reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 56 - Prohibited Acts or Omissions

Section 56. No person shall (a) manufacture or distribute any commercial feed that is adulterated or misbranded;
(b) adulterate or misbrand any commercial feed;
(c) distribute agricultural commodities which are adulterated within the meaning of section fifty-four;
(d) remove or dispose of a commercial feed in violation of an order under section sixty;
(e) fail or refuse to register in accordance with section fifty-two;
(f) fail to pay registration fees and file reports as required by section fifty-two.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 57 - Enforcement of Secs. 52 to 60; Prosecution of Violations; Hearing; Notice

Section 57. The commissioner and his duly authorized assistants shall have authority to enforce sections fifty-two to sixty, inclusive, and to prosecute all violations thereof. Before any prosecutions by the commissioner or any of his duly authorized assistants, the parties concerned shall be given an opportunity to be heard before the said commissioner or a person designated by him for such purpose. The parties concerned shall be given reasonable notice of hearing specifying the day, hour and place thereof and accompanied by a description of the alleged violation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 58 - Inspection of Commercial Feed Facilities and Vehicles; Warrant; Obtaining of Official Samples for Analysis and Forwarding of Results

Section 58. The commissioner either in person or his assistants shall have free access at all reasonable hours to each building or other place in which commercial feeds are manufactured, processed, packed or held for distribution, or to enter any vehicle being used to transport or hold such feeds and to inspect at reasonable times and within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner such factory, warehouse, establishment or vehicle and all pertinent equipment, finished and unfinished materials, containers, and labeling therein. The inspection may include the verification of only such records, and production and control procedures as may be necessary to determine compliance with section fifty-four.
If the officer or employee making such inspection of a factory, warehouse, or other establishment has obtained a sample in the course of the inspection, upon completion of the inspection and prior to leaving the premises he shall give to the owner, operator, or agent in charge a receipt describing the samples obtained.
If the owner of any building, factory, warehouse, or establishment, or his agent, refuses to admit the inspector or his agent, the commissioner or his deputy is authorized to obtain from the court a warrant directing such owner or his agent to submit the premises described in such warrant to inspection.
The results of all analyses of official samples shall be forwarded by the commissioner or his deputy to the person named on the label and to the purchaser. When the inspection and analysis of an official sample indicates a commercial feed has been adulterated or misbranded and upon request within thirty days following receipt of the analysis the commissioner or his deputy shall furnish to the registrant a portion of the sample concerned.
The commissioner or his deputy in determining for administrative purposes whether a commercial feed is deficient in any component, shall be guided by the official sample as defined in section fifty-one and obtained and analyzed as provided in this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 59 - Methods for Collection and Delivery of Samples for Analysis

Section 59. Samples for analysis as stipulated in section fifty-eight shall be collected by the commissioner or his duly authorized deputy and shall be delivered to the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Massachusetts for analysis according to methods approved by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists or other approved methods.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 60 - Withdrawal of Commercial Feed From Sale; Release; Condemnation Proceedings; Seizure; Disposition

Section 60. When the commissioner or his deputy has reasonable cause to believe any lot of commercial feed is being distributed in violation of any of the provisions of sections fifty-two to fifty-eight, inclusive, or of any of the prescribed regulations promulgated thereunder, he, or his deputy may order, in writing, that it be withheld from sale. The commissioner or his deputy may release the lot of commercial feed, or customer-formula feed so withdrawn when said provisions and regulations have been complied with. If compliance is not obtained within thirty days, the commissioner or his deputy may begin, or upon request of the distributor shall begin, proceedings for condemnation.
Any lot of commercial feed not in compliance with said provisions and regulations shall be subject to seizure on complaint of the commissioner or his deputy to a court of competent jurisdiction in the area in which said commercial feed is located. In the event the court finds the said commercial feed to be in violation of sections fifty-two to fifty-eight, inclusive, and orders the condemnation of said commercial feed, it shall be disposed of in any manner consistent with the quality of the commercial feed and the laws of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 61 - Penalties; Certified Copy of Official Analysis as Prima Facie Evidence

