2006 Louisiana Laws - RS 3:1901 — Fees; commercial feed fund; disposition of funds

§1901.  Fees; Commercial Feed Fund; disposition of funds

A.  Each application for registration with the commission shall be accompanied by a registration fee not to exceed forty dollars.  The commission by rule shall establish a schedule of registration fees based upon the number of registrants, the volume of commercial feed sold in this state by each, and the estimated expenses incurred by the commissioner in administering the provisions of this Chapter.

B.  Each registrant filing a label with the commission shall pay to the commissioner a labeling fee not to exceed twenty dollars.  The commission by rule shall establish a schedule of labeling fees based upon the number of registrants, the volume of commercial feed sold in this state by each, and the estimated expenses incurred by the commissioner in administering the provisions of this Chapter.

C.(1)  Except as provided in Subsection E of this Section, each registrant who manufactures a commercial or customer-formula feed for distribution in this state shall pay the commissioner an inspection fee of one dollar per ton on all commercial feed sold in the state.  Payment of the inspection fee shall be made on the basis of tonnage reports submitted by the registrants of commercial feeds.

(2)  A registrant shall keep all records necessary to accurately indicate the tonnage and kind of commercial feed sold and shall permit the commissioner or his authorized representatives to examine these records and to verify the statement of tonnage.

(3)  Tonnage reports shall be made on forms supplied by the commissioner and suitable for providing the necessary tonnage and statistical information.

(4)  The tonnage reports and inspection fees shall be due and payable on the first day of October, the first day of January, the first day of April, and the first day of July.  If the report is not filed and payment made within thirty days after the date due, a penalty of twenty-five percent of the amount due shall be assessed against the registrant.  If payment is not made within thirty days after the due date, the amount of fees due, plus the penalty, shall constitute a debt and become the basis of a judgment against the registrant.

(5)  All information as to the amount of feed sold and business practices of the registrant obtained from tonnage reports or from inspection of records and books shall remain confidential and shall not be revealed by the commissioner or his employees to the public or to any other person.

D.  The inspection fee shall be collected only once on each lot of ingredients.  To achieve this end, the following provisions shall apply:

(1)  No fee shall be paid on a commercial feed if the fee has been paid by a previous manufacturer.

(2)  No fee shall be paid on customer-formula feeds if the inspection fee has been paid on the commercial feeds which are used as ingredients therein.

(3)  No fee shall be paid on commercial feeds which are used as ingredients for the manufacture of registered commercial feeds.  If the fee has already been paid, credit shall be given for that payment.

E.  In the case of a commercial feed which is distributed in this state only in packages of ten pounds or less, an annual fee of two hundred dollars shall be paid in lieu of the inspection fee provided in Subsection C of this Section.

F.(1)  All assessments, fees, penalties, and all other funds received by the commission under the provisions of this Part, subject to the exceptions contained in Article VII, Section 9 of the Constitution of Louisiana, shall be deposited immediately upon receipt into the state treasury and shall be credited to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund.

(2)  Out of the funds remaining in the Bond Security and Redemption Fund after a sufficient amount is allocated from that fund to pay all obligations secured by the full faith and credit of the state which become due and payable within any fiscal year, the treasurer, prior to placing the remaining funds in the state general fund, shall pay an amount equal to the total amount of funds paid into the state treasury by the commission under the provisions of this Part into a special fund which is hereby created in the state treasury and designated as the Commercial Feed Fund.

(3)  All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall remain in the fund.  The treasurer shall invest the monies in the fund in the same manner as monies in the state general fund.  All interest earned on monies from the fund invested by the state treasurer shall be deposited in the fund.

(4)  Subject to appropriation, the monies in the fund shall be used for the following purposes:

(a)  To provide for the expenses of the program established by this Part, as determined by the commission.

(b)  To fund any and all costs related to the fulfillment of the powers, responsibilities, and purposes of this Part.

Added by Acts 1984, No. 523, §1; Acts 2003, No. 173, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2004.