2023 Nebraska Revised Statutes › Chapter 2 - Agriculture › 2-511 - Negligent violations; director; powers; criminal enforcement; ineligibility to obtain license; corrective action plan; contents; administrative fine; recovery.

2-511.
Negligent violations; director; powers; criminal enforcement; ineligibility to obtain license; corrective action plan; contents; administrative fine; recovery.
(1) For purposes of this section, a negligent violation shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Failure to provide an accurate legal description of land on which a person cultivates hemp;
(b) Failure to obtain a license or other required authorization from the department; or
(c) Production of cannabis with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration exceeding the acceptable hemp THC level. A cultivator does not commit a negligent violation under this subsection if the cultivator has made reasonable efforts to grow hemp and the cannabis does not have a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than 0.5 percent on a dry weight basis.
(2) Upon a determination by the director that any person in the state has negligently violated the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, a state plan as described in section 2-516 approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the act, a corrective action plan issued pursuant to this section, or an order of the director, the director may:
(a) Issue an order specifying the provisions of the act, state plan, rule or regulation, corrective action plan, or order alleged to have been violated and the facts alleged to constitute a violation;
(b) Issue a cease and desist order to the violator; and
(c) Issue an order for a corrective action plan in accordance with this section.
(3) Any person who commits a negligent violation under this section shall not be subject to any additional criminal enforcement by state or local government authorities other than authorized under this section.
(4) Any person who negligently violates the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, a state plan as described in section 2-516 approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the act, a corrective action plan issued pursuant to this section, or an order of the director three times in a five-year period shall be ineligible to obtain a license to cultivate, handle, process, or broker hemp for a period of five years beginning on the date of the third violation.
(5) If the director orders issuance of a corrective action plan, such plan may include:
(a) A reasonable date by which the licensee shall correct the negligent violation;
(b) A requirement that the licensee shall periodically report to the department on the compliance of the licensee with the corrective action plan for a period of not less than the next two calendar years;
(c) An administrative fine of up to five hundred dollars per day; and
(d) Temporary suspension of a license to operate as a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker.
(6) Upon violation of a corrective action plan, the director may issue an amended corrective action plan.
(7) A person aggrieved by an order of the director may request a hearing pursuant to section 2-513.
(8) The director shall advise the Attorney General of the failure of any person to pay an administrative fine imposed under this section. The Attorney General shall bring an action in Lancaster County district court to recover the fine.
(9) Any administrative fine collected under this section shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.
Source
Laws 2019, LB657, § 11;
Laws 2020, LB1152, § 7.