MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2023 Regular Session
To: Agriculture
By: Representative Owen
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE "REGULATORY SANDBOX AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION PILOT PROGRAM ACT"; TO CREATE AN AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX PROGRAM IN THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE, WHICH ALLOWS A PARTICIPANT TO TEMPORARILY TEST INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OR SERVICES ON A LIMITED BASIS WITHOUT OTHERWISE BEING LICENSED OR AUTHORIZED TO ACT UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE; TO PRESCRIBE THE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT IN ADMINISTERING THE AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX PILOT PROGRAM, TO PRESCRIBE THE PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED BY APPLICANTS SEEKING APPROVAL FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX PILOT PROGRAM, TO ESTABLISH TIMELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION BY APPLICANTS AND FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO RESPOND TO SUCH APPLICATIONS; TO PROVIDE AN APPEALS PROCESS FOR APPLICANTS WHOSE APPLICATIONS ARE DENIED BY THE DEPARTMENT; TO REQUIRE APPLICANTS APPROVED FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM TO PROVIDE CERTAIN NOTICE AND ASSURANCES TO CONSUMER; TO ESTABLISH THE MAXIMUM DURATION OF AN AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX TESTING PERIOD; TO REQUIRE AN AGRICULTURAL SANDBOX PARTICIPANT TO RETAIN RECORDS, DOCUMENTS AND DATA PRODUCED IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS REGARDING AN INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT OR SERVICE TESTED IN THE AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX; TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT TO TERMINATE AN APPLICANT'S PARTICIPATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX AT ANY TIME AND FOR ANY REASON; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO PROVIDE, BY OCTOBER 1, AN ANNUAL REPORT TO PEER WITH INFORMATION REGARDING EACH AGRICULTURAL SANDBOX PARTICIPANT RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY SANDBOX PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 69-1-13, 69-1-17 AND 69-1-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 69-19-1, 69-19-3, 69-19-5, 69-19-7, 69-19-9, 69-19-13 AND 69-19-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Regulatory Sandbox Agricultural Innovation Pilot Program Act."
SECTION 2. As used in this section, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Applicable agency" means a department or agency of the state which by law regulates certain types of agricultural-related business activity in the state and persons engaged in such agricultural-related business activity. For purposes of this act, regulation includes the issuance of licenses or any other types of authorization, which the department determines would otherwise regulate an agricultural specific sandbox participant.
(b) "Applicant" means an individual or entity that is applying to participate in the agricultural specific regulatory sandbox.
(c) "Consumer" means a person that purchases or otherwise enters into a transaction agreement to receive an innovative agricultural specific product or service that is being tested by an agricultural specific regulatory sandbox participant.
(d) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, which shall be responsible for overseeing the agricultural-specific sandbox program.
(e) "Innovation" means the use or incorporation of a new business model or technology, to address a problem, provide a benefit, or otherwise offer a product, service, business model, or delivery mechanism that is not known by the department to have a comparable widespread offering in this state.
(f) "Innovative agricultural product or service" means an agricultural product or agricultural service that includes an innovation.
(g) "Agricultural product or service" means an agricultural product or service that requires state licensure, registration, or other authorization as regulated by any section in Title 69, Mississippi Code of 1972, including an agricultural specific product or agricultural service that includes a business model, delivery mechanism, or element that requires a license, registration, or other authorization to do an agricultural specific business, act as an agricultural producer or consultant.
(h) "Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox" means the Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Program created under Sections 1 through 9 of this act, which allows a person to temporarily test an innovative agricultural product or service on a limited basis without otherwise being licensed or authorized to act under the laws of this state.