Section 61. Whoever sells, offers or exposes for sale any commercial feed or mixture thereof without complying with the requirements of sections fifty-two to sixty, inclusive, applicable thereto, or in violation of any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or whoever falsely marks, or labels any such feed or mixture, or impedes, or obstructs, or hinders the commissioner or any of his duly authorized agents in the discharge of the authority or duties conferred or imposed by any provisions of said section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars or more than one hundred dollars for the first violation, or not less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars for a subsequent violation. In all prosecutions involving the composition of a lot of commercial feed, a certified copy of the official analysis signed by the commissioner or his agent shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the composition.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 62 - Publication of Pertinent Information and Data Concerning Commercial Feed; Results of Analysis; Confidential Status

Section 62. The commissioner or his deputy may publish annually, in such forms as he may deem proper, information concerning the sales of commercial feeds; together with such data on their production, composition and use as he may consider advisable, and a report of the results of the analyses of official samples of commercial feeds sold within the commonwealth as compared with the analyses guaranteed in the registration and on the label; but any information relating to the general business of any applicant or licensee shall be treated by the commissioner as confidential.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 65 - Plant Nutrients or Beneficial Substances; Guarantees; Sources; Inspection and Analysis

Section 65. The total phosphoric acid and the degree of fineness of unacidulated mineral phosphatic materials and basic slag, bone, tankage, and other organic phosphate materials may be guaranteed. Guarantees for plant nutrients other than nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium may be permitted or required by regulation of the commissioner. The guarantees for such other nutrients shall be expressed in the form of the element.
The sources of other nutrients may be required to be stated on the application for registration and may be included as a parenthetical statement on the label.
Other beneficial substances or compounds, determinable by laboratory methods also may be guaranteed by permission of the commissioner with the advice of the director of the agricultural experiment station.
When any plant nutrients or other substances or compounds are guaranteed, they shall be subject to inspection and analysis in accord with the methods and regulations prescribed by the commissioner.
Potential basicity or acidity expressed in terms of calcium carbonate equivalent in multiples of one hundred pounds per ton shall be guaranteed when required by regulations.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 65a - Limitation on the Purchase and Application of Phosphorus Containing Fertilizer; Additional Regulations for the Limitation of Non-Point Source Pollution From Plant Nutrients

Section 65A. (a) No person shall purchase and apply or authorize any person, by way of service contract or other arrangement, to apply in the commonwealth any phosphorus containing fertilizer on lawn or non-agricultural turf, except when:
(1) a soil test indicates that additional phosphorus is needed for growth of that lawn or non-agricultural turf; or
(2) the phosphorus fertilizer is confirmed to be used for establishing a new lawn or new non-agricultural turf area.
(b) The department shall promulgate regulations to implement subsection (a) and may, consistent with subsection (a) and in consultation with the department of environmental protection, develop additional regulations designed to limit non-point source pollution from plant nutrients including, but not limited to, phosphorous and nitrogen. Such regulations may require retailers of phosphorus containing fertilizer to display such fertilizers separately and post signs specifying when and where phosphorus containing fertilizer may be applied.
(c) Regulations promulgated under this section shall be designed to maximize credits provided to municipalities by the United States Environmental Protection Agency relative to stormwater discharge and similar permits, which the Environmental Protection Agency may require of municipalities.
(d) Violations of any regulations promulgated under this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsection (k) of section 2.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 66 - Licenses to Distribute Fertilizers; Registration of Specialty Fertilizers; Applications; Labels; Fees

