearings and upon such other relevant facts and information as may be available, that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, for adjustment in the boundaries, or for withdrawing territory from an existing district for the purpose of combination with other territory or district to provide an opportunity for more effective functioning of one or more districts in the territory considered at the hearings, it shall have the power to and shall make and record such determination, and shall define, by metes and bounds, or by legal subdivisions, the boundaries of such adjusted territory, or the boundaries of such district or districts. In making such determination and in defining such boundaries, the committee shall give due weight and consideration to the topography of the area considered, the composition of the soils, the distribution of erosion, the prevailing water and land-use practices, the desirability and necessity of including within the boundaries the particular lands under consideration and the benefit such lands may receive from being included within such boundaries, the relation of the proposed area to existing watersheds and agricultural regions, and to other soil and water conservation districts already organized or proposed to be organized under the provisions of this article, the relationship to existing political subdivisions of the state, and such other physical, geographical, and economic factors as are relevant, having due regard to the legislative determinations set forth by law.

(3) If the committee shall determine after such hearings, after due consideration of the said relevant facts, that there is no need for the adjustment in boundary, or the revision of districts in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall make and record such determination and shall deny the petition. After twelve (12) months shall have expired from the date of the denial of any such petition, subsequent petitions covering the same or substantially the same territory may be filed as aforesaid and new hearings held and determinations made thereon.

(4) The committee shall pay all expenses for the issuance of such notices and the conduct of such hearings as are deemed necessary by the committee. The committee shall supervise the conduct of all hearings provided pursuant to the provisions of this article. It shall issue appropriate regulations governing the conduct of such hearings.

(5) If the committee has decided that the adjustment of boundaries or revision of districts is needed, as provided in subsection (2) of this section, it shall have the power to make the determination, upon the facts presented at such hearings, and upon such other relevant facts and information as may be available, that the operation of a district with the adjusted boundaries, or as revised or consolidated within the defined boundaries, is administratively practicable and feasible. If the committee shall determine that the operation of such district is not administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and deny the petition. If the committee shall determine that the operation of a district within the described boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible, it shall record such determination and shall proceed with the organization of the district in the manner provided in Sections 69-27-15 to 69-27-29 , except that a referendum as provided therein shall not be deemed necessary, a hearing or hearings being substituted therefor.

(6) After twelve (12) months shall have expired from the date of entry of a determination by the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee that operation of a district within the adjusted boundary or revised territory is not administratively practicable and feasible, and denial of a petition pursuant to such determination, subsequent petitions may be filed as provided in subsection (3) of this section and action taken thereon in accordance with the provisions of Sections 69-27-55 to 69-27-61 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-11-15 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 11-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-11-15
Status: in_force

Whoever violates this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), and within the discretion of the court may also be imprisoned for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days. Any party violating the provisions of this law shall not be entitled to indemnity under the Cholera Indemnity Law of the State of Mississippi for any swine that have been found to have died from cholera during the period of such violation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-43 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 27-43
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-43
Status: in_force

Where the commissioners of any district organized under the provisions of this article shall adopt an ordinance prescribing land-use regulations in accordance with the provisions of Section 69-27-37 , they shall further provide by ordinance for the establishment of a board of adjustment. Such board of adjustment shall consist of three (3) members, each to be appointed for a term of three (3) years, except that the members first appointed shall be appointed for terms of one (1), two (2), and three (3) years, respectively. The members of each such board of adjustment shall be appointed by the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, and shall be removable, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other reason, such hearing to be conducted jointly by the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee and the commissioners of the district. Vacancies in the board of adjustment shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments, and shall be for the unexpired term of the member whose term becomes vacant. Members of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee and the commissioners of the district shall be ineligible to appointment as members of the board of adjustment during their tenure of such other office. The members of the board of adjustment shall receive no compensation for their services but shall be entitled to expenses, including travelling expenses, necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties. The commissioners shall pay the necessary administrative and other expenses of operation incurred by the board, upon the certificate of the chairman of the board.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-2-13 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 2-13
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-2-13
Status: repealed

(1) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the “Emerging Crops Fund,” which shall be used to pay the interest on loans made to farmers for nonland capital costs of establishing production of emerging crops on land in Mississippi, and to make loans and grants which are authorized under this section to be made from the fund. The fund shall be administered by the Mississippi Development Authority. A board comprised of the directors of the authority, the Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service, the Mississippi Small Farm Development Center and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or their designees, shall develop definitions, guidelines and procedures for the implementation of this chapter. Funds for the Emerging Crops Fund shall be provided from the issuance of bonds or notes under Sections 69-2-19 through 69-2-37 and from repayment of interest loans made from the fund.

(2)(a) The Mississippi Development Authority shall develop a program which gives fair consideration to making loans for the processing and manufacturing of goods and services by agribusiness, greenhouse production horticulture, and small business concerns. It is the policy of the State of Mississippi that the Mississippi Development Authority shall give due recognition to and shall aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of agribusiness, greenhouse production horticulture, and small business concerns. To ensure that the purposes of this subsection are carried out, the Mississippi Development Authority shall loan not more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) to finance any single agribusiness, greenhouse production horticulture, or small business concern. Loans made pursuant to this subsection shall be made in accordance with the criteria established in Section 57-71-11 .

(b) The Mississippi Development Authority may, out of the total amount of bonds authorized to be issued under this chapter, make available funds to any planning and development district in accordance with the criteria established in Section 57-71-11 . Planning and development districts which receive monies pursuant to this provision shall use such monies to make loans to private companies for purposes consistent with this subsection.

(c) The Mississippi Development Authority is hereby authorized to engage legal services, financial advisors, appraisers and consultants if needed to review and close loans made hereunder and to establish and assess reasonable fees, including, but not limited to, liquidation expenses.

(d) The State Auditor may conduct performance and compliance audits under this chapter according to Section 7-7-211(o) and may bill the oversight agency.

(3)(a) The Mississippi Development Authority shall, in addition to the other programs described in this section, provide for the following programs of loans to be made to agribusiness or greenhouse production horticulture enterprises for the purpose of encouraging thereby the extension of conventional financing and the issuance of letters of credit to such agribusiness or greenhouse production horticulture enterprises by private institutions. Monies to make such loans by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund.

(b) The Mississippi Development Authority may make loans to agribusiness or greenhouse production horticulture enterprises. The amount of any loan to any single enterprise under this paragraph (b) shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total cost of the project for which financing is sought or Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), whichever is less. No interest shall be charged on such loans, and only the amount actually loaned shall be required to be repaid. Repayments shall be deposited into the Emerging Crops Fund.

(c) The Mississippi Development Authority also may make loans under this subsection (3) to existing agribusiness or greenhouse production horticulture enterprises for the purpose of assisting such enterprises to make upgrades, renovations, repairs and other improvements to their equipment, facilities and operations, which shall not exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) or thirty percent (30%) of the total cost of the project for which financing is sought, whichever is less. No interest shall be charged on loans made under this paragraph, and only the amount actually loaned shall be required to be repaid. Repayments shall be deposited into the Emerging Crops Fund.

(d) The maximum aggregate amount of loans that may be made under this subsection (3) to any one (1) agribusiness shall be not more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00).

(4)(a) Through June 30, 2010, the Mississippi Development Authority may loan or grant to qualified planning and development districts, and to small business investment corporations, bank-based community development corporations, the Recruitment and Training Program, Inc., the City of Jackson Business Development Loan Fund, the Lorman Southwest Mississippi Development Corporation, the West Jackson Community Development Corporation, the East Mississippi Development Corporation, and other entities meeting the criteria established by the Mississippi Development Authority (all referred to hereinafter as “qualified entities”), funds for the purpose of establishing loan revolving funds to assist in providing financing for minority economic development. The monies loaned or granted by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund and shall not exceed Twenty-nine Million Dollars ($29,000,000.00) in the aggregate. Planning and development districts or qualified entities which receive monies pursuant to this provision shall use such monies to make loans to minority business enterprises consistent with criteria established by the Mississippi Development Authority. Such criteria shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(i) The business enterprise must be a private, for-profit enterprise.

(ii) If the business enterprise is a proprietorship, the borrower must be a resident citizen of the State of Mississippi; if the business enterprise is a corporation or partnership, at least fifty percent (50%) of the owners must be resident citizens of the State of Mississippi.

(iii) The borrower must have at least five percent (5%) equity interest in the business enterprise.

(iv) The borrower must demonstrate ability to repay the loan.

(v) The borrower must not be in default of any previous loan from the state or federal government.

(vi) Loan proceeds may be used for financing all project costs associated with development or expansion of a new small business, including fixed assets, working capital, start-up costs, rental payments, interest expense during construction and professional fees related to the project.

(vii) Loan proceeds shall not be used to pay off existing debt for loan consolidation purposes; to finance the acquisition, construction, improvement or operation of real property which is to be held primarily for sale or investment; to provide for, or free funds, for speculation in any kind of property; or as a loan to owners, partners or stockholders of the applicant which do not change ownership interest by the applicant. However, this does not apply to ordinary compensation for services rendered in the course of business.

