Bill Text: IA HF289 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

Iowa House Bill 289 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to evidence of financial responsibility required to be furnished by certain pesticide applicators to the department of agriculture and land stewardship, and including effective date provisions.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-17 - Introduced, referred to Agriculture. H.J. 336. [HF289 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF289-Introduced.html

House File 289 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  WESSEL=KROESCHELL

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to evidence of financial responsibility
  2    required to be furnished by certain pesticide applicators
  3    to the department of agriculture and land stewardship, and
  4    including effective date provisions.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 206.13, Code 2015, is amended to read as
  1  2 follows:
  1  3    206.13  Evidence of financial responsibility required by
  1  4 commercial applicator applicators.
  1  5    1.  The department shall not issue a commercial applicator's
  1  6 license as required in section 206.6 until the applicant
  1  7 has furnished evidence of financial responsibility with to
  1  8  the department. The evidence of financial responsibility
  1  9 shall consist of a surety bond, a liability insurance policy,
  1 10 or an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a financial
  1 11 institution. The department may accept a certification
  1 12 of the evidence of financial responsibility. The evidence
  1 13 of financial responsibility shall pay the amount that the
  1 14 beneficiary is legally obligated to pay as damages caused
  1 15 by the pesticide operations of the applicant. However, the
  1 16 evidence of financial responsibility does not apply to damages
  1 17 or an injury which is expected or intended from the standpoint
  1 18 of the beneficiary. A liability insurance policy shall be
  1 19 subject to the insurer's policy provisions filed with and
  1 20 approved by the commissioner of insurance. The evidence of
  1 21 financial responsibility need not apply to damages or injury to
  1 22 agricultural crops, plants, or land being worked upon by the
  1 23 applicant.
  1 24    2.  The amount of the evidence of financial responsibility
  1 25 as provided for in this section shall be not less than one
  1 26 hundred thousand million dollars for property damage and
  1 27 public liability insurance, each separately, or liability
  1 28 insurance with limits of one three hundred thousand dollars
  1 29 per occurrence and three six hundred thousand dollars annual
  1 30 aggregate. The evidence of financial responsibility shall be
  1 31 maintained at not less than that amount at all times during
  1 32 the licensed period. The department shall be notified ten
  1 33 days prior to any reduction in the surety bond or liability
  1 34 insurance made at the request of the applicant or cancellation
  1 35 of the surety bond by the surety or the liability insurance
  2  1 by the insurer. The department shall be notified ninety
  2  2 days prior to any reduction of the amount of the irrevocable
  2  3 letter of credit at the request of the applicant or the
  2  4 cancellation of the irrevocable letter of credit by the
  2  5 financial institution. The total and aggregate liability of
  2  6 the surety, insurer, or financial institution for all claims
  2  7 shall be limited to the face of the surety bond, liability
  2  8 insurance policy, or irrevocable letter of credit.
  2  9    3.  Upon request by a person who alleges damages caused
  2 10 by the pesticide operations of a commercial applicator,
  2 11 the department shall provide that person with a copy of
  2 12 the evidence of financial responsibility or any related
  2 13 notification furnished by such commercial applicator to the
  2 14 department under this section.
  2 15    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT.  This Act, being deemed of
  2 16 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
  2 17                           EXPLANATION
  2 18 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 19 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 20    BILL'S PROVISIONS.  This bill eliminates a provision that
  2 21 allows a commercial applicator of pesticides to furnish a
  2 22 certification in lieu of evidence of financial responsibility
  2 23 and requires the department provide evidence of financial
  2 24 responsibility and related documents to a person alleging
  2 25 damages caused by a commercial applicator. The bill also
  2 26 increases the limits for evidence of financial responsibility
  2 27 from $100,000 to $1 million for property damage and public
  2 28 liability damage each separately. The limits for liability
  2 29 insurance are increased from $100,000 to $300,000 per
  2 30 occurrence and from $300,000 to $600,000 as an annual
  2 31 aggregate.
  2 32    TERMS.  A commercial applicator is a person who applies
  2 33 pesticides for compensation, but does not include a farmer
  2 34 trading work with another farmer, a person employed by a farmer
  2 35 who applies pesticides as an incidental part of the person's
  3  1 duties, or a person who applies pesticides as an incidental
  3  2 part of a custom farming operation.  Evidence of financial
  3  3 responsibility includes a surety bond, a liability insurance
  3  4 policy, or an irrevocable letter of credit.  A pesticide
  3  5 includes any substance that prevents, destroys, or mitigates
  3  6 pests in the form of plant or animal life and viruses, and
  3  7 includes plant growth regulators, defoliants, and desiccants.
  3  8    EFFECTIVE DATE.  The bill takes effect upon enactment.
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