STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 52nd Legislature (2010)

SENATE BILL 1834	By:	Sykes

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to agriculture; amending 2 O.S. 2001, Sections 2-18, as amended by Section 4, Chapter 60, O.S.L. 2004 (2 O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 2-18), which relates to persons in violation of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code; modifying certain administrative penalties; and providing effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY     2 O.S. 2001, Section 2-18, as amended by Section 4, Chapter 60, O.S.L. 2004 (2 O.S. Supp. 2009, Section 2-18), is amended to read as follows:
Section 2-18.  A.  After notice and opportunity for a hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, if the State Board of Agriculture finds any person in violation of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code or any rule promulgated or order issued pursuant thereto, the Board shall have the authority to assess an administrative penalty of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) and not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for each violation.  Each animal, each action, or each day a violation continues may constitute a separate and distinct violation.
B.  The Board may appoint administrative law judges to conduct the hearings.  Hearings shall be held at a location within the region in which the alleged violator resides or the violation occurred, or the central offices of the State Board of Agriculture in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
C.  Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code or rules promulgated by the Board shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor unless a violation of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code or rules promulgated thereto is specifically identified with a penalty or as a felony in the individual articles of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code.
D.  Nothing in the Oklahoma Agricultural Code shall preclude the Board from seeking penalties in district court in the maximum amount allowed by law.  The assessment of penalties in an administrative enforcement proceeding shall not prevent the subsequent assessment by a court of the maximum civil or criminal penalties for violations of the Oklahoma Agricultural Code and rules promulgated pursuant thereto.
E.  Any person assessed an administrative or civil penalty may be required to pay, in addition to the penalty amount and interest thereon, attorney fees and costs associated with the collection of the penalties.
SECTION 2.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2010.

52-2-3506	JT	1/12/2010 3:44:20 PM