(viii) The maximum amount that may be loaned to any one (1) borrower shall be Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00).

(ix) The Mississippi Development Authority shall review each loan before it is made, and no loan shall be made to any borrower until the loan has been reviewed and approved by the Mississippi Development Authority.

(b) For the purpose of this subsection, the term “ minority business enterprise ” means a socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern, organized for profit, performing a commercially useful function which is owned and controlled by one or more minorities or minority business enterprises certified by the Mississippi Development Authority, at least fifty percent (50%) of whom are resident citizens of the State of Mississippi. Except as otherwise provided, for purposes of this subsection, the term “socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern” shall have the meaning ascribed to such term under the Small Business Act ( 15 USCS, Section 637(a) ), or women, and the term “ owned and controlled ” means a business in which one or more minorities or minority business enterprises certified by the Mississippi Development Authority own sixty percent (60%) or, in the case of a corporation, sixty percent (60%) of the voting stock, and control sixty percent (60%) of the management and daily business operations of the business. However, an individual whose personal net worth exceeds Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) shall not be considered to be an economically disadvantaged individual.

From and after July 1, 2010, monies not loaned or granted by the Mississippi Development Authority to planning and development districts or qualified entities under this subsection, and monies not loaned by planning and development districts or qualified entities, shall be deposited to the credit of the sinking fund created and maintained in the State Treasury for the retirement of bonds issued under Section 69-2-19 .

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection to the contrary, if federal funds are not available for commitments made by a planning and development district to provide assistance under any federal loan program administered by the planning and development district in coordination with the Appalachian Regional Commission or Economic Development Administration, or both, a planning and development district may use funds in its loan revolving fund, which have not been committed otherwise to provide assistance, for the purpose of providing temporary funding for such commitments. If a planning and development district uses uncommitted funds in its loan revolving fund to provide such temporary funding, the district shall use funds repaid to the district under the temporarily funded federal loan program to replenish the funds used to provide the temporary funding. Funds used by a planning and development district to provide temporary funding under this paragraph (c) must be repaid to the district's loan revolving fund no later than twelve (12) months after the date the district provides the temporary funding. A planning and development district may not use uncommitted funds in its loan revolving fund to provide temporary funding under this paragraph (c) on more than two (2) occasions during a calendar year. A planning and development district may provide temporary funding for multiple commitments on each such occasion. The maximum aggregate amount of uncommitted funds in a loan revolving fund that may be used for such purposes during a calendar year shall not exceed seventy percent (70%) of the uncommitted funds in the loan revolving fund on the date the district first provides temporary funding during the calendar year.

(d) If the Mississippi Development Authority determines that a planning and development district or qualified entity has provided loans to minority businesses in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this subsection, then the amount of such loans so provided shall be withheld by the Mississippi Development Authority from any additional grant funds to which the planning and development district or qualified entity becomes entitled under this subsection. If the Mississippi Development Authority determines, after notifying such planning and development district or qualified entity twice in writing and providing such planning and development district or qualified entity a reasonable opportunity to comply, that a planning and development district or qualified entity has consistently failed to comply with this subsection, the Mississippi Development Authority may declare such planning and development district or qualified entity in default under this subsection and, upon receipt of notice thereof from the Mississippi Development Authority, such planning and development district or qualified entity shall immediately cease providing loans under this subsection, shall refund to the Mississippi Development Authority for distribution to other planning and development districts or qualified entities all funds held in its revolving loan fund and, if required by the Mississippi Development Authority, shall convey to the Mississippi Development Authority all administrative and management control of loans provided by it under this subsection.

(e) If the Mississippi Development Authority determines, after notifying a planning and development district or qualified entity twice in writing and providing copies of such notification to each member of the Legislature in whose district or in a part of whose district such planning and development district or qualified entity is located and providing such planning and development district or qualified entity a reasonable opportunity to take corrective action, that a planning and development district or qualified entity administering a revolving loan fund under the provisions of this subsection is not actively engaged in lending as defined by the rules and regulations of the Mississippi Development Authority, the Mississippi Development Authority may declare such planning and development district or qualified entity in default under this subsection and, upon receipt of notice thereof from the Mississippi Development Authority, such planning and development district or qualified entity shall immediately cease providing loans under this subsection, shall refund to the Mississippi Development Authority for distribution to other planning and development districts or qualified entities all funds held in its revolving loan fund and, if required by the Mississippi Development Authority, shall convey to the Mississippi Development Authority all administrative and management control of loans provided by it under this subsection.

(5) The Mississippi Development Authority shall develop a program which will assist minority business enterprises by guaranteeing bid, performance and payment bonds which such minority businesses are required to obtain in order to contract with federal agencies, state agencies or political subdivisions of the state. The Mississippi Development Authority may secure letters of credit, as determined necessary by the authority, to guarantee bid, performance and payment bonds pursuant to this subsection. Monies for such program shall be drawn from the monies allocated under subsection (4) of this section to assist the financing of minority economic development and shall not exceed Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) in the aggregate. The Mississippi Development Authority may promulgate rules and regulations for the operation of the program established pursuant to this subsection. For the purpose of this subsection (5), the term “minority business enterprise” has the meaning assigned such term in subsection (4) of this section.

(6) The Mississippi Development Authority may loan or grant to public entities and to nonprofit corporations funds to defray the expense of financing (or to match any funds available from other public or private sources for the expense of financing) projects in this state which are devoted to the study, teaching and/or promotion of regional crafts and which are deemed by the authority to be significant tourist attractions. The monies loaned or granted shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund and shall not exceed Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) in the aggregate.

(7) Through June 30, 2006, the Mississippi Development Authority shall make available to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce funds for the purpose of establishing loan revolving funds and other methods of financing for agribusiness programs administered under the Mississippi Agribusiness Council Act of 1993. The monies made available by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund and shall not exceed One Million Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,200,000.00) in the aggregate. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall establish control and auditing procedures for use of these funds. These funds will be used primarily for quick payment to farmers for vegetable and fruit crops processed and sold through vegetable processing plants associated with the Department of Agriculture and Commerce and the Mississippi State Extension Service.

(8) From and after July 1, 1996, the Mississippi Development Authority shall make available to the Mississippi Small Farm Development Center One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) to be used by the center to assist small entrepreneurs as provided in Section 37-101-25, Mississippi Code of 1972 . The monies made available by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund.

(9) [Repealed]

(10) The Mississippi Development Authority shall make available to the Small Farm Development Center at Alcorn State University funds in an aggregate amount not to exceed Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000.00), to be drawn from the cash balance of the Emerging Crops Fund. The Small Farm Development Center at Alcorn State University shall use such funds to make loans to producers of sweet potatoes and cooperatives anywhere in the State of Mississippi owned by sweet potato producers to assist in the planting of sweet potatoes and the purchase of sweet potato production and harvesting equipment. A report of the loans made under this subsection shall be furnished by January 15 of each year to the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

(11) The Mississippi Development Authority shall make available to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce “Make Mine Mississippi” program an amount not to exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) to be drawn from the cash balance of the Emerging Crops Fund.

(12) The Mississippi Development Authority shall make available to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce an amount not to exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) to be drawn from the cash balance of the Emerging Crops Fund to be used for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the Mississippi Farmers Central Market in Jackson, Mississippi.

(13) The Mississippi Development Authority shall make available to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce an amount not to exceed Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) to be drawn from the cash balance of the Emerging Crops Fund to be used for advertising purposes related to the Mississippi Farmers Central Market in Jackson, Mississippi.

(14)(a) The Mississippi Development Authority shall, in addition to the other programs described in this section, provide for a program of loan guaranties to be made on behalf of any nonprofit entity qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and certified by the United States Department of the Treasury as a community development financial institution for the purpose of encouraging the extension of financing to such an entity which financing the entity will use to make funds available to other entities for the purpose of making loans available in low-income communities in Mississippi. Monies to make such loan guaranties by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund and shall not exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) in the aggregate. The amount of a loan guaranty on behalf of such an entity under this subsection (14) shall not exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00). Assistance received by an entity under this subsection (14) shall not disqualify the entity from obtaining any other assistance under this chapter.

(b) An entity desiring assistance under this subsection (14) must submit an application to the Mississippi Development Authority. The application must include any information required by the Mississippi Development Authority.

(c) The Mississippi Development Authority shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this subsection (14), and the Mississippi Development Authority shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this subsection (14).

(15)(a) The Mississippi Development Authority shall, in addition to the other programs described in this section, provide for a program of grants to agribusiness enterprises that process, dry, store or ship peanuts and if the enterprise has invested prior to April 17, 2009, a minimum of Six Million Dollars ($6,000,000.00) in land, facilities and equipment in this state that are utilized to process, dry, store or ship peanuts. Monies to make such grants by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund and shall not exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in the aggregate. The amount of a grant under this subsection (15) shall not exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00).