Section 66. No person shall manufacture or distribute in the commonwealth any type of fertilizer, except specialty fertilizers, until a license to distribute has been obtained by the person whose labeling is applied to such fertilizer from the commissioner upon payment of a one hundred and twenty-five dollar license fee. All such licenses expire on the thirty-first day of December of each year. The application for license shall include the name and address of licensee, and this information shall be shown on all labels, pertinent invoices, and bulk storage for fertilizers distributed by the licensee in the commonwealth.
No person shall distribute in the commonwealth a specialty fertilizer, soil conditioner or agricultural liming material until it is registered by the manufacturer or distributor with the commissioner. An application in duplicate, listing each brand and product name of each grade of specialty fertilizer, for each soil conditioner, and for each agricultural liming material shall be made on a form furnished by the commissioner and shall be accompanied with a registration fee of twenty-five dollars. Labels for each product for which a registration application is made shall accompany the application. Upon approval of an application by the commissioner, a copy of the registration shall be furnished the applicant. All registrations expire on the thirty-first day of December each year. An application for registration of specialty fertilizers shall include: name and address of the manufacturer or distributor, the brand and product name, the grade, the guaranteed analysis, and the package sizes for persons that package specialty fertilizers only in containers of ten pounds or less.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 67 - Labeling of Containers of Commercial Fertilizers, Soil Conditioners and Agricultural Liming Materials; Contents

Section 67. All commercial fertilizers, soil conditioners, and agricultural liming materials distributed in the commonwealth in containers shall have placed thereon, or affixed to the container, a label setting forth in clearly legible and conspicuous form the information required by the preceding section. The foregoing information in written or printed form shall accompany bulk shipment deliveries and shall be supplied to the purchaser at the time of delivery.
All commercial fertilizers formulated according to specifications which are furnished by a consumer prior to mixing shall be labeled to show the guaranteed analysis, and the name and address of the distributor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 68 - Registration and Inspection Fees for Commercial Fertilizers, Soil Conditioners and Agricultural Liming Materials

Section 68. There shall be paid to the commissioner for all commercial fertilizers, soil conditioners, and agricultural liming materials distributed in the commonwealth, an inspection fee, set by the commissioner in rules and regulations; provided, however, that sales to manufacturers or exchanges between manufacturers are exempted from said fee on individual packages of commercial fertilizer and agricultural liming materials containing ten pounds or less.
In lieu of the annual registration fee of twenty-five dollars per brand and grade and the prescribed inspection fee there shall be paid on individual packages of specialty fertilizers containing ten pounds or less an annual registration fee and inspection fee of twenty-five dollars for each brand and grade sold or distributed. If specialty fertilizer is sold in packages of ten pounds or less, and in packages of over ten pounds, the annual registration and inspection fee of twenty-five dollars shall apply only to that portion sold in packages of ten pounds or less, and the portion sold in packages of over ten pounds shall be subject to the prescribed inspection fee.
If more than one person is involved in the distribution of a commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner, or agricultural liming material, the last person in possession before distribution to a nonlicensee or to a nonregistrant shall be responsible for reporting the tonnage and paying the inspection fee, unless the report and payment has been made by a prior distributor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 69 - Statement of Tonnage Sold; Inspection Fee; Filing; Permit to Examine Books

Section 69. Each person who sells, offers or exposes for sale any commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner, or agricultural liming material shall on or before January first and July first of each year file with the commissioner, along with the inspection fee, a statement in such form as he prescribes setting forth the number of net tons of each grade of fertilizer, each registered soil conditioner, and each agricultural liming material, and county in which it was distributed or sold by him to nonlicensees or to nonregistrants in the commonwealth during the preceding six months, together with the permit allowing the commissioner or his authorized deputy to examine the books of the person filing the statement for the purpose of verifying the same. No information furnished the commissioner under this section shall be disclosed in such a way as to divulge the operation of any person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 70 - Analysis of Fertilizers; Inspection and Taking of Samples; Publication of Results

Section 70. Each commercial fertilizer and brand of commercial fertilizer and each soil conditioner and agricultural liming material sold or offered or exposed for sale shall be subject to analysis by the commissioner or by his duly designated deputy. The commissioner shall cause to be made analyses of said materials sold or exposed for sale in the commonwealth, and he, his inspectors and deputies may enter upon any premises where such material is sold or offered or exposed for sale and take samples for said analyses. Said sampling and analyses shall be done on a random basis and in sufficient quantity to ensure effective analyses within the discretion of the commissioner. Analysis for all fertilizers shall be made by the methods adopted by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists. The said commissioner may publish or cause to be published reports and bulletins, special circulars or otherwise to show the results obtained by chemical analysis, said publications shall contain such additional information in relation to the character, composition, value, and use of the fertilizer analyzed as the commissioner sees fit to include. The results of any analysis made shall be sent by the commissioner to the person named in the printed label of the fertilizer analyzed, at least fifteen days prior to publication of any such results.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 71 - Analysis Deficiencies; Penalties