(i) "Agricultural sandbox participant" means a person whose application to participate in the agricultural regulatory sandbox is approved in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(j) "Test" means to provide an innovative agricultural product or service in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 3. (1) The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall establish an Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Program in accordance with the "Regulatory Sandbox Agricultural Innovation Pilot Program Act." In administering the agricultural regulatory sandbox, the department:
(a) Shall consult with each applicable agency;
(b) Shall establish a program to enable a person to obtain limited access to the market in this state to test an innovative agricultural product or service without obtaining a license or other authorization that might otherwise be required;
(c) May enter into agreements with or follow the best practices of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or other states that are administering similar programs; and
(d) May not approve participation in the agricultural regulatory sandbox by an applicant or any other participant who has been convicted, entered a plea of nolo contendere, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere held in abeyance for a serious crime:
(i) Involving theft, fraud, or dishonesty; or
(ii) That bears a substantial relationship to the applicant's or participant's ability to safely or competently participate in the agricultural regulatory sandbox program.
(2) An applicant for the agricultural regulatory sandbox shall provide to the department an application in a form prescribed by the department that:
(a) Demonstrates the applicant is subject to the jurisdiction of this state.
(b) Demonstrates the applicant has established a physical or virtual location that is adequately accessible to the department, from which testing will be developed and performed, and where all required records, documents, and data will be maintained.
(c) Contains relevant personal and contact information for the application, including legal names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, website addresses, and other information required by the department;
(d) Discloses criminal conviction of the applicant or other participating personnel, if any;
(e) Demonstrates that the applicant has the necessary personnel, financial and technical expertise, access to capital, and develop a plan to test, monitor, and assess the innovative agricultural product or service.
(f) Contains a description of the innovative agricultural product or service to be tested, including statements regarding the following:
(i) How the innovative agricultural product or service would benefit consumers;
(ii) What risks may confront consumers that use or purchase the innovative agricultural product or service;
(iii) How participating in the agricultural regulatory sandbox would enable a successful test of the innovative agricultural product or service;
(iv) A description of how the applicant will perform ongoing duties after the test; and
(v) How the applicant will end the test and protect consumers if the test fails, including providing evidence of sufficient liability coverage and financial reserves to protect consumers and to protect against insolvency by the applicant; and
(g) Provides any other required information as determined by the department.
(3) An applicant shall file a separate application for each innovative agricultural product or service the applicant wants to test. Before approving the application, the department may seek any additional information from the applicant that the department determines is necessary.
(4) Subject to subsection (7), not later than ninety (90) days after a complete application is received by the department, the department shall inform the applicant as to whether the application is approved or denied entry into the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(5) The department and an applicant may mutually agree to extend the ninety-day timeline as described in subsection (6) to allow the department to determine whether an application is approved or denied entry into the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(6) (a) In reviewing an application under this section the department shall consult with, and gain approval from, each applicable agency before admitting an applicant into the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(b) The consultation with an applicable agency may include seeking information about whether:
(i) The applicable agency has previously issued a license or other authorization to the applicant;
(ii) The applicable agency has previously investigated, sanctioned or pursued legal action against the applicant;
(iii) The applicant could obtain a license or other authorization from the applicable agency after exiting the agricultural regulatory sandbox; and
(iv) Certain licensure or other regulations should not be waived even if the applicant is accepted into the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(7) In reviewing an application under this section, the department shall consider whether a competitor to the applicant is or has been an agricultural sandbox participant, and weigh that as a factor in allowing the applicant to also become an agricultural sandbox participant.
(8) If the department and each applicable agency approve an application admitting an applicant into the agricultural regulatory sandbox, an applicant may become an agricultural sandbox participant.
(9) The department may deny any application submitted under this section, for any reason, at the department's discretion.
(10) If the department denies an application submitted under this section, the department shall provide to the applicant a written description of the reasons for the denial as an agricultural sandbox participant.
(11) (a) The sandbox applicant may appeal any of the following decisions of the sandbox program administrators by filing a written notice of appeal with the circuit court clerk of the county where the applicant resides, or in the case of a nonresident applicant, in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi:
(i) Denial of participation in the sandbox program;
(ii) Determination of the sandbox program parameters;
(iii) Determination of the extent of the applicant's participation in the market; or
(iv) Other determinations under this section.
(b) The court shall determine all questions of law, including the interpretation of a constitutional or statutory provision or a rule adopted by the sandbox program administrators, without regard to any previous determination that may have been made on the question in any action before the sandbox program administrators.