(b) An entity desiring assistance under this subsection (15) must submit an application to the Mississippi Development Authority. The application must include a description of the project for which assistance is requested, the cost of the project for which assistance is requested, the amount of assistance requested and any other information required by the Mississippi Development Authority.

(c) As a condition of the receipt of a grant under this subsection (15), an entity must agree to remain in business in this state for not less than five (5) years and must meet other conditions established by the Mississippi Development Authority to ensure that the assistance results in an economic benefit to the state. The Mississippi Development Authority shall require that binding commitments be entered into requiring that:

(i) The minimum requirements provided for in this subsection (15) and the conditions established by the Mississippi Development Authority are met; and

(ii) If such commitments and conditions are not met, all or a portion of the funds provided pursuant to this subsection (15) shall be repaid.

(d) The Mississippi Development Authority shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this subsection (15), and the Mississippi Development Authority shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this subsection (15).

(16)(a) The Mississippi Development Authority, in addition to the other programs described in this section, shall provide for a program of loan guaranties to be made on behalf of certain agribusinesses engaged in sweet potato growing and farming for the purpose of encouraging thereby the extension of conventional financing and the issuance of letters of credit to such agribusinesses by lenders. The amount of a loan guaranty made on behalf of such an agribusiness shall be ninety percent (90%) of the amount of assistance made available by a lender for the purposes authorized under this subsection (16). Monies to make such loan guaranties by the Mississippi Development Authority shall be drawn from the Emerging Crops Fund and shall not exceed Seventeen Million Dollars ($17,000,000.00) in the aggregate.

(b) In order to be eligible for assistance under this subsection (16) an agribusiness must:

(i) Have been actively engaged in sweet potato growing and farming in this state before January 1, 2010;

(ii) Have incurred a disaster-related loss for sweet potato growing and farming purposes for calendar year 2009, as determined by a lender;

(iii) Agree to obtain and maintain federal Noninsured Agricultural Program (NAP) insurance coverage for the outstanding balance of any assistance received under this subsection (16); and

(iv) Satisfy underwriting criteria established by a lender related to loans under this subsection (16).

(c)(i) An entity desiring assistance under this subsection must submit an application for assistance to a lender not later than August 1, 2010. The application must include:

1. Information verifying the length of time the applicant has been actively engaged in sweet potato growing and farming in this state;

2. Information regarding the number of acres used by the applicant for sweet potato growing and farming purposes during the 2009 calendar year, as certified to by the Farm Services Authority (FSA) or the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC), and the number of acres the applicant intends to use for such purposes during the 2010 calendar year;

3. The average cost per acre incurred by the applicant for sweet potato growing and farming purposes during the 2009 calendar year, as certified to by the FSA or MDAC, and an estimate of the average cost per acre to be incurred by the applicant for such purposes during the calendar year for which application is made;

4. The amount of assistance requested;

5. A statement from the applicant agreeing that he will obtain and maintain NAP insurance coverage for the outstanding balance of any assistance received under this subsection (16); and

6. Any other information required by the lender and/or the MDA.

(ii) The lender shall review the application for assistance and determine whether the applicant qualifies for assistance under this subsection (16). If the lender determines that the applicant qualifies for assistance, the lender shall loan funds to the applicant subject to the provisions of this subsection (16).

(d) Loans made under this subsection (16) shall be subject to the following conditions:

(i) The maximum amount of a loan to a borrower shall not exceed One Thousand Seven Hundred Dollars ($1,700.00) per acre and shall exclude any machinery and equipment costs.

(ii) The proceeds of a loan may be used only for paying a borrower's sweet potato planting, production and harvesting costs, excluding machinery and equipment costs.

(iii) The proceeds of a loan may not be used to repay, satisfy or finance existing debt.

(iv) The time allowed for repayment of a loan shall not be more than five (5) years, and there shall be no penalty, fee or other charge imposed for the prepayment of a loan.

(e) The receipt of assistance by a person or other entity under any other program described in this section shall not disqualify the person or entity from obtaining a loan under the program established in this subsection (16) if the person or entity is otherwise eligible under this program. In addition, the receipt of a loan by a person or other entity under the program established under this subsection (16) shall not disqualify the person or entity from obtaining assistance under any other program described in this section.

(f) The Mississippi Development Authority shall have all powers necessary to implement and administer the program established under this subsection (16), and the Mississippi Development Authority shall promulgate rules and regulations, in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law, necessary for the implementation of this subsection (16).

(17) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, the Mississippi Development Authority shall not provide loans, loan guaranties, grants or any other form of assistance to medical cannabis establishments as defined in the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-25-33 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 25-33
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-25-33
Status: in_force

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 cooperating with the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce in eradicating serious insect pests, rodents, plant parasites, plant diseases and noxious weeds and in protecting the counties and municipalities from serious insect pests, rodents, plant parasites, plant diseases and noxious weeds.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-115 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 15-115
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-115
Status: in_force

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of Article 5 of this chapter, or any of the rules and regulations of the Board of Animal Health, relative to the control and eradication of tuberculosis, anthrax, hog cholera, Texas and splenic fever and the fever-carrying tick (Margaropus annulatus), cattle brucellosis, anaplasmosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, muscosal disease, cattle viral diarrhea, cattle scabies, sheep scabies, swine erysipelas, swine brucellosis, equine encephalomyelitis, rabies, vesicular diseases, salmonella group, newcastle disease, infectious laryngotracheitis, ornithosis-psittacosis, mycoplasma group, equine infectious anemia and any suspected new and/or foreign diseases of livestock and poultry, and all other diseases of animals in this state, made and promulgated thereunder shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 69-15-53 through 69-15-69 .
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-3-4 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 3-4
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-3-4
Status: in_force

(1) Every person, firm, association or corporation that shall transfer ownership of Bermuda grass for commercial sprigging, or that shall issue, use or circulate any certificate, advertisement, tag, seal, poster, letterhead, marking circular, written or printed representation or description of or pertaining to Bermuda grass intended for commercial sprigging or sale shall conform to the standards or requirements as made by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. Such persons, firms, associations and corporations, before transferring ownership of Bermuda grass, on or before the first day of July of each year, shall secure an annual permit from the Commissioner of Agriculture to engage in such business or practice. The annual permit fee shall not exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) for each person or place of business.

(2) If a person, firm, association or corporation discovers a new selection of Bermuda grass, such entity shall not name the grass in such a manner as to misrepresent, infringe or mimic a name already on the market. The commissioner may revoke the permit of any person who misrepresents, infringes or mimics a name in violation of this section.

(3) Any person who transfers ownership of Bermuda grass for commercial sprigging without a permit as required under this section shall be subject to a civil penalty, not to exceed Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00). All penalties levied by the commissioner shall be paid into the General Fund in the State Treasury.

(4) The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-8-11 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 8-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-8-11
Status: in_force

(1) The council may accept monetary gifts, donations and grants from public as well as private sources.

(2) By July 31 of each year the council shall submit to the commissioner a complete report of all revenues and expenditures that were generated by the administration of this program in a format that has been approved by the commissioner.

(3) Of the monies collected under this program, an amount not to exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the total revenues per year shall be expended on the administrative costs of the program.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-223 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 27-223
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-223
Status: in_force

In the event of a tax levy being made to pay the purchase price of any equipment purchased under this article, the county shall not be authorized to purchase any additional equipment until enough money has been collected from the use of equipment already purchased, sufficient to pay back into the county treasury the full amount collected by such tax levy.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-25-35 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 25-35
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-25-35
Status: in_force

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 place, and to open any bundle, package or other container containing or thought to contain plants or plant products.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-21-113 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 21-113
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-21-113
Status: in_force

(1) There shall be a license for an applicator and a separate and distinct license for a pilot. It is unlawful for any person to act, operate or do business as an applicator or pilot, or to engage in agricultural aircraft operations, unless that person has the appropriate applicator's or pilot's license issued by the department. Applicator's or pilot's licenses shall only be issued upon application to the department, payment of application fees and meeting any other requirements set by regulation or law. The application shall contain information regarding the applicant's qualifications and proposed operations, and any other information as may be specified by the department. All applicants for a pilot's license must have appropriate Federal Aviation Administration certification.

(2) Applicator's and pilot's licenses are not transferable. Licenses shall be effective for the period prescribed by regulation of the department. Any licensee wishing to have a license renewed must submit an application for renewal with the department at least thirty (30) days before the expiration of the license. If the applicant submits a timely and complete application for renewal, and the department, through no fault of the applicant, fails to reissue the license on or before the expiration date of the existing license, the existing license shall remain in effect until final action on the renewal application is taken by the department. Licenses are subject to modification, revocation or suspension for cause at any time during the effective dates of the license, subject to constitutional requirements.

(3) Any person seeking to obtain a license as an applicator in this state shall submit with his application proof of payment of all ad valorem and other taxes that may be applicable on the applicant's aircraft and other equipment.