Section 71. If the analysis shall show that a commercial fertilizer is deficient (1) in one or more of its guaranteed primary plant foods (NPK) beyond the investigational allowances as established by regulation or (2) if the overall index value of the fertilizer is below the level established by regulations, a penalty of two times the commercial value of such deficiencies shall be assessed and paid to the consumer of the lot of commercial fertilizer represented by the sample analyzed within three months after the date of notice from the commissioner to the registrant or licensee, receipts taken therefor and promptly forwarded to the commissioner. If said consumer cannot be found, the amount of the penalty shall be paid to the treasury of the commonwealth. When a commercial fertilizer is subject to a penalty under clauses (1) and (2) the larger penalty shall apply. Deficiencies beyond the investigational allowances in any other constituent which the registrant is required to or may guarantee shall be evaluated and penalties prescribed therefor by the commissioner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 72 - Weight Deficiencies; Penalty

Section 72. If any commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner, or agricultural liming material in the possession of the consumer is found by the commissioner to be short in weight, the licensee or registrant of said product shall within thirty days after official notice from the commissioner pay to the consumer a penalty equal to four times the value of the actual shortage.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 73 - Determination and Publication of Values per Unit of Certain Nutrients in Fertilizers

Section 73. The commissioner shall determine and publish annually the values per unit of nitrogen, available phosphoric acid and soluble potash in commercial fertilizers in the commonwealth. The value so published shall be used in determining and assessing penalties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 74 - False or Misleading Labeling of Commercial Fertilizers, Soil Conditioners and Agricultural Liming Materials; Deleterious or Harmful Ingredients

Section 74. No person shall sell, offer, or expose for sale a commercial fertilizer or brand of commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner, or agricultural liming material if its labeling is false or misleading in any particular way, or it is distributed under the name of another product, or it is not labeled as required in section sixty-six and in accordance with rules and regulations as prescribed in section seventy-five or it purports to be or is represented as a commercial fertilizer, or represented as a plant nutrient or commercial fertilizer, unless such plant nutrient or commercial fertilizer conforms to the definition of identity, if any, prescribed by regulations.
No person shall sell, offer or expose for sale a commercial fertilizer or brand of commercial fertilizer if it contains any deleterious or harmful ingredient in sufficient amount to render it injurious to beneficial plant life when applied in accordance with directions for use on the label, or if adequate warning statements or directions for use, which may be necessary to protect plant life are not shown on the label, or its composition falls below or differs from that which it is purported to possess by its labeling, or it contains unwanted crop seed or weed seed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 75 - Rules and Regulations; Effectiveness; Violations; Prosecution, Restriction

Section 75. The commissioner may prescribe and enforce such rules and regulations as to the sale of commercial fertilizers, soil conditioners, or agricultural liming materials as he deems necessary to enforce sections sixty-four to seventy-eight, inclusive, and may prosecute or cause to be prosecuted any person who violates any provisions of said sections; provided, however, that the effective date of regulations pertaining to ''guaranteed analysis'' shall be not less than six months following the issuance thereof, and that for a period of two years following the effective date of said regulations the equivalent of phosphorus and potassium may also be shown in the form of phosphoric acid and potash; and, provided further, that after the effective date of a regulation issued under the provisions of this section, requiring that phosphorus and potassium be shown in the elemental form, the guaranteed analysis for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium shall constitute the grade. Regulations prescribed in this section shall contain the accepted definitions and official fertilizer terms issued by the Association of American Plant Food Control Officials. No complaint based upon analysis of samples shall be made if samples are taken otherwise than as provided in section seventy.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 76 - Misleading or Deceptive Practices; Violations; Refusal or Cancellation of Certificate

