Enrolled HB 197: Relating to the duties of the commissioner of natural resources; relating to agriculture; relating to the noncommercial transfer of seed; and relating to community seed libraries.
00Enrolled HB 197 01 Relating to the duties of the commissioner of natural resources; relating to agriculture; 02 relating to the noncommercial transfer of seed; and relating to community seed libraries. 03 _______________ 04 * Section 1. AS 03.05.010(a) is amended to read: 05 (a) The commissioner of natural resources shall 06 (1) direct, administer, and supervise promotional and experimental 07 work, extension services, and agricultural projects for the purpose of promoting and 08 developing commercial and noncommercial [THE] agricultural industry in 09 [WITHIN] the state, including [SUCH FIELDS AS] horticulture, dairying, cattle 10 raising, fur farming, grain production, vegetable production, and [DEVELOPMENT 11 OF OTHER] agricultural products; 12 (2) procure and preserve all information pertaining to developing the 13 [DEVELOPMENT OF THE] agricultural industry in the state and disseminate that
01 information to the public; 02 (3) assist prospective settlers and others [DESIRING] to engage in the 03 agricultural industry in the state by providing [WITH] information about 04 [CONCERNING AREAS SUITABLE FOR AGRICULTURE AND OTHER] 05 activities and programs essential to developing the [DEVELOPMENT OF THE] 06 agricultural industry and areas in the state that are suitable for agriculture; 07 (4) review the marketing, financing, transportation, and development 08 of agricultural products in [INSIDE] the state [INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION], 09 with special emphasis on [UPON] local production, and negotiate for the marketing of 10 agricultural products of the state with federal and state agencies operating in the state; 11 (5) regulate and control the entry in [INTO] the state and the 12 transportation, sale, or use in [INSIDE] the state of plants, seeds, vegetables, shell 13 eggs, fruits and berries, nursery stock, animal feeds, remedies and mineral 14 supplements, fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals [IN ORDER] to prevent the spread 15 of pests, diseases, or toxic substances injurious to the public interest [,] and [TO] 16 protect the agricultural industry against fraud, deception, and misrepresentation; for 17 purposes of this paragraph, [IN THIS CONNECTION] the commissioner may 18 require registration, inspection, and testing, and may establish procedures and fees; 19 (6) regulate the farming of elk in a manner similar to the manner in 20 which the commissioner regulates domestic animals and livestock, to the extent that is 21 appropriate; 22 (7) regulate the labeling of seed that does not comply with the 23 requirements of AS 03.20.130 [REPEALED]. 24 * Sec. 2. AS 03.05.030 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 03.05.030. Rules for grading and classification of agricultural 26 products. Subject to (b) of this section, the [THE] commissioner may adopt rules, 27 regulations, and procedures requiring the classification, grading, and inspection of 28 agricultural products before the products are sold or offered for sale for general 29 consumption [BEFORE THEY ARE SOLD], and requiring the marking or labeling of 30 a [ANY] sack, box, carton, or other container of an agricultural product 31 [PRODUCTS] to show the kind, grade, or other prescribed classification of the
01 container's contents. 02 * Sec. 3. AS 03.05.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 03 (b) A rule, regulation, or procedure adopted under (a) of this section does not 04 apply to the noncommercial transfer of seed under AS 03.20.110 or the giving or 05 exchanging of seed through a community seed library under AS 03.20.120(a), unless 06 the seed 07 (1) does not comply with requirements applicable under AS 03.20; 08 (2) contains seed of a patented, protected, or proprietary variety used 09 without permission of the patent or certificate holder of the intellectual property 10 associated with the variety; 11 (3) has been misrepresented as seed classified, graded, or inspected 12 under (a) of this section; or 13 (4) contains prohibited or restricted weed seed or seed from a species 14 the department has determined is noxious. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 03.20 is amended by adding new sections to read: 16 Article 1A. Noncommercial Transfer of Seed and Community Seed Libraries. 17 Sec. 03.20.110. Noncommercial transfer of seed. An individual may give to 18 or exchange with another individual for noncommercial use in the state seed that is 19 otherwise legal to possess in the state. 20 Sec. 03.20.120. Community seed libraries. (a) A person may establish a 21 community seed library for individual giving or exchanging of seed that is intended 22 for home, educational, charitable, or noncommercial use in the state and that is 23 harvested from a plant grown 24 (1) outside the state and imported into the state in compliance with 25 AS 03.05.010(a)(5); or 26 (2) in the state. 27 (b) A person may give seed to or exchange seed with another person through a 28 community seed library established under (a) of this section. 29 (c) Seed given, exchanged, or offered for giving or exchanging under (b) of 30 this section must be 31 (1) packaged either in the original package or repackaged; and