(4) All persons licensed under this article shall be known as registered applicators or pilots, and shall be issued a certificate by the department as proof of registration.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-11 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 15-11
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-11
Status: in_force

(1) The College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science shall maintain a complete and adequate veterinary diagnostic laboratory in the Jackson vicinity and any person licensed to practice veterinary medicine, veterinary surgery, veterinary dentistry, or any vocational-agriculture teacher, bona fide farmer or county agent in the State of Mississippi or agent of the State Veterinarian shall have made available to him services of the laboratory. The laboratory shall examine and conduct laboratory tests on specimens submitted by any licensed veterinarian, or vocational-agriculture teacher, bona fide farmer or county agent of this state or agent of the State Veterinarian and issue appropriate reports. The College of Veterinary Medicine shall be required to set reasonable fees for such examinations, tests, reports or other diagnostic service.

(2) The College of Veterinary Medicine shall select a director of the laboratory who holds a degree of veterinary medicine from a recognized college or university; is board certified in one (1) of the following basic diagnostic disciplines; toxicology, pathology, microbiology, virology or clinical pathology and has engaged in the practice of veterinary clinical diagnosis for at least ten (10) years, five (5) years of which were in a supervisory capacity. The director shall select and recommend for employment such veterinarians, bacteriologists, pathologists, technicians, clerical assistants, and other personnel necessary to carry out the objective of this section. The salaries, compensation and expenses of such employees shall be sufficient to insure the employment of competent persons and shall be paid from funds at the disposal of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The director shall be responsible to the College of Veterinary Medicine for the daily operations of the laboratory.

(3) There is created an advisory council to advise the College of Veterinary Medicine on matters concerning the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The council shall be composed of the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, or his designee; the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, or his designee; the Chairman of the Board of Animal Health; the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce; a person appointed by the President of Alcorn State University from its land grant staff who is not a member of the Board of Animal Health; a licensed and practicing veterinarian appointed by the President of the Mississippi State Veterinary Medical Association who is not a member of the Board of Animal Health; the State Veterinarian; the State Chemist; and the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. This advisory council shall meet at least twice a year, upon written notification at least fourteen (14) days in advance, to be called by the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. A meeting may also be called by the Commissioner of Agriculture or by a majority of the advisory council with fourteen (14) days' written notice.

The members of the advisory council shall serve in an advisory capacity only. For attending meetings of the council, legislators shall receive per diem and expenses which shall be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same amounts provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session; however, no per diem or expenses for attending meetings of the council shall be paid while the Legislature is in session. No per diem and expenses shall be paid except for attending meetings of the council without prior approval of the proper committee in their respective houses.

(4) All funds, property and other assets and all current positions of the diagnostic laboratory shall be transferred to the College of Veterinary Medicine on July 1, 2002. The budget of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory shall be funded as a separate line item within the general appropriation bill for the College of Veterinary Medicine.

(5) Information and records pertaining to all animal diseases within the state will be kept confidential except for those reports concerning diseases that are specifically regulated for mandatory control and eradication, or when release of such information is deemed necessary by the State Veterinarian to protect the public health, other livestock or wildlife.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-24-5 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 24-5
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-24-5
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the definition ascribed to them herein unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) “Amending ingredient” means a substance which will improve the physical or chemical characteristics of the soil or improve crop production or quality when applied to the soil, plant or seed.

(b) “Brand” means the term, designation, trade mark, product name or other specific designation under which individual soil or plant amendments are offered for sale.

(c) “Bulk” means in nonpackaged form.

(d) “Distribute” means to import, consign, manufacture, produce, compound, mix or blend soil or plant amendments, or offer for sale, sell, barter or otherwise supply soil or plant amendments in this state.

(e) “Distributor” means any person who imports, consigns, manufactures, produces, compounds, mixes or blends soil or plant amendments, or who offers for sale, sells, barters, or otherwise supplies soil or plant amendments in this state.

(f) “Inert ingredients” means the non-amending ingredients present in soil or plant amendments.

(g) “Ingredient form” means the chemical compound, such as salt, chelate, oxide, acid, etc., of an ingredient or the physical form of an ingredient.

(h) “Investigational allowance” means an allowance for variations inherent in the taking, preparation and analysis of an official sample of soil or plant amendment.

(i) “Label” means the display of all written, printed or graphic matter upon the immediate container or statement accompanying a soil or plant amendment.

(j) “Labeling” means all written, printed, or graphic matter, upon or accompanying any soil or plant amendment, or advertisements, brochures, posters, or television or radio announcements used in promoting the sale of such soil or plant amendment.

(k) “Minimum percentage” means that percent of soil or plant amending ingredient, when mentioned in any form or manner, that must be present before the product will be accepted for registration.

(l) “Official sample” means any sample of soil or plant amendment taken by the commissioner or his agent and designated as “Official” by the commissioner and state chemist.

(m) “Percent” or “percentage” means parts per hundred by weight.

(n) “Person” means individual, partnership, association, firm, or corporation.

(o) “Plant amendment” means any substance applied to plants or seeds which is intended to improve germination, growth, yield, product quality, reproduction, flavor or other desirable characteristics of plants except commercial fertilizers, soil amendments, agricultural liming materials, unmanipulated animal and vegetable manures, pesticides, plant regulators, Rhizobium legume inoculants, and other materials which may be exempted by regulation; provided that, commercial fertilizer shall be included if it is represented to contain, as an amending ingredient, a substance other than a recognized plant food element or is represented as promoting plant growth by means other than supplying a recognized plant food element.

(p) “Registrant” means the person who registers soil or plant amendments under the provisions of this chapter.

(q) “Soil amendment” means and includes any substance which is intended to improve the physical, chemical or other characteristics of the soil or improve crop production, except the following: commercial fertilizers, plant amendments, agricultural liming materials, agricultural gypsum, unmanipulated animal manures, topsoil, unmanipulated vegetable manures, pesticides, and herbicides, Rhizobium legume inoculants, and other material which may be exempted by regulation; provided that commercial fertilizer shall be included if it is represented to contain, as an amending ingredient, a substance other than a recognized plant food element or is represented as promoting plant growth by means other than supplying a recognized plant food element.

(r) “Ton” means a net weight of two thousand (2,000) pounds avoirdupois.

(s) “Weight” means the weight of material as offered for sale.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-121 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 29-121
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-121
Status: in_force

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-21-117 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 10 / Section 21-117
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-21-117
Status: in_force

(1) Any person who is a nonresident of this state and who intends to perform agricultural aircraft operations in this state as an applicator or pilot shall obtain the appropriate applicator's or pilot's license under this article and comply with all the other licensing requirements for a resident licensee. Nonresident applicators shall also designate and maintain a resident agent in this state for service of process.

(2) Any person who is duly licensed as an agricultural aviation pilot in another state, whose requirements for licensure as an agricultural aviation pilot are at least equal to those of this state, may be granted an agricultural aviation pilot's license by this state upon the submission of the required application, provided the laws of the state from which the applicant comes grant similar privileges to applicants from this state. The department is authorized to enter into a reciprocity agreement with any state meeting the qualifications of this subsection.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-48-14 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 48-14
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-48-14
Status: in_force

(1) The commissioner may conduct an audit of the board to verify compliance with any rules and regulations promulgated for the efficient enforcement of this chapter.

(2) Under this section, the audited board shall provide information to the commissioner that verifies the amounts received and expended from the fees assessed and collected by the department and remitted to the board. Records maintained in the course of the normal conduct of business by the board may serve as verification.

(3) The commissioner may apply for and the court may grant a temporary or permanent injunction on disbursements made to the board from violating or continuing to violate any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter, notwithstanding the existence of other remedies at law. The injunction shall be issued without bond.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-37-27 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 37-27
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-37-27
Status: in_force

The bureau, with the concurrence of the corporation, is authorized to designate by regulation one or more areas of this state as “suppression zones,” “pre-eradication zones” or “eradication zones” where the specified boll weevil management programs will be undertaken. The bureau, with the concurrence of the corporation, is authorized to promulgate reasonable regulations regarding areas where cotton cannot be planted within a specified management zone when there is reason to believe that growing cotton in those areas will jeopardize the success of the program or present a hazard to public health or safety. The bureau, with the concurrence of the corporation, is authorized to issue regulations prohibiting the planting of noncommercial cotton in the management zones and requiring that all growers of commercial cotton in these zones participate in the specified boll weevil management program and share equitably in the cost. The costs shall be determined by available scientific data on the basis of the level of boll weevil infestation and the anticipated costs of the program in the various regions and shall be approved via referendum by cotton growers within the affected area under procedures set forth in this chapter. Notice of the prohibition and requirement shall be given by publication for one (1) day each week for three (3) successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation in the affected area. The bureau, with the concurrence of the corporation, is authorized to set by regulation a reasonable schedule of penalty fees to be assessed when growers in designated “management zones” do not meet the requirements of regulations issued by the bureau with respect to reporting of acreage and participation in cost-sharing as prescribed by regulation. The penalty fees shall not exceed a charge of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per acre. The cotton grower charged with those penalties has the right to appeal this decision to the corporation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-7-269 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 2 / Section 7-269
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-7-269
Status: in_force

No egg producer with over three thousand (3,000) hens nor any egg handler or dealer shall sell or offer for sale any lot of eggs produced, distributed or marketed in Mississippi upon which the assessment imposed herein has not been paid. The assessment imposed herein shall be paid at such time or times as is fixed by the board. In the event such assessment is paid by any dealer who is not a producer, the dealer may bill the producer of such eggs in the amount of the assessment paid by him.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-36-1 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 36-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-36-1
Status: in_force

The Southern Dairy Compact, the full text of which is hereinafter set forth and confirmed by the Mississippi Legislature, is hereby entered into on behalf of the State of Mississippi. The compact shall become effective when enacted into law by at least two (2) other states within the compact group of states and when the consent of Congress has been obtained. The full text of said compact is as follows:

§ 1. Statement of purpose, findings and declaration of policy.

