2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 46 - Agriculture › Chapter 33 - Shipment And Sale Of Trees, Plants And Shrubs › Section 46-33-90. Definitions; registration requirements.

(A) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Nursery" means any place where nursery stock is grown for sale.
(2) "Nursery stock" means all fruit, nut, and shade trees, all ornamental plants and trees, bush fruits, buds, grafts, scions, vines, roots, bulbs, seedlings, slips, or other portions of plants (excluding true seeds) grown or kept for propagation, sale, or distribution.
(3) "Nurseryman" means a person who operates a nursery for the production of nursery stock.
(4) "Registered nursery dealer" means any person other than a grower of nursery stock who buys certified nursery stock for resale with annual sales of five thousand dollars or more, and any nurseryman who operates a sales lot separately from his nursery with annual sales of five thousand dollars or more. Registered and unregistered nursery dealers are required to produce sales records to agents of the commission upon request.
(5) "Hobbyist" and "backyard gardener" mean any person selling nursery stock who has less than five thousand dollars in gross sales per calendar year. Hobbyist and backyard gardeners are required to produce sales records to agents of the commission upon request. Hobbyist and backyard gardeners are exempt from registration.
(6) "Gross annual sales" means the total sales of nursery stock or related live plant material made by a nursery or registered nursery dealer that occurs during a given calendar year.
(7) "Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, partnership, association, state or federal agency, school, other group, or organization.
(8) "Sales lot" means the individual physical area or property where a nursery or registered nursery dealer grows, collects, or distributes nursery stock or related live plant material for sale.
(9) "Turfgrass" means the top layer of earth comprised of grass leaf blades, stolons, thatch, and roots grown for commercial harvesting and sale such as sod, sprigs, or any other part thereof, excluding seed.
(10) "Turfgrass grower" means any person engaged in the production of turfgrass.
(B) All persons engaged in sale or distribution of nursery stock must register with the commission and pay the fees required by this section. The commission is authorized to collect and retain fees from nursery inspection and registration, nursery dealer registration, plant pest inspection, and all other plant pest certification activities.
(C)(1) Nursery registration fees shall be on a graduated scale and may not exceed two hundred dollars per year. All registration certificates expire on September thirtieth and are renewable on or before October first annually. In cases where nursery stock is grown at more than one location by one nursery, the fees shall be based upon the nursery's aggregate number of acres in production of the nursery. In cases where the nursery consists of a combination of greenhouses and acreage, a single license fee must be assessed at the higher rate of the two categories.
(2)(a) The following nursery registration fees shall be paid annually:
(i) Nursery stock, except turfgrass, with a production acreage of ten or less; greenhouses with less than six thousand square feet; or a turfgrass production acreage of two hundred fifty or less shall be $75.00.
(ii) Nursery stock, except turfgrass, with a production acreage of eleven to twenty-five; greenhouses with six thousand to thirty thousand square feet; or a turfgrass production acreage of two hundred fifty-one to five hundred shall be $125.00.
(iii) Nursery stock, except turfgrass, with a production acreage of twenty-five or more; greenhouses with more than thirty thousand square feet; or a turfgrass production acreage of five hundred one or more shall be $200.00.
(b) The following nursery dealer fees shall be paid annually:
(i) Nursery dealer locations for which annual gross sales equal $10,000.00 or less shall pay $0.00.
(ii) Nursery dealer locations for which annual gross sales are between $10,001.00 to $100,000.00 shall pay $50.00.
(iii) Nursery dealer locations for which annual gross sales are over $100,000.00 shall pay $100.00.
(D) Growers who produce transplants or seedlings grown solely for the purpose of being distributed for production of agricultural commodities must register with the commission but are exempt from nursery registration fees. No ornamental bedding plants or nursery stock may be grown in conjunction with exempt agricultural transplants unless the fees required by this section are paid.
(E) Governmental and nonprofit organizations which are not in the business of commercial sale of nursery stock are exempt from the payment of fees and registration required by this section; however, governmental and nonprofit organizations which are not in the business of commercial sale of nursery stock are subject to all commission rules and regulations. The Forestry Commission is exempt from paying fees required by this section. All persons selling Christmas trees from November to January who are not otherwise required by this section to either register or pay the fees are exempt from registering and paying the fees.
HISTORY: 2000 Act No. 378, Section 1, eff June 14, 2000; 2017 Act No. 31 (S.570), Section 1, eff May 10, 2017.
Effect of Amendment
2017 Act No. 31, Section 1, inserted (A)(6) to (A)(10), relating to definitions of "gross annual sales", "person", "sales lot", "turfgrass", and "turfgrass grower"; rewrote (C)(2), relating to nursery registration fees; and made other nonsubstantive changes.