Section 76. The commissioner or his authorized deputy may refuse to issue a certificate for any commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner or liming material, name, brand or trade-mark which is untrue in any particular or which in his opinion would be misleading or deceptive in any particular or would tend to mislead or deceive as to the constituents or properties of said fertilizer. If a certificate is issued for said products and it is afterward discovered that the certificate itself, or the granting of it, or the manner of procuring it, was in any respect in violation of any provision of sections sixty-five to seventy-eight, inclusive, the commissioner may cancel the certificate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 77 - Analysis of Samples

Section 77. Samples for analysis as stipulated in section seventy shall be collected by the commissioner or his duly authorized deputy and shall be delivered to the Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Massachusetts for analysis according to methods approved by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists or other approved methods.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 78 - Nonconforming Products; Violations; Withholding From Sale; Release; Condemnation; Seizure; Disposal

Section 78. When the commissioner or his deputy has reasonable cause to believe any lot of commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner, or agricultural liming material, is being distributed in violation of any of the provisions of sections sixty-five to seventy-eight, inclusive, or of any of the prescribed regulations promulgated thereunder, he, or his deputy may order, in writing, that it be withheld from sale. The commissioner or his deputy may release the lot of said product, so withdrawn when said provisions and regulations have been complied with. If compliance is not obtained within thirty days, the commissioner or his deputy may begin, or upon request of the distributor shall begin, proceedings for condemnation.
Any lot of commercial fertilizer, soil conditioner, or agricultural liming material not in compliance with said provisions and regulations shall be subject to seizure on complaint of the commissioner or his deputy to a court of competent jurisdiction in the area in which said commercial fertilizer is located. In the event the court finds the said product to be in violation of sections sixty-five to seventy-eight, inclusive, and orders the condemnation of said product, it shall be disposed of in any manner consistent with the quality of the product and the laws of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 79 - Violations; Penalties; Official Analysis as Prima Facie Evidence

Section 79. Whoever sells, offers or exposes for sale any commercial fertilizer or mixture thereof, or any soil conditioner or agricultural liming material, without complying with the requirements of sections sixty-five to seventy-eight, inclusive, applicable thereto, or in violation of any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or whoever falsely marks, or labels any such product, or impedes, or obstructs, or hinders the commissioner or any of his duly authorized agents in the discharge of the authority or duties conferred or imposed by any provisions of said section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars or more than one hundred dollars for the first violation, or not less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars for a subsequent violation. In all prosecutions involving the composition of a lot of commercial fertilizer, a certified copy of the official analysis signed by the commissioner or his agent shall be accepted as prima facie evidence of the composition.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 80 - Publication of Information Concerning Fertilizers, Soil Conditioners and Agricultural Liming Materials

Section 80. The commissioner or his deputy may publish annually, in such forms as he may deem proper, information concerning the sales of commercial fertilizers, soil conditioners, and agricultural liming materials; together with such data on their production, composition and use as he may consider advisable, and a report of the results of the analyses of official samples of said products sold within the commonwealth as compared with the analyses guaranteed in the registration and on the label; but any information relating to the general business of any applicant or licensee shall be treated by the commissioner as confidential.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 82 - Rules and Regulations Relative to the Sale of Commercial Fertilizers, Soil Conditioners and Agricultural Liming Materials

Section 82. The commissioner may prescribe and enforce such rules and regulations relative to the sale of commercial fertilizers, soil conditioners, and agricultural liming materials as he deems necessary to enforce sections sixty-four through eighty-three, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 83 - Exempt Transactions

Section 83. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to restrict or avoid sales or exchanges of commercial fertilizers to each other by importers, manufacturers, or manipulators who mix fertilizer materials for sale or as preventing the free and unrestricted shipments of commercial fertilizer to manufacturers or manipulators who have obtained licenses or registrations as required by the provisions of this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 85 - Sale of Seeds; Labeling or Tagging Containers; Required Information