The purpose of this compact is to recognize the interstate character of the southern dairy industry and the prerogative of the states under the United States Constitution to form an interstate commission for the southern region. The mission of the commission is to take such steps as are necessary to assure the continued viability of dairy farming in the south, and to assure consumers of an adequate, local supply of pure and wholesome milk.

The participating states find and declare that the dairy industry is an essential agricultural activity of the South. Dairy farms, and associated suppliers, marketers, processors and retailers are an integral component of the region's economy. Their ability to provide a stable, local supply of pure, wholesome milk is a matter of great importance to the health and welfare of the region.

The participating states further find that dairy farms are essential and they are an integral part of the region's rural communities. The farms preserve land for agricultural purposes and provide needed economic stimuli for rural communities.

In establishing their constitutional regulatory authority over the region's fluid milk market by this compact, the participating states declare their purpose that this compact neither displace the federal order system nor encourage the merging of federal orders. Specific provisions of the compact itself set forth this basic principle.

Designed as a flexible mechanism able to adjust to changes in a regulated marketplace, the compact also contains a contingency provision should the federal order system be discontinued. In that event, the interstate commission is authorized to regulate the marketplace in replacement of the order system. This contingent authority does not anticipate such a change, however, and should not be so construed. It is only provided should developments in the market other than establishment of this compact result in continuance of the order system.

By entering into this compact, the participating states affirm that their ability to regulate the price which southern dairy farmers receive for their product is essential to the public interest. Assurance of a fair and equitable price for dairy farmers ensures their ability to provide milk to the market and the vitality of the southern dairy industry, with all the associated benefits.

Recent, dramatic price fluctuations with a pronounced downward trend threaten the viability and stability of the southern dairy region. Historically, individual state regulatory action had been an effective emergency remedy available to farmers confronting a distressed market. The federal order system, implemented by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, establishes only minimum prices paid to producers for raw milk, without preempting the power of states to regulate milk prices above the minimum levels so established.

In today's regional dairy marketplace, cooperative rather than individual state action is needed to more effectively address the market disarray. Under our constitutional system, properly authorized states acting cooperative may exercise more power to regulate interstate commerce than they may assert individually without such authority. For this reason, the participating states invoke their authority to act in common agreement, with the consent of Congress, under the compact clause of the Constitution.

§ 2. Definitions.

For the purposes of this compact, and of any supplemental or concurring legislation enacted pursuant thereto, except as may be otherwise required by the context:

(1) “ Class I milk ” means milk disposed of in fluid form or as a fluid milk product, subject to further definition in accordance with the principles expressed in subdivision (b) of § 3 of this compact.

(2) “ Commission ” means the Southern Dairy Compact Commission established by this compact.

(3) “ Commission marketing order ” means regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to § 9 and § 10 of this compact in place of a terminated federal marketing order or state dairy regulation. Such order may apply throughout the region or in any part or parts thereof as defined in the regulations of the commission. Such order may establish minimum prices for any or all classes of milk.

(4) “ Compact ” means this interstate compact.

(5) “ Compact over-order price ” means a minimum price required to be paid to producers for Class I milk established by the commission in regulations adopted pursuant to § 9 and § 10 of this compact, which is above the price established in federal marketing orders or by state farm price regulations in the regulated area. Such price may apply throughout the region or in any part or parts thereof as defined in the regulations of the commission.

(6) “ Milk ” means the lacteral secretion of cows and includes all skim, butterfat, or other constituents obtained from separation or any other process. The term is used in its broadest sense and may be further defined by the commission for regulatory purposes.

(7) “ Partially regulated plant ” means a milk plant not located in a regulated area but having Class I distribution within such area. Commission regulations may exempt plants having such distribution or receipts in amounts less than the limits defined therein.

(8) “ Participating state ” means a state which has become a party to this compact by the enactment of concurring legislation.

(9) “ Pool plant ” means any milk plant located in a regulated area.

(10) “ Region ” means the territorial limits of the states which are parties to this compact.

(11) “ Regulated area ” means any area within the region governed by and defined in regulations establishing a compact over-order price or commission marketing order.

(12) “ State dairy regulation ” means any state regulation of dairy prices, and associated assessments, whether by statute, marketing order or otherwise.

§ 3. Rules of construction.

(a) This compact shall not be construed to displace existing federal milk marketing orders or state dairy regulation in the region but to supplement them. In the event some or all federal orders in the region are discontinued, the compact shall be construed to provide the commission the option to replace them with one or more commission marketing orders pursuant to this compact.

(b) The compact shall be construed liberally in order to achieve the purposes and intent enunciated in § 1 of this compact. It is the intent of this compact to establish a basic structure by which the commission may achieve those purposes through the application, adaptation and development of the regulatory techniques historically associated with milk marketing and to afford the commission broad flexibility to devise regulatory mechanisms to achieve the purposes of this compact. In accordance with this intent, the technical terms which are associated with market order regulation and which have acquired commonly understood general meanings are not defined herein but the commission may further define the terms used in this compact and develop additional concepts and define additional terms as it may find appropriate to achieve its purposes.

§ 4. Commission established.

There is hereby created a commission to administer the compact, composed of delegations from each state in the region. The commission shall be known as the Southern Dairy Compact Commission. A delegation shall include not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) persons. Each delegation shall include at least one (1) dairy farmer who is engaged in the production of milk at the time of appointment or reappointment, and one (1) consumer representative. Delegation members shall be residents and voters of, and subject to such confirmation process as is provided for in the appointing state. Delegation members shall serve no more than three (3) consecutive terms with no single term of more than four (4) years, and be subject to removal for cause. In all other respects, delegation members shall serve in accordance with the laws of the state represented. The compensation, if any, of the members of a state delegation shall be determined and paid by each state, but their expenses shall be paid by the commission.

§ 5. Voting requirements.

All actions taken by the commission, except for the establishment or termination of an over-order price or commission marketing order, and the adoption, amendment or rescission of the commission's bylaws, shall be by majority vote of the delegations present. Each state delegation shall be entitled to one (1) vote in the conduct of the commission's affairs. Establishment or termination of an over-order price or commission marketing order shall require at least a two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) vote of the delegations present. The establishment of a regulated area which covers all or part of a participating state shall require also the affirmative vote of that state's delegation. A majority of the delegations from the participating states shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the commission's business.

§ 6. Administration and management.

(a) The commission shall elect annually from among the members of the participating state delegations a chairperson, a vice chairperson, and a treasurer. The commission shall appoint an executive director and fix his or her duties and compensation. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, and together with the treasurer, shall be bonded in an amount determined by the commission. The commission may establish through its bylaws an executive committee composed of one (1) member elected by each delegation.

(b) The commission shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of its business by a two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) vote, and shall have the power by the same vote to amend and rescind these bylaws. The commission shall publish its bylaws in convenient form with the appropriate agency or officer in each of the participating states. The bylaws shall provide for appropriate notice to the delegations of all commission meetings and hearings and of the business to be transacted at such meetings or hearings. Notice also shall be given to other agencies or officers of participating states as provided by the laws of those states.

(c) The commission shall file an annual report with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, and with each of the participating states by submitting copies to the Governor, both houses of the Legislature, and the head of the state department having responsibilities for agriculture.

(d) In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere prescribed in this compact, the commission shall have the power:

(1) To sue and be sued in any state or federal court;

(2) To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(3) To acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property by gift, purchase, lease, license, or other similar manner, for its corporate purposes;

(4) To borrow money and issue notes, to provide for the rights of the holders thereof and to pledge the revenue of the commission as security therefor, subject to the provisions of § 18 of this compact;

(5) To appoint such officers, agents, and employees as it may deem necessary, prescribe their powers, duties and qualifications; and

(6) To create and abolish such offices, employments and positions as it deems necessary for the purposes of the compact and provide for the removal, term, tenure, compensation, fringe benefits, pension, and retirement rights of its officers and employees. The commission may also retain personal services on a contract basis.

