3.2-6023 - Prevention and control measures; penalty.
§ 3.2-6023. Prevention and control measures; penalty.
A. The Commissioner may adopt regulations to prevent and control avianinfluenza in the live-bird marketing system and is authorized to participatein the federal Live Bird Marketing Program of the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, as it may be amended from time to time. In adopting suchregulations, the Commissioner shall be exempt from the Administrative ProcessAct (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) and from public participation guidelines adoptedpursuant thereto. The State Veterinarian and his representatives areauthorized and empowered to enter the premises of any entity within thelive-bird marketing system to carry out the provisions of any regulationsadopted pursuant to this section. Any regulations adopted pursuant to thissection shall, unless a later effective date is specified, take effect uponfiling with the Registrar of Regulations, who shall publish the regulationsas final regulations in the Virginia Register of Regulations, except that norequirement authorized by subsection B that a person be registered orlicensed may take effect any sooner than 90 days after the promulgation dateof the regulations containing such requirement, the promulgation date beingthe date of publication in the Virginia Register of Regulations of the finalregulations containing such requirement. The regulations shall contain apreamble stating that the Board will receive, consider, and respond topetitions by any interested person at any time with respect toreconsideration or revision of such regulations.
B. The Commissioner shall establish by regulation a registration or licensingsystem to regulate the live-bird marketing system in Virginia. As a part ofsuch registration or licensing system, the Commissioner shall register orlicense all persons who participate in any component of the live-birdmarketing system. Such registration or licensing system may include thegranting, denial, suspension, or revocation of any registration or license,including governing: (i) the grounds for granting such registration orlicense; and (ii) the grounds for the denial, suspension, or revocation ofsuch registration or license.
C. Any person violating any regulation adopted pursuant to this section maybe assessed a civil penalty by the Commissioner in an amount not to exceed$2,500 per day per violation. In determining the amount of any civil penalty,the Commissioner shall give due consideration to: (i) the history of theperson's previous violations; (ii) the seriousness of the violation; and(iii) the demonstrated good faith of the person charged in attempting toachieve compliance with the regulation after notification of the violation.Civil penalties assessed under this section shall be paid into a special fundin the state treasury to the credit of the Department to be used in carryingout the purposes of this section or any regulations adopted hereunder. TheCommissioner shall prescribe procedures for payment of uncontested penalties.The procedure shall include provisions for a person to consent to abatementof the alleged violation and pay a penalty or negotiated sum in lieu of suchpenalty without admission of civil liability arising from such allegedviolation. Final orders may be recorded, enforced, and satisfied as orders ordecrees of a circuit court upon certification of such orders by theCommissioner. Such orders may be appealed in accordance with the provisionsof the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.).
D. For the purposes of this section: (i) "live-bird marketing system"includes live-bird markets and the production and distribution units thatsupply live-bird markets with birds; (ii) "live-bird markets" includes anyfacility that receives live poultry to be resold or slaughtered and soldonsite, not including any producer or grower that prior to the sale of hisown birds slaughters or processes them onsite or at an approved slaughterfacility or any producer or grower that sells live birds grown exclusively onhis premises and is not a "production unit" or "distribution unit" asdefined herein; (iii) "production unit" includes a production facility orfarm that is the origin of or participates in the production of poultryoffered for sale in a live-bird market; and (iv) "distribution unit"includes a person or business such as a wholesaler, dealer, hauler, andauction market engaged in the transportation or sale of poultry within thelive-bird market system.
(2006, c. 442, § 3.1-741.6; 2008, c. 860.)