Section 85. Except as otherwise provided in section ninety-two, each container of agricultural, vegetable, flower or tree and shrub seed which is sold, offered for sale or exposed for sale within the commonwealth for sowing purposes shall bear thereon, or have attached thereto in a conspicuous place on one side of a plainly written or printed label or tag, in the English language, the name and address of the person who labeled said seed, or who sells, offers or exposes said seed for sale within the commonwealth. If said seed has been treated, a separate label may be used, which shall bear thereon a word or statement indicating that the seed has been treated, the commonly accepted coined, chemical or abbreviated chemical name of the applied substance, and, if the substance in the amount present with the seed is harmful to humans or other vertebrate animals, a statement advising caution such as ''Do not use for food, feed or oil purposes''. If said seed contains mercurials or similarly toxic substances, a statement or symbol shall indicate that it is poisonous. It shall contain the name and number of each kind of ''Restricted Noxious-Weed Seed'' per pound when present.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 86 - Sale of Seeds; Labeling or Tagging Containers; Variety or Cultivar Designation

Section 86. Each container of agricultural seeds, including lawn seeding mixtures, shall also bear the commonly accepted name of the kind and variety or cultivar of those kinds which are usually named as to variety or cultivar, as prescribed by rules and regulations, of each seed component in excess of five per cent of the whole and the percentage by weight of each in the order of its predominance. When the variety or cultivar thereof is unknown, the label or tag shall have printed thereon the words ''variety unknown''. When more than one component is required to be named, the word ''mixture'' or ''mixed'' shall be shown conspicuously on the label. The lot number or other lot identification, the origin, if known, of alfalfa, red clover, white clover, and field corn, except hybrid corn, shall also be shown on such label. If the origin is unknown, that fact shall be stated. The container shall bear thereon the percentage by weight of all weed seeds, the percentage by weight of agricultural seeds other than those required to be named on the label, which shall be designated as ''other crop seed'', and the percentage by weight of inert matter. For each agricultural seed named there shall appear, the percentage of germination, exclusive of hard seed, the percentage of hard seed, if present and the calendar month and year the test was completed to determine such percentages.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 87 - Vegetable Seeds; Labeling or Tagging Containers; Required Information

Section 87. Containers of one pound or less for peas, beans and sweet corn and containers of one-quarter pound or less for all other kinds of vegetable seeds shall also bear, thereon, the date of test or calendar year for which seed is packaged, and the kind and variety or cultivar of seed. For seed that germinates less than the standard last adopted by the director, there shall appear on the containers the percentage of germination, exclusive of hard seed, the percentage of hard seed, if present, the calendar month and year the test was completed to determine such percentages, and the words ''Below Standard'' in not less than eight point type.
Containers of more than one pound for peas, beans and sweet corn and containers of more than one quarter pound for all other kinds of vegetable seeds shall bear the kind and variety of seed, the lot number or other lot identification, the percentage of germination, exclusive of hard seeds the percentage of hard seeds, if present, and the calendar month and year the test was completed to determine such percentages and for seeds germinating less than the standard, the words ''Below Standard'' in not less than eight point type.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 88 - Flower Seeds; Labeling Containers; Required Information

Section 88. For flower seeds the label shall include the name of the kind and variety or cultivar, if any, or a statement of type and performance characteristics as prescribed in regulations. For those having annual, biennial and perennial sorts, or any two of such sorts, a statement shall appear in a conspicuous location on the seed container to indicate whether the seed is of the annual, biennial or perennial sort.
If flower seeds are in packets of the size for use in home flower gardens the label shall contain the date of test or calendar year for which seed is packaged.
For seeds so packaged for which standard testing procedures shall have been adopted, and which germinate less than the standard last adopted by the director and approved by the commissioner under section ninety-eight the label shall contain the percentage of germination, exclusive of hard seed, the percentage of hard seed, if present, and the calendar month and year the test was completed to determine such percentages and the words ''Below Standard'' in not less than eight point type.
For flower seeds in containers other than packets of the size prepared for use in home flower gardens there shall appear the lot number or other lot identification.
Seeds so packaged for which standard testing procedures shall have been adopted shall contain the percentage of germination, exclusive of hard seed, the percentage of hard seed, if present, and the calendar month and year the test was completed to determine such percentages. For seeds germinating less than the standard, there shall appear the words ''Below Standard'' in not less than eight point type.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 89 - Tree and Shrub Seeds; Labeling Containers; Required Information