§ 7. Rulemaking power.

In addition to the power to promulgate a compact over-order price or commission marketing orders as provided by this compact, the commission is further empowered to make and enforce such additional rules and regulations as it deems necessary to implement any provisions of this compact, or to effectuate in any other respect the purposes of this compact.

§ 8. Powers to promote regulatory uniformity, simplicity, and interstate cooperation.

The commission is hereby empowered to:

(1) Investigate or provide for investigations or research projects designed to review the existing laws and regulations of the participating states, to consider their administration and costs, to measure their impact on the production and marketing of milk and their effects on the shipment of milk and milk products within the region.

(2) Study and recommend to the participating states joint or cooperative programs for the administration of the dairy marketing laws and regulations and to prepare estimates of cost savings and benefits of such programs.

(3) Encourage the harmonious relationships between the various elements in the industry for the solution of their material problems. Conduct symposia or conferences designed to improve industry relations, or a better understanding of problems.

(4) Prepare and release periodic reports on activities and results of the commission's efforts to the participating states.

(5) Review the existing marketing system for milk and milk products and recommend changes in the existing structure for assembly and distribution of milk which may assist, improve or promote more efficient assembly and distribution of milk.

(6) Investigate costs and charges for producing, hauling, handling, processing, distributing, selling and for all other services performed with respect to milk.

(7) Examine current economic forces affecting producers, probable trends in production and consumption, the level of dairy farm prices in relation to costs, the financial conditions of dairy farmers, and the need for an emergency order to relieve critical conditions on dairy farms.

§ 9. Equitable farm prices.

(a) The powers granted in this section and § 10 of this compact shall apply only to the establishment of a compact over-order price, so long as federal milk marketing orders remain in effect in the region. In the event that any or all such orders are terminated, this article shall authorize the commission to establish one or more commission marketing orders, as herein provided, in the region or parts thereof as defined in the order.

(b) A compact over-order price established pursuant to this section shall apply only to Class I milk. Such compact over-order price shall not exceed One Dollar and Fifty Cents ($1.50) per gallon at Atlanta, Georgia; however, this compact over-order price shall be adjusted upward or downward at other locations in the region to reflect differences in minimum federal order prices. Beginning in 1990, and using that year as a base, the foregoing One Dollar and Fifty Cents ($1.50) per gallon maximum shall be adjusted annually by the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. For purposes of the pooling and equalization of an over-order price, the value of milk used in other use classifications shall be calculated at the appropriate class price established pursuant to the applicable federal order or state dairy regulation and the value of unregulated milk shall be calculated in relation to the nearest prevailing class price in accordance with and subject to such adjustments as the commission may prescribe in regulations.

(c) A commission marketing order shall apply to all classes and uses of milk.

(d) The commission is hereby empowered to establish a compact over-order price for milk to be paid by pool plants and partially regulated plants. The commission is also empowered to establish a compact over-order price to be paid by all handlers receiving milk from producers located in a regulated area. This price shall be established either as a compact over-order price or by one or more commission marketing orders. Whenever such a price has been established by either type of regulation, the legal obligation to pay such price shall be determined solely by the terms and purpose of the regulation without regard to the situs of the transfer of title, possession or any other factors not related to the purposes of the regulation and this compact. Producer-handlers as defined in an applicable federal market order shall not be subject to a compact over-order price. The commission shall provide for similar treatment of producer-handlers under commission marketing orders.

(e) In determining the price, the commission shall consider the balance between production and consumption of milk and milk products in the regulated area, the costs of production including, but not limited to the price of feed, the cost of labor including the reasonable value of the producer's own labor and management, machinery expense, and interest expense, the prevailing price for milk outside the regulated area, the purchasing power of the public and the price necessary to yield a reasonable return to the producer and distributor.

(f) When establishing a compact over-order price, the commission shall take such other action as is necessary and feasible to help ensure that the over-order price does not cause or compensate producers so as to generate local production of milk in excess of those quantities necessary to assure consumers of an adequate supply for fluid purposes.

(g) The commission shall whenever possible enter into agreements with state or federal agencies for exchange of information or services for the purpose of reducing regulatory burden and cost of administering the compact. The commission may reimburse other agencies for the reasonable cost of providing these services.

§ 10. Optional provisions for pricing order.

Regulations establishing a compact over-order price or a commission marketing order may contain, but shall not be limited to any of the following:

(1) Provisions classifying milk in accordance with the form in which or purpose for which it is used, or creating a flat pricing program.

(2) With respect to a commission marketing order only, provisions establishing or providing a method for establishing separate minimum prices for each use classification prescribed by the commission, or a single minimum price for milk purchased from producers or associations of producers.

(3) With respect to an over-order minimum price, provisions establishing or providing a method for establishing such minimum price for Class I milk.

(4) Provisions for establishing either an over-order price or a commission marketing order may make use of any reasonable method for establishing such price or prices including flat pricing and formula pricing. Provision may also be made for location adjustments, zone differentials and for competitive credits with respect to regulated handlers who market outside the regulated area.

(5) Provisions for the payment to all producers and associations of producers delivering milk to all handlers or uniform prices for all milk so delivered, irrespective of the uses made of such milk by the individual handler to whom it is delivered, or for the payment of producers delivering milk to the same handler of uniform prices for all milk delivered by them.

(A) With respect to regulations, establishing a compact over-order price, the commission may establish one (1) equalization pool within the regulated area for the sole purpose of equalizing returns to producers throughout the regulated area.

(B) With respect to any commission marketing order, as defined in § 2, subdivision (3) of this compact, which replaces one or more terminated federal orders or state dairy regulations, the marketing area of now separate state or federal orders shall not be merged without the affirmative consent of each state, voting through its delegation, which is partly or wholly included within any such marketing area.

(6) Provisions requiring persons who bring Class I milk into the regulated area to make compensatory payments with respect to all such milk to the extent necessary to equalize the cost of milk purchased by handlers subject to a compact over-order price or commission marketing order. No such provisions shall discriminate against milk producers outside the regulated area. The provisions for compensatory payments may require payment of the difference between the Class I price required to be paid for such milk in the state of production by a federal milk marketing order or state dairy regulation and the Class I price established by the compact over-order price or commission marketing order.

(7) Provisions specially governing the pricing and pooling of milk handled by partially regulated plants.

(8) Provisions requiring that the account of any person regulated under the compact over-order price shall be adjusted for any payments made to or received by such persons with respect to a producer settlement fund of any federal or state milk marketing order or other state dairy regulation within the regulated area.

(9) Provision requiring the payment by handlers of an assessment to cover the costs of the administration and enforcement of such order pursuant to Article VII, § 18(a) of this compact.

(10) Provisions for reimbursement to participants of the Women, Infants and Children Special Supplemental Food Program of the United States Child Nutrition Act of 1966.

(11) Other provisions and requirements as the commission may find are necessary or appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this compact and to provide for the payment of fair and equitable minimum prices to producers.

§ 11. Rulemaking procedure.

Before promulgation of any regulations establishing a compact over-order price or commission marketing order, including any provision with respect to milk supply under subsection 9(f) of this compact, or amendment thereof, as provided in Article IV, the commission shall conduct an informal rulemaking proceeding to provide interested persons with an opportunity to present data and views. Such rulemaking proceeding shall be governed by Section 4 of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, as amended ( 5 U.S.C. § 553 ). In addition, the commission shall, to the extent practicable, publish notice of rulemaking proceedings in the official register of each participating state. Before the initial adoption of regulations establishing a compact over-order price or a commission marketing order and thereafter before any amendment with regard to prices or assessments, the commission shall hold a public hearing. The commission may commence a rulemaking proceeding on its own initiative or may in its sole discretion act upon the petition of any person including individual milk producers, any organization of milk producers or handlers, general farm organizations, consumer or public interest groups, and local, state or federal officials.

§ 12. Findings and referendum.

(a) In addition to the concise general statement of basis and purpose required by Section 4(b) of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, as amended ( 5 U.S.C. § 553(c) ), the commission shall make findings of fact with respect to:

(1) Whether the public interest will be served by the establishment of minimum milk prices to dairy farmers under Article IV of this compact.

(2) What level of prices will assure that producers receive a price sufficient to cover their costs of production and will elicit an adequate supply of milk for the inhabitants of the regulated area and for manufacturing purposes.

(3) Whether the major provisions of the order, other than those fixing minimum milk prices, are in the public interest and are reasonably designed to achieve the purposes of the order.

(4) Whether the terms of the proposed regional order or amendment are approved by producers as provided in § 13 of this compact.

§ 13. Producer referendum.

(a) For the purpose of ascertaining whether the issuance or amendment of regulations establishing a compact over-order price or a commission marketing order, including any provision with respect to milk supply under subsection 9(f) of this compact, is approved by producers, the commission shall conduct a referendum among producers. The referendum shall be held in a timely manner, as determined by regulation of the commission. The terms and conditions of the proposed order or amendment shall be described by the commission in the ballot used in the conduct of the referendum, but the nature, content, or extent of such description shall not be a basis for attacking the legality of the order or any action relating thereto.