SECTION 4. (1) If the department approves an application under the Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Program, the agricultural sandbox participant has no less than twelve (12) months after the date of the application's approval, to test the innovative agricultural product or service described in the agricultural sandbox participant's application. A longer time period may be initially approved at the department's discretion.
(2) An agricultural sandbox participant testing an innovative agricultural product or service within the agricultural regulatory sandbox shall be subject to the following:
(a) Consumers shall be residents of the state;
(b) The department may, on a case-by-case basis:
(i) Specify the maximum number of consumers that may enter into an agreement with the agricultural sandbox participant to use the innovative agricultural product or service; and
(ii) If applicable, specify the maximum number of items for each item that may be offered by an agricultural sandbox participant during the test of the innovative agricultural product or service; and
(c) If a sandbox participant is accepted into the program, the department shall notify other businesses in the industry that a waiver was granted, to provide other companies the opportunity to apply for the same waiver if they so choose.
(3) This section does not restrict an agricultural sandbox participant who holds a license or other authorization in another jurisdiction from acting in accordance with that license or other authorization.
(4) An agricultural sandbox participant is deemed to possess an appropriate license under the laws of this state for the purposes of any provision of federal law requiring state licensure or authorization.
(5) An agricultural sandbox participant who is testing an innovative agricultural product or service shall be exempt from state laws, regulations, licensing requirements or authorization requirements that were identified by the agricultural sandbox participant's application and have been waived in writing by the department.
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, an agricultural sandbox participant shall not have immunity related to any criminal offense committed during the agricultural sandbox participant's time in the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(7) By written notice, the department may terminate an agricultural sandbox participant's participation in the regulatory sandbox at any time and for any reason, including, if the department determines an agricultural sandbox participant is not operating in good faith to bring an innovative agricultural product to market.
(8) The department and the department's employees shall not be liable for any business losses or the recouping of application expenses related to the agricultural regulatory sandbox, including:
(a) Denying an applicant's application to participate in the agricultural regulatory sandbox for any reason; or
(b) Terminating an agricultural sandbox participant's participation in the agricultural regulatory sandbox at any time and for any reason.
(9) No guaranty association in this state may be held liable for business losses or liabilities incurred as a result of activities undertaken by a participant in the
agricultural sandbox.
SECTION 5. (1) Before providing an innovative agricultural product or service to a consumer, an agricultural sandbox participant shall disclose the following to the consumer:
(a) The name and contact information of the agricultural sandbox participant;
(b) That the innovative agricultural product or service is authorized pursuant to the agricultural regulatory sandbox and, if applicable, that the agricultural sandbox participant does not have a license or other authorization to provide an agricultural product or service under state laws that regulate agricultural products outside the agricultural sandbox;
(c) That the innovative agricultural product or service is undergoing testing and may not function as intended and may expose the customer to financial risk;
(d) That the provider of the innovative agricultural product is not immune from civil liability for any losses or damages caused by the innovative agricultural product or service;
(e) That the state does not endorse or recommend the innovative agricultural product or service;
(f) That the innovative agricultural product or service is a temporary test that may be discontinued at the end of the testing period;
(g) The expected end date of the testing period; and
(h) That the consumer may contact the department to file a complaint regarding the innovative agricultural product or service being tested and provide the department's telephone number and website address where a complaint may be filed.
(2) The disclosures required by subsection (1) shall be provided to the consumer in a clear and conspicuous form and, for an Internet or application-based innovative agricultural product or service, a consumer shall acknowledge receipt of the disclosure before a transaction may be completed.
(3) The department may require that an agricultural sandbox participant make additional disclosure to the consumer.
SECTION 6. (1) At least thirty (30) days before the end of the twelve-month agricultural regulatory sandbox testing period, an agricultural sandbox participant shall:
(a) Notify the department that the agricultural sandbox participant will exit the agricultural regulatory sandbox, discontinue the agricultural sandbox participant's test, and will stop offering any innovative agricultural product or service in the agricultural regulatory sandbox within sixty (60) days after the date on which the twelve-month testing period ends; or
(b) Seek an extension in accordance with Section 7 of this act.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), if the department does not receive notification as required by subsection (1), the agricultural regulatory sandbox testing period expires at the end of the twelve-month testing period, and the agricultural sandbox participant shall immediately stop offering each innovative agricultural product or service being tested.