Section 89. For tree and shrub seeds packaged in containers of one quarter pound or more, the label shall contain the kind of seed and variety or cultivar, the percentage by weight of pure seed, the percentage of germination of those kinds for which standard testing procedures have been adopted, the year of harvesting, the date of test or calendar year for which seed is packaged and the origin or specific locality, state and county in the United States or nearest equivalent political unit in the case of foreign countries in which the seed was harvested. If origin is unknown, that fact shall be stated.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 90 - Sale of Seeds; Percentage of Germination; Labeling; False Advertisements; Noxious Weed Seeds

Section 90. No person shall sell, offer for sale or expose for sale any agricultural, vegetable, flower or tree and shrub seed within the commonwealth unless the test to determine the percentage of germination required by sections eighty-six to eighty-nine, inclusive was completed within a nine-month period, exclusive of the calendar month in which the test was completed, immediately prior to sale, exposure for sale or offering for sale or transportation. The records of such tests shall be available to the commissioner or his duly authorized assistants for a period of at least one year from date of test. The director may by rules and regulations designate a shorter period for kinds of seed which he finds under ordinary conditions of handling will not maintain during the aforesaid nine-month period, a germination within the established limits of tolerance, or a longer period for any kind of seed which is packaged in such container materials and under conditions such as provided for by hermetically sealed containers, prescribed by the director as he finds will, during such longer period, maintain the viability of said seed under ordinary conditions of handling.
Neither shall seed be sold which is not labeled in accordance with the provisions of sections eighty-four to one hundred and one, inclusive; nor which bears false or misleading labeling; nor pertaining to which there has been a false or misleading advertisement; nor consisting of or containing, ''Prohibited noxious weed seeds'' nor consisting of or containing ''Restricted noxious weed seeds'' at a rate per pound in excess of the number declared on the label attached to the container of the seed or associated with the seed, subject to tolerances; nor containing more than one per cent of all weed seeds; nor labeled to use the word ''trace'' as a substitute for any statement as to quality or percentage which is required; nor shall seed be sold which is so weak or low in germination according to standards adopted by rules and regulations prescribed by the director under the provisions of section ninety-eight as to be unfit for seeding purposes; nor which is represented to be ''certified seed'', ''registered seed'' or ''foundation seed'' or designated by any other term conveying similar meanings, unless such seed has been produced, processed and labeled in accordance with the procedures and in compliance with the rules and regulations of an officially recognized certification agency or agencies and bears an official tag or label of such an agency, or which is represented as hybrid seed unless such seed conforms to the definition of hybrid in section eighty-four, except that this provision shall not apply to variety names in common trade usage.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 91 - Defacing or Destroying Labels; False Advertising; Prohibited Sales

Section 91. No person within the commonwealth shall detach, alter, deface or destroy any label provided for in said sections eighty-four to one hundred and one, inclusive, or the regulations promulgated thereunder; nor alter or substitute seed, in a manner that may defeat the purpose of said sections; nor disseminate any false or misleading advertisement concerning agricultural, vegetable, flower or tree and shrub seed; nor hinder or obstruct any authorized person in the performance of his duties under said sections eighty-four to one hundred and one, inclusive; nor fail to comply with an official order to withhold from sale certain seeds as provided in section ninety-five; nor move or otherwise handle or dispose of any lot of seed held under a ''stop-sale'' order or tags attached thereto, except with the written permission of the enforcing officer, and for the purpose specified therein.
No person shall sell, offer or expose for sale any color mixture of a single kind of flower seed representing four or more colors or shades, in which any one color or shade occurs in sixty per cent or more of the plants which the mixture is capable of producing, unless colors or shades and approximate percentage of each is indicated on the label, or sell, offer or expose for sale a mixture of flower seed kinds in which any one kind is present in excess of twenty-five per cent by seed count unless the kinds present and the approximate percentage of each are indicated on the label.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 92 - Application of Secs. 85 to 91