(b) An order or amendment shall be deemed approved by producers if the commission determines that it is approved by at least two-thirds ( 2 / 3 ) of the voting producers who, during a representative period determined by the commission, have been engaged in the production of milk the price of which would be regulated under the proposed order or amendment.

(c) For purposes of any referendum, the commission shall consider the approval or disapproval by any cooperative association of producers, qualified under the provisions of the Act of Congress of February 18, 1922, as amended, known as the Capper-Volstead Act, bona fide engaged in marketing milk, or in rendering services for or advancing the interests of producers of such commodity, as the approval or disapproval of the producers who are members or stockholders in, or under contract with, such cooperative association of producers, except as provided in subdivision (1) hereof and subject to the provisions of subdivisions (2) through (5) hereof.

(1) No cooperative which has been formed to act as a common marketing agency for both cooperatives and individual producers shall be qualified to block vote for either.

(2) Any cooperative which is qualified to block vote shall, before submitting its approval or disapproval in any referendum, give prior written notice to each of its members as to whether and how it intends to cast its vote. The notice shall be given in a timely manner as established, and in the form prescribed, by the commission.

(3) Any producer may obtain a ballot from the commission in order to register approval or disapproval of the proposed order.

(4) A producer who is a member of a cooperative which has provided notice of its intent to approve or not to approve a proposed order, and who obtains a ballot and with such ballot expresses his approval or disapproval of the proposed order, shall notify the commission as to the name of the cooperative of which he or she is a member, and the commission shall remove such producer's name from the list certified by such cooperative with its corporate vote.

(5) In order to insure that all milk producers are informed regarding the proposed order, the commission shall notify all milk producers that an order is being considered and that each producer may register his approval or disapproval with the commission either directly or through his or her cooperative.

§ 14. Termination of over-order price or marketing order.

(a) The commission shall terminate any regulations establishing an over-order price or commission marketing order issued under this article whenever it finds that such order or price obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the declared policy of this compact.

(b) The commission shall terminate any regulations establishing an over-order price or a commission marketing order issued under this article whenever it finds that such termination is favored by a majority of the producers who, during a representative period determined by the commission, have been engaged in the production of milk the price of which is regulated by such order, but such termination shall be effective only if announced on or before such date as may be specified in such marketing agreement or order.

(c) The termination or suspension of any order or provision thereof shall not be considered an order within the meaning of this article and shall require no hearing, but shall comply with the requirements for informal rulemaking prescribed by Section 4 of the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, as amended ( 5 U.S.C. § 553 ).

§ 15. Records; reports; access to premises.

(a) The commission may by rule and regulation prescribe recordkeeping and reporting requirements for all regulated persons. For purposes of the administration and enforcement of this compact, the commission is authorized to examine the books and records of any regulated person relating to his or her milk business and for that purpose, the commission's properly designated officers, employees, or agents shall have full access during normal business hours to the premises and records of all regulated persons.

(b) Information furnished to or acquired by the commission officers, employees, or its agents pursuant to this section shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure except to the extent that the commission deems disclosure to be necessary in any administrative or judicial proceeding involving the administration or enforcement of this compact, an over-order price, a compact marketing order, or other regulations of the commission. The commission may promulgate regulations further defining the confidentiality of information pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit (i) the issuance of general statements based upon the reports of a number of handlers, which do not identify the information furnished by any person, or (ii) the publication by direction of the commission of the name of any person violating any regulation of the commission, together with a statement of the particular provisions violated by such person.

(c) No officer, employee, or agent of the commission shall intentionally disclose information, by inference or otherwise, which is made confidential pursuant to this section. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or to imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or to both, and shall be removed from office. The commission shall refer any allegation of a violation of this section to the appropriate state enforcement authority or United States Attorney.

§ 16. Subpoena; hearings and judicial review.

(a) The commission is hereby authorized and empowered by its members and its properly designated officers to administer oaths and issue subpoenas throughout all signatory states to compel the attendance of witnesses and the giving of testimony and the production of other evidence.

(b) Any handler subject to an order may file a written petition with the commission stating that any such order or any provision of any such order or any obligation imposed in connection therewith is not in accordance with law and praying for a modification thereof or to be exempted therefrom. He shall thereupon be given an opportunity for a hearing upon such petition, in accordance with regulations made by the commission. After such hearing, the commission shall make a ruling upon the prayer of such petition which shall be final, if in accordance with law.

(c) The district courts of the United States in any district in which such handler is an inhabitant, or has his principal place of business, are hereby vested with jurisdiction to review such ruling, provided a complaint for that purpose is filed within thirty (30) days from the date of the entry of such ruling. Service of process in such proceedings may be had upon the commission by delivering to it a copy of the complaint. If the court determines that such ruling is not in accordance with law, it shall remand such proceedings to the commission with directions either (1) to make such ruling as the court shall determine to be in accordance with law, or (2) to take such further proceedings as, in its opinion, the law requires. The pendency of proceedings instituted pursuant to this subdivision shall not impede, hinder, or delay the commission from obtaining relief pursuant to § 17 of this compact. Any proceedings brought pursuant to § 17 of this compact, except where brought by way of counterclaim in proceedings instituted pursuant to this section, shall abate whenever a final decree has been rendered in proceedings between the same parties, and covering the same subject matter, instituted pursuant to this section.

§ 17. Enforcement with respect to handlers.

(a) Any violation by a handler of the provisions of regulations establishing an over-order price or a commission marketing order, or other regulations adopted pursuant to this compact shall:

(1) Constitute a violation of the laws of each of the signatory states. Such violation shall render the violator subject to a civil penalty in an amount as may be prescribed by the laws of each of the participating states, recoverable in any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction. Each day such violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.

(2) Constitute grounds for the revocation of license or permit to engage in the milk business under the applicable laws of the participating states.

(b) With respect to handlers, the commission shall enforce the provisions of this compact, regulations establishing an over-order price, a commission marketing order or other regulations adopted hereunder by:

(1) Commencing an action for legal or equitable relief brought in the name of the commission of any state or federal court of competent jurisdiction; or

(2) Referral to the state agency for enforcement by judicial or administrative remedy with the agreement of the appropriate state agency of a participating state.

(c) With respect to handlers, the commission may bring an action for injunction to enforce the provisions of this compact or the order or regulations adopted thereunder without being compelled to allege or prove that an adequate remedy of law does not exist.

§ 18. Finance of start-up and regular costs.

(a) To provide for its start-up costs, the commission may borrow money pursuant to its general power under § 6, subdivision (d), paragraph four (4) of this compact. In order to finance the costs of administration and enforcement of this compact, including payback of start-up costs, the commission is hereby empowered to collect an assessment from each handler who purchases milk from producers within the region. If imposed, this assessment shall be collected on a monthly basis for up to one (1) year from the date the commission convenes, in an amount not to exceed $.015 per hundredweight of milk purchased from producers during the period of the assessment. The initial assessment may apply to the projected purchases of handlers for the two-month period following the date the commission convenes. In addition, if regulations establishing an over-order price or a compact marketing order are adopted, they may include an assessment for the specific purpose of their administration. These regulations shall provide for establishment of a reserve for the commission's ongoing operating expenses.

(b) The commission shall not pledge the credit of any participating state or of the United States. Notes issued by the commission and all other financial obligations incurred by it shall be its sole responsibility and no participating state or the United States shall be liable therefor.

§ 19. Audit and accounts.

(a) The commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements, which shall be subject to the audit and accounting procedures established under its rules. In addition, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the commission shall be audited yearly by a qualified public accountant and the report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the commission.

(b) The accounts of the commission shall be open at any reasonable time for inspection by duly constituted officers of the participating states and by any persons authorized by the commission.

(c) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to prevent commission compliance with laws relating to audit or inspection of accounts by or on behalf of any participating state or of the United States.

§ 20. Entry into force; additional members.

The compact shall enter into force effective when enacted into law by any three (3) states of the group of states composed of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia and when the consent of Congress has been obtained.

§ 21. Withdrawal from compact.

Any participating state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing the same, but no such withdrawal shall take effect until one (1) year after notice in writing of the withdrawal is given to the commission and the governors of all other participating states. No withdrawal shall affect any liability already incurred by or chargeable to a participating state prior to the time of such withdrawal.

§ 22. Severability.

If any part or provision of this compact is adjudged invalid by any court, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part or provision directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this compact. In the event Congress consents to this compact subject to conditions, said conditions shall not impair the validity of this compact when said conditions are accepted by three (3) or more compacting states. A compacting state may accept the conditions of Congress by implementation of this compact.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-315 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-315
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-315
Status: in_force

(1) A person violating the provisions of Sections 69-29-305 , 69-29-307 and 69-29-309 , upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than three (3) years, or both.

