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2013 Florida Statutes

Title XXXV AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, AND ANIMAL INDUSTRY
Chapter 576 AGRICULTURAL FERTILIZERS Entire Chapter
SECTION 041
Inspection fees; records; bond.
F.S. 576.041
576.041 Inspection fees; records; bond.—
(1) Every licensee shall pay to the department an inspection fee in the amount of $1 per ton for fertilizer sold in the state, except raw ground phosphate rock, soft phosphate, colloidal phosphate, phosphatic clays and all other untreated phosphatic materials, gypsum, hydrated lime, limestone, and dolomite when sold or used for agricultural purposes, on which the inspection fee shall be 30 cents per ton. All fees paid to the department under this section shall be deposited into the State Treasury to be placed in the General Inspection Trust Fund to be used for the sole purpose of funding the fertilizer inspection program.
(2) Before the distribution of a fertilizer, each licensee shall make application upon a form provided by the department to report monthly the tonnage of fertilizer sold in the state and make payment of the inspection fee. The continuance of a license is conditioned upon the applicant’s:
(a) Maintaining records and a bookkeeping system that will accurately indicate the tonnage of fertilizer sold by the licensee; and
(b) Consent to examination of the business records and books by the department for a verification of the correctness of tonnage reports and inspection fees. Tonnage reports of sales and payment of inspection fee shall be made monthly on forms furnished by the department and submitted on or before the fifteenth day of the month succeeding the month covered by the reports.
(3) In addition to any other penalty provided by this chapter, any licensee who fails to timely pay the tonnage fee shall be assessed a penalty of 1.5 percent for each month or part of a month that the fee or portion of the fee is not paid.
(4) If the report is not filed and the inspection fee paid on the date due or if the report of tonnage is false, the amount of inspection fee due is subject to a penalty of 10 percent or $25, whichever is greater. The penalty shall be added to the inspection fee due and constitutes a debt and becomes a claim and lien against the surety bond or certificate of deposit required by this chapter.
(5) Failure to make an accurate statement of tonnage or to pay the inspection fee or comply as provided herein shall constitute sufficient cause for revocation of the license and also for cancellation of all registrations on file for the licensee.
(6) In order to guarantee faithful performance of the provisions of subsection (2), the applicant for license shall post with the department a surety bond, or assign a certificate of deposit, in an amount required by rule of the department to cover fees for any reporting period. The amount shall not be less than $1,000. The surety bond shall be executed by a corporate surety company authorized to do business in this state. The certificate of deposit shall be issued by any recognized financial institution doing business in the United States. The department shall establish, by rule, whether an annual or continuous surety bond or certificate of deposit will be required and shall approve each surety bond or certificate of deposit before acceptance. The department shall examine and approve as to sufficiency all such bonds and certificates of deposit before acceptance. When the licensee ceases operation, said bond or certificate of deposit shall be returned, provided there are no outstanding fees due and payable.
(7) In order to obtain information that will facilitate the collection of inspection fees and serve other useful purposes relating to fertilizer, the department may, by rule, require licensees, manufacturers, registrants, and dealers to report movements of fertilizer.
History.—s. 1, ch. 65-348; ss. 2, 3, ch. 67-213; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 2, ch. 85-172; s. 3, ch. 87-170; ss. 4, 19, ch. 92-143; s. 11, ch. 97-6; s. 7, ch. 2008-107.