Section 92. Sections eighty-five to ninety-one, inclusive, shall neither apply to seed or grain not intended for sowing purposes, nor to seed for sowing purposes in storage in, or consigned to, a seed cleaning or processing establishment for cleaning or processing; provided, that the invoice or labeling accompanying any shipment of seed bears the statement ''seeds for processing'', and provided that any labeling or other representation made with respect to the uncleaned or unprocessed seed shall be subject to sections eighty-four to one hundred, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 93 - Exemption From Penalty of Sec. 100; Limitations

Section 93. No person shall be subject to the penalties of section one hundred for having sold or offered or exposed for sale in the commonwealth any agricultural, vegetable, flower or tree and shrub seeds which were incorrectly labeled or represented as to kind, variety (cultivar) or origin, which seeds cannot be identified by examination thereof, unless he has failed to obtain an invoice or grower's declaration or other labeling information giving kind, variety or origin, if required, and to take such other precautions as may be necessary to insure the identity to be that stated.
The labeling requirements for all vegetable and agricultural seeds, including mixtures, flower and tree or shrub seeds shall be considered to have been met if the seed is taken from a properly labeled container in the presence of the purchaser.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 94 - Enforcement; Prosecutions

Section 94. The commissioner and his duly authorized assistants shall have authority to enforce sections eighty-four to one hundred and one, inclusive, and to prosecute all violations thereof. Before any prosecution is begun by said commissioner or any of his duly authorized assistants, the parties concerned shall be given an opportunity to be heard before said commissioner or a person designated by him for such purpose. The parties concerned shall be given reasonable notice of the hearing, specifying the day, hour and place thereof, and accompanied by a description of the alleged violation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 95 - Access for Inspection; Taking Samples for Tests and Analyses; Cooperation With United States Department of Agriculture; Withholding Seeds From Sale

Section 95. The commissioner, either in person or his assistants, shall have free access at all reasonable hours to each building or other place where agricultural seeds or mixtures thereof, vegetable seeds, flower seeds or tree and shrub seeds are stored, sold or offered or exposed for sale, for the purpose of inspection of such seeds, and, upon tendering the market price, may take samples of such agricultural, vegetable, flower or tree and shrub seeds or mixtures thereof for tests and analyses.
Such samples shall be thoroughly mixed and two official samples taken therefrom; each official sample shall be securely sealed. Such official samples shall be submitted by said commissioner or his duly authorized assistants to the director for testing and analyzing. One of such samples shall be held by the director or his duly authorized assistant at the disposal of the person named on the label as the vendor of the seed samples for six months after the results of the analysis have been reported, as provided in section ninety-seven, and the other sample retained by the director or such assistant for analysis.
The commissioner shall co-operate with the United States department of agriculture in seed law enforcement.
The commissioner may order that any agricultural seeds or mixtures thereof, vegetable seeds, flower seeds or tree and shrub seeds, the containers of which he finds are not tagged or labeled as provided in section eighty-five or which do not conform to the statements on the tags or labels attached to the containers thereof, be withheld from sale until properly tagged or labeled or until made to conform to the statements on the tags or labels attached to the containers thereof. Any person aggrieved by such an order may, within ten days after the entry thereof, appeal therefrom by petition to the superior court in the county where he resides or has his usual place of business or in the county of Suffolk. The court shall hear such petition speedily in accordance with the usual course of procedure in equity, and may affirm, modify or revoke such order. Such order shall remain in force until so modified or revoked.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 128 - Agriculture › Section 96 - Seizure and Condemnation; Court Proceedings

Section 96. Any lot of agricultural, vegetable, flower or tree and shrub seed not in compliance with the provisions of sections eighty-four to one hundred, inclusive, shall be subject to seizure on complaint of the commissioner to a court of competent jurisdiction in the area in which the seed is located. If the court finds the seed to be in violation of said sections, and orders the condemnation of such seed, it shall be denatured, processed, destroyed, relabeled, or otherwise disposed of in compliance with the laws of the commonwealth; provided, that the court shall not order such disposition of such seed without first having given the claimant an opportunity to apply to the court for release of such seed or permission to process or relabel it to bring it into compliance with said sections.