2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 36 - Organization of the Executive Branch › §36:628. Offices; purposes and functions

RS 36:628 - Offices; purposes and functions
A. The purposes for which the offices of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry are created shall be as set forth in this Section.
B. Repealed by Acts 2009, No. 24, §7, eff. June 12, 2009.
C.(1) The office of agricultural and environmental sciences shall administer the provisions of law relating to fertilizers, seeds, plant diseases, pesticides, horticulture, and apiaries. The office shall perform technical services and laboratory functions for the farmers of the state and shall perform functions designed to expand and improve seed certification; increase production of rice and nursery stock; monitor and provide for the prevention, control, and eradication of regulated and exotic crop pests or diseases endangering Louisiana's agricultural, horticultural, and apiary industries; assure that products certified for export are free from pests; oversee the qualifications and practices of persons engaged in the green industry; sample pesticides, fertilizer, seed, and agricultural materials to assure that they meet all requirements of law and regulation; assure the proper labeling, distribution, storage, sale, offering for sale, and application of pesticides; license and regulate pesticide applicators and pest control companies; regulate the treatment, storage, and disposal of pesticide wastes; and perform other related functions, all in accordance with applicable law.
(2) The division of pesticide and environmental programs within the office of agricultural and environmental sciences shall administer the provisions of law relating to the treatment, storage, or disposal of pesticide wastes. The division shall coordinate programs for pesticide waste control with the appropriate agencies or departments within the state and federal government.
D. The office of agro-consumer services shall perform the functions of the state relating to the inspection of dairy products, the regulation of weights and measures, the licensing and inspection of statewide bonded warehouses, grain dealers, and cotton merchants and other such functions which insure quality agricultural products for the consumer, all in accordance with applicable law.
E. The office of animal health and food safety shall be responsible for the inspection of meat, fruits, and vegetables, the control and eradication of infectious diseases that affect the livestock and poultry industries of the state, the control of livestock theft and denying a market for stolen cattle and horses in Louisiana, the regulation of the manufacturing and sale of commercial feeds, and the enforcement of Louisiana-grown products and performance of other related functions, all in accordance with applicable law.
F. The office of forestry, under the direction of the commissioner, shall perform the functions of the state relating to the practice of forestry, in accordance with the policies established by the forestry commission, including the administration and supervision of the programs of the state for the protection, management, and preservation of this natural resource; shall execute the state laws relating to forestry and reforestation; and shall cooperate with the United States Forest Service in accordance with law.
G. The office of soil and water conservation, under the direction of the commissioner, shall perform the functions of the state relating to soil and water conservation.
Added by Acts 1977, No. 83, §1, eff. June 22, 1977. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 497, §1; Acts 1981, No. 158, §2; Acts 1981, No. 391, §2; Acts 1986, No. 581, §2, eff. July 2, 1986; Acts 1988, No. 91, §1; Acts 2008, No. 920, §4, eff. July 14, 2008; Acts 2009, No. 24, §§3 and 7, eff. June 12, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 861, §17; Acts 2017, No. 52, §1; Acts 2020, No. 80, §1.
NOTE: See Acts 2009, No. 24, §§9-11 relative to transfer of certain authority to the La. Agricultural Finance Authority (associated with abolition of office of marketing and agro-economic development and State Market Commission).