(2) A person violating the provisions of Section 69-29-311 , upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-9-1 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 9-1
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-9-1
Status: in_force

The purpose of this chapter is to promote the growth and development of the soybean industry in Mississippi by research, advertisement promotions and education and market development, thereby promoting the general welfare of the people of this state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-369 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 9 / Section 27-369
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-369
Status: in_force

(1) The Soil and Water Conservation Commission is hereby authorized to retain all funds generated from the sale of equipment. Any funds made available from the sale of equipment shall be deposited into the special fund in the State Treasury to the credit of the Soil and Water Conservation Commission and shall be used solely for the purpose of purchasing equipment.

(2) Sales of equipment may be made by the Soil and Water Conservation Commission by any lawful method, including public auction. The Department of Audit shall adopt rules and regulations governing any sale conducted by public auction.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-103 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 27-103
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-103
Status: in_force

The university is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to formulate and submit to the Secretary of Agriculture, in conformity with the provisions of said Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, a state plan for each calendar year. It shall be the purpose of each such plan to promote such utilization of land and such farming practices as the university finds will tend, in conjunction with the operation of such other plans as may be approved for other states by the Secretary of Agriculture, to preserve and improve soil fertility, promote the economic use of land, diminish the exploitation and wasteful and unscientific use of natural soil resources, and reestablish and maintain the ratio between the purchasing power of the net income per person on farms and that of the income per person not on farms as defined in subsection (a) of Section 7 of said Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Each such plan shall provide for adjustments in the utilization of land and in farming practices, through agreements with producers or through other voluntary methods, and for benefit payments in connection therewith, and also for such methods of administration not in conflict with any law of this state and such reports as the Secretary of Agriculture finds necessary for the effective administration of the plan and for ascertaining whether the plan is being carried out according to its terms.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-15 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-15
Status: in_force

It shall be unlawful for a person to remove any collar, tag or marking device on any animal not owned by such person and without the permission of the owner of the animal. Any person violating the provisions of this section, upon conviction for a first violation, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or by both. Any person violating the provisions of this section, upon conviction for a second or subsequent violation, shall be punished by imprisonment in the Penitentiary for not less than one (1) year or a fine of not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-365 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 8 / Section 27-365
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-365
Status: in_force

Sections 69-27-345 through 69-27-363 , without reference to any statute not referred to herein, shall be deemed to be full and complete authority for the issuance of such bonds, and shall be construed as an additional and alternative method therefor, and none of the present restrictions, requirements, conditions or limitations of law applicable to the issuance or sale of bonds, notes or other obligations by the state shall apply to the issuance and sale of bonds under Sections 69-27-345 through 69-27-363 , and no proceedings shall be required for the issuance of such bonds other than those provided for and required herein, and all powers necessary to be exercised in order to carry out the provisions of Sections 69-27-345 through 69-27-363 are hereby conferred.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-24-15 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 24-15
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-24-15
Status: in_force

(1) It is the duty of the commissioner and State Chemist, who may act through their duly authorized agents, to sample, inspect, make analyses of, and test soil or plant amendments distributed within the State of Mississippi at any time and place, and to such an extent they may deem necessary to determine whether such soil or plant amendments are in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. The commissioner, individually or through his agents, is authorized to enter upon any public or private premises of carriers during regular business hours in order to have access to soil or plant amendments subject to provisions of the chapter and the rules and regulations pertaining thereto, and to the records relating to their distribution.

(2) The methods of analysis and sampling shall be those adopted by the State Chemist from sources such as the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, or other sources acceptable to the State Chemist.

(3) The results of official analyses of soil or plant amendments and portions of official samples shall be distributed by the State Chemist as provided by regulation.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-47 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 5 / Section 27-47
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-27-47
Status: in_force

Any landowner or operator may file a petition with the board of adjustment alleging that there are great practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in the way of his carrying out upon his lands the strict letter of the land-use regulations prescribed by ordinance approved by the commissioners, and praying the board to authorize a variance from the terms of the land-use regulations in the application of such regulations to the lands owned or operated by the petitioner. Copies of such petition shall be served by the petitioner upon the chairman of the commissioners of the district within which his lands are located and upon the chairman of the State Soil and Water Conservation committee. The board of adjustment shall fix a time for the hearing of the petition and cause due notice of such hearing to be given. The commissioners of the district and the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee shall have the right to appear and be heard at such hearing. Any owner or operator of lands lying within the district who shall object to the authorizing of the variance prayed for may intervene and become a party to the proceedings. Any party to the hearing before the board may appear in person, by agent, or by attorney. If, upon the facts presented at such hearing, the board shall determine that there are great practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship in the way of applying the strict letter of any of the land-use regulations upon the lands of the petitioner, it shall make and record such determination and shall make and record findings of fact as to the specific conditions which establish such great practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship. Upon the basis of such findings and determination, the board shall have power by order to authorize such variance from the terms of land-use regulations in their application to the lands of the petitioner, as will relieve such great practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship and will not be contrary to the public interest, and such that the spirit of the land-use regulations shall be observed, the public health, safety, and welfare secured, and substantial justice done.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-309 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 15-309
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-15-309
Status: in_force

If it shall be determined by the State Veterinarian, or his authorized agent, that any county or counties shall be partially or completely infested with the cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus), the board of supervisors of said counties which are partially or completely infested with the cattle tick (Margaropus annulatus) shall immediately take up the work of systematic tick eradication as provided in this article.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-205 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 1 / Section 29-205
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-29-205
Status: in_force

It shall be the duty of the secretary of each county association to file annually with the Governor a report, countersigned by the president and treasurer of the association, showing the names of all officers and directors, the number of members, the amount of dues collected, the amount paid by the association in rewards, the number of arrests and convictions, the number of thefts of livestock and poultry, and the number stolen and recovered. It shall be the duty of the Governor to report to the Legislature in detail his expenditures from contingent fund, in an itemized statement, and he shall have on file in his office for the information of members of the Legislature the information furnished by the various county associations.
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-46-7 — MS Code / Title 69 / Chapter 3 / Section 46-7
Miss. Code Ann. § 69-46-7
Status: in_force

(1)(a) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may accept and expend funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the Legislature and funds from any other source in order to carry out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. Such funds shall be deposited into a special fund hereby established in the State Treasury to be known as the “Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund.” Unexpended amounts derived from bond proceeds or private funds, or both, remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any investment earnings or interest earned on such amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. All other unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall lapse into the State General Fund. The board may provide to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce not more than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 538, Laws of 2001, and/or Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 542, Laws of 2002, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Department of Agriculture may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds. The board may provide to the Mississippi Development Authority not more than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 538, Laws of 2001, and/or Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 542, Laws of 2002, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the Mississippi Development Authority in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Development Authority may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Development Authority may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(b)(i) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may provide to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce not more than One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1 of Laws of 2004, Third Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(ii) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may provide to the Mississippi Development Authority not more than One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1 of Laws of 2004, Third Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the Mississippi Development Authority in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Development Authority may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Mississippi Development Authority may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(iii) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board may provide to the Department of Audit not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1 of Laws of 2004, Third Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Department of Audit may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91(c) . The Department of Audit may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(2) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board shall set aside One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) of the monies in the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund, that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, for the purpose of providing funds to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce for use in making payments to ethanol producers under Section 69-51-5 during the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30, 2004. Any monies set aside which are not used for such purposes during the fiscal year shall no longer be set aside for such purposes after the end of the fiscal year. In addition, if the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce determines during such fiscal year that no ethanol producer will be eligible for such payments during the fiscal year, the commissioner shall inform the board of his determination and the monies set aside shall no longer be set aside for such purposes. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may escalate its budget and expend funds, when provided by the board under this subsection (2), in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

(3) In anticipation of the issuance of bonds authorized for the purpose of providing funds for the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund, the State Bond Commission is authorized to negotiate and enter into any purchase, loan, credit or other agreement with any bank, trust company or other lending institution or to issue and sell interim notes for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. All borrowings made under this subsection (3) shall be evidenced by notes of the State of Mississippi, which shall be issued from time to time, for such amounts, in such form and in such denomination and subject to such terms and conditions of sale and issuance, prepayment or redemption and maturity, rate or rates of interest not to exceed the maximum rate authorized for bonds in Section 75-17-101 , and time of payment of interest as the State Bond Commission shall agree to in such agreement. Such notes shall constitute general obligations of the State of Mississippi, and shall be backed by the full faith and credit of the state. Such notes may also be issued for the purpose of refunding previously issued notes. No note shall mature more than three (3) years following the date of its issuance. The State Bond Commission is authorized to provide for the compensation of any purchaser of the notes by payment of a fixed fee or commission and for all other costs and expenses of issuance and service, including paying agent costs. Such costs and expenses may be paid from the proceeds of the notes. Borrowings made under the provisions of this subsection (3) shall not exceed the aggregate sum of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) outstanding at any one time.