69-37-23 - Liens to secure payment of assessments and penalties; destruction of untreatable commercial cotton as nuisance; compensation.
§ 69-37-23. Liens to secure payment of assessments and penalties; destruction of untreatable commercial cotton as nuisance; compensation.
(1) In management areas where assessments are established by passage of a referendum, the commissioner shall have a lien for payment of such assessments, together with any penalties levied under this chapter, against all cotton grown by each cotton grower who grows cotton within the area. This lien shall be of equal dignity with liens for taxes in favor of the state and the commissioner is authorized to issue executions for the collection of such assessments in like manner as executions are issued for ad valorem property taxes due the state.
(2) In addition, the commissioner shall have a special lien on cotton for payment of assessments, together with any penalties levied under this chapter, which shall be superior to any other lien provided by law, shall arise as of the time the assessments become due and payable, and shall cover all cotton grown by the cotton grower from the date the lien arises until such assessments are paid. However, any buyer of cotton shall take free of such lien if such buyer has not received written notice of the lien from the commissioner, or if he has paid for such cotton by a check in which the department is named as joint payee.
(3) A cotton grower who fails to pay when due and upon reasonable notice any assessment levied under this chapter shall be subject to a per acre penalty as established in the bureau's regulations, in addition to the assessment.
(4) Commercial cotton which is located in sites that cannot be treated adequately because of health, environmental or other concerns shall be deemed to be a public nuisance and shall be destroyed promptly. The commissioner, with the consent of the Certified Cotton Growers Organization and the approval of the Attorney General, may apply to the circuit court of the judicial circuit in which the public nuisance is located to have the nuisance condemned and destroyed. This injunctive relief shall be available to the commissioner notwithstanding the existence of any other legal remedy and the commissioner shall not be required to file a bond.
In such cases where commercial cotton is destroyed because of prevented treatment due to health or environmental concerns, the owner of such cotton shall be compensated for that portion of of the crop that is destroyed. The per acre amount of such payments shall be based on a reasonable estimate of the value of the crop as determined by the commissioner in consultation with the Certified Cotton Growers Organization and the affected producer. Payments for such losses shall be funded by assessment fees paid by cotton growers within the designated region and administered by the Certified Cotton Growers Organization.
Sources: Laws, 1993, ch. 345, § 12, eff from and after July 1, 1993.