01 (2) except as provided in (d) of this section, labeled with the following 02 information on each package: 03 (A) the common name of the plant from which the seed 04 derives; 05 (B) the name and address of the community seed library; 06 (C) the statement "Not authorized for commercial use and not 07 classified, graded, or inspected by the State of Alaska"; and 08 (D) if treated with a toxic substance, the statement "Treated 09 seed--Not for consumption." 10 (d) A person who is giving, exchanging, or offering a seed package at a 11 community seed library may satisfy the labeling requirement under (c)(2) of this 12 section by displaying a sign near the packaged seed that identifies the seed and clearly 13 states the information required under (c)(2) of this section. 14 Sec. 03.20.130. Limitations. A person may not give seed to or exchange seed 15 with another person under AS 03.20.110 and 03.20.120 in an amount that, for each 16 person who receives the seed, exceeds 100 pounds. 17 Sec. 03.20.140. Online publication of noncommercial giving or exchanging 18 of seed. A person involved in noncommercial giving or exchanging of seed under 19 AS 03.20.110 and 03.20.120 may register online with the department under 20 AS 44.37.030(b) and submit to the department information, including the person's 21 name, telephone number, and electronic mail address, and the location where the 22 person gives or exchanges seed, for publication on the department's Internet website. 23 Sec. 03.20.150. Applicability of other laws. Nothing in AS 03.20.110 - 24 03.20.150 authorizes a person to 25 (1) violate 7 U.S.C. 2321 - 2582 (Plant Variety Protection Act of 26 1970); 27 (2) give, exchange, or receive a seed 28 (A) from a plant that is regulated as 29 (i) a controlled substance under AS 11.71 or a drug 30 under AS 17.20; or 31 (ii) marijuana under AS 17.38; or
01 (B) patented under 35 U.S.C. 161 - 164 (Plant Patent Act of 02 1930); 03 (3) possess, give, or exchange seed that is considered to be noxious, 04 invasive, or toxic under AS 03.05 or AS 44.37 or a regulation adopted under those 05 chapters. 06 * Sec. 5. AS 03.22.020 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 03.22.020. Purpose of center. The objectives of the plant materials 08 center, in cooperation with the college or department of the University of Alaska 09 responsible for the Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, are to 10 (1) assemble, evaluate, select, and increase plant materials needed in 11 soil and water conservation, agriculture, and industry, and maintain genetic purity of 12 these materials; 13 (2) increase promising plant materials for field scale testing; 14 (3) test the promising materials in field plantings on sites that represent 15 soil and climatic conditions not found at the center; 16 (4) maintain and provide for increase of basic seed stocks of plant 17 materials for agricultural and conservation interests; 18 (5) make seed and plant materials available, for a fee if necessary, in 19 such a manner as to avoid monopolistic control of basic stocks of these materials and 20 encourage the development of a seed industry, noncommercial transfer of seed, and 21 community seed libraries established under AS 03.20.120; 22 (6) support but not duplicate activities carried on by state or federally 23 funded research programs in the state; 24 (7) prepare, publish, and disseminate a summary report on all studies 25 as they are completed. 26 * Sec. 6. AS 44.37.030 is amended to read: 27 Sec. 44.37.030. Duties of department with respect to agriculture. The 28 Department of Natural Resources shall 29 (1) obtain and publish [GET AND DISTRIBUTE] information 30 electronically and in print on subjects connected with agriculture, including 31 community seed libraries established under AS 03.20.120;
01 (2) control and regulate the entry and transportation of seeds, plants, 02 and other horticultural products; 03 (3) control and eradicate the spread of pests injurious to plants, trees, 04 vegetables, livestock, and poultry; 05 (4) aid in developing used and unused agricultural resources; and 06 (5) experiment and determine practical methods of growing, 07 processing, soil analysis, eradication of obnoxious weeds, control of insects, and 08 cheaper and more satisfactory methods of land clearing. 09 * Sec. 7. AS 44.37.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 10 (b) The Department of Natural Resources may 11 (1) advise persons who establish or operate a community seed library 12 under AS 03.20.120; and 13 (2) post on the department's Internet website and annually update the 14 following: 15 (A) information about noncommercial giving or exchanging of 16 seed, including information about community seed libraries established under 17 AS 03.20.120, community seed library locations, community seed library 18 facilitators, and best practices for noncommercial giving or exchanging of 19 seed; 20 (B) an online registration form for a person involved in 21 noncommercial giving or exchanging of seed to submit to the department for 22 publication, without a fee, information under AS 03.20.140; 23 (C) information provided for publication under (B) of this 24 paragraph.