La. Admin. Code tit. 7 § XV-321

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XV-321 - Maintenance Inspection Fees, Payment and Penalties

A. The annual maintenance inspection fee on cotton producers in the Louisiana eradication zone shall be $4 per acre for each acre of cotton planted in the state. Each cotton producer shall pay his annual maintenance inspection fee directly to the department no later than July 15 or final certification with the FSA for that growing season, whichever is later. The signed and completed cotton acreage reporting and payment form with FSA Form 578 attached shall be submitted with the annual payment of the maintenance inspection fee.

B. A cotton producer may request a waiver of all or part of the maintenance inspection fee for any crop year in which he plants cotton in accordance with the following procedure. The decision to grant a waiver of all or part of any maintenance inspection fee for a crop year is within the discretion of the commission.

1. A cotton producer who requests a waiver of the maintenance inspection fee for a crop year must submit a written request for a waiver to the commission.

2. The commission must receive the written request, through mail, fax or other form of actual delivery, on or before 4:30 p.m. central time on August 1 of the crop year for which the waiver is requested. A written request for a waiver will be deemed to be timely when the papers aremailed on or before the due date. Timeliness of the mailing shall be shown only by an official United States postmark or by official receipt or certificate from the United States Postal Service made at the time of mailing which indicates the date thereof. A fax will be deemed to be timely only upon proof of actual receipt of the transmission.

3. The written request for a waiver must show the name of the cotton producer, the field number, the number of acres for which a waiver is requested, the date the acres were failed, the reasons the waiver is being requested and a certification that all living cotton plants and cotton stalks were destroyed prior to July 15 of the crop year and that the acreage will remain void of all living cotton plants through December 31 of the same crop year.

4. Each cotton producer who has filed a timely request for a waiver with the commission shall be notified of the date, time and place that the commission is scheduled to consider the request for a waiver at least 10 days prior to the commission meeting. The commission shall not consider an untimely written request.

5. A cotton producer, whose timely request for a waiver is denied by the commission, shall be entitled to pay his maintenance inspection fee without imposition of a per acre penalty fee if he pays the maintenance inspection fee within 30 days after receiving written notification of the commission's decision.

6. The commission has the authority to inspect any cotton field in which a cotton producer has claimed to have destroyed the cotton crop. Failure of the cotton producer to allow inspection shall be a violation of this Chapter.

C. Any cotton producer planting a fraction of an acre shall be assessed at a prorated maintenance inspection fee rate for that fractional acre.

D. Any cotton producer failing to certify his planted cotton acreage by the later of July 15 or the date of final certification of the current growing season shall, in addition to the maintenance inspection fee and other applicable penalties, be subject to a penalty fee of $2 per acre.

E. Any cotton producer failing to pay all maintenance inspection fees by the later of July 15 or the date of final certification of the current growing season shall, in addition to the maintenance inspection fee and other applicable penalties, be subject to a penalty fee of $1.50 per acre.

F. Reserved.

G. Failure to pay all program costs, including maintenance inspection fees and penalty fees, shall be a violation of this Chapter. Any cotton growing on a cotton producer's acreage which is subject to the maintenance inspection fee shall be subject to destruction by the commissioner should the cotton producer fail to pay all program costs, including maintenance inspection fees and penalty fees, within 30 days of notification of the default.

H. The commissioner shall have the right to collect some or all of the program costs, including maintenance inspection fees and penalty fees, by contracting with another entity, public or private, for collection. The commissioner shall provide notification of any such decision to all affected parties.

La. Admin. Code tit. 7, § XV-321

Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Boll Weevil Eradication Commission, LR 21:20 (January 1995), amended LR 21:669 (July 1995), LR 23:195 (February 1997), LR 24:2231 (December 1998), LR 25:829 (May 1999), LR 29:859 (June 2003), LR 30:1142 (June 2004), LR 30:2443 (November 2004), LR 37:2583 (September 2011), LR 40:1519 (August 2014), Amended LR 421644 (10/1/2016), Amended LR 451167 (9/1/2019).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 3:1604.1, 1609, 1610, 1612, 1652, and 1655.