(3) If a test includes offering an innovative agricultural product or service that requires ongoing duties, the agricultural sandbox participant shall continue to fulfill those duties or arrange for another person to fulfill those duties after the date on which the agricultural product or service on which the agricultural sandbox participant exits the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
SECTION 7. (1) Not later than thirty (30) days before the end of the twelve-month regulatory agricultural sandbox testing period, an agricultural sandbox participant may request an extension of the agricultural regulatory sandbox testing period for the purpose of obtaining a license or other authorization.
(2) The department shall grant or deny a request for an extension in accordance with subsection (1) by the end of the twelve-month agricultural regulatory sandbox testing period.
(3) The department may grant an extension in accordance with this section for not more than twelve (12) months after the end of the agricultural regulatory sandbox testing period.
(4) An agricultural sandbox participant that obtains an extension in accordance with this section shall provide the department with a written report every three (3) months which provides an update on efforts to obtain a license or other authorization required by law, including any submitted for licensure or other authorization, rejected applications or issued licenses or other authorizations.
SECTION 8. (1) An agricultural sandbox participant shall retain records, documents and data produced in the ordinary course of business regarding an innovative agricultural product or service tested in the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(2) If an innovative agricultural product or service fails before the end of a testing period, the agricultural sandbox participant shall notify the department and report on actions taken by the agricultural sandbox participant to ensure consumers have not been harmed as a result of the failure.
(3) The department shall establish quarterly reporting requirements for an agricultural sandbox participant, including information about any customer complaints.
(4) The department may request records, documents and data from an agricultural sandbox participant and, upon the department's request, an agricultural sandbox participant shall make such records, documents and data available for inspection by the department.
(5) If the department determines that an agricultural sandbox participant has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any practice or transaction that is in violation of this chapter or that constitutes a violation of state or federal criminal law, the department may remove an agricultural sandbox participant from the agricultural regulatory sandbox.
(6) By October 1, the department shall provide an annual written report to the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) that provides information regarding each agricultural sandbox participant, and that provides recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Program.
SECTION 9. Subject to written authorization by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, an applicant approved by the department for participation in the Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Program shall be permitted to temporarily test innovative agricultural products or services on a limited basis without otherwise being licensed or authorized to act under the laws of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 10. Section 69-1-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-1-13. The following are the duties of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce:
(a) He shall encourage the proper development of agriculture, horticulture and kindred industries.
(b) He shall encourage the organization of neighborhood and county agricultural clubs and associations, and out of these the organization of the state agricultural association.
(c) He shall collect and publish statistics and such other information regarding such industries of this state and of other states as may be of benefit in developing the agricultural resources of the state. To this end he shall put himself in connection and shall cooperate with the agricultural department of other states and with the Commissioner of Agriculture of the United States, and shall provide for the proper and careful distribution of all documents and information coming into his possession on account of the department that may be of interest and benefit to the people of the state.
(d) He shall cause to be investigated the diseases of grain, cotton, fruit and other crops grown in this state and also remedies for such diseases, and also the habits and propagation of the various insects that are injurious to the crops of the state and the proper mode of their destruction.
(e) He shall investigate the subject of grasses and report upon their value and the cultivation of the varieties best adapted to the different sections of the state.
(f) He shall inquire into the subjects connected with dairying that he may deem of interest to the people of the state, and in this connection the raising of stock and poultry, the obtaining of such as are of most value, and the breeding and propagation of the same; and shall encourage raising of fish and the culture of bees.
(g) He shall investigate the subjects of subsoiling, drainage, etc., and the best modes of effecting each, and of irrigation and what portions of the state can be best benefited thereby.
(h) He shall investigate and report upon the culture of wool and the utility and profit of sheep-raising, also the culture of silk and its manufacture and preparation for market.
(i) He shall investigate and report on the question of broadening the market for cotton and cotton goods in the United States and foreign countries.
(j) He shall cause a proper collection of agricultural statistics to be made annually, and to this end shall furnish blank forms to the tax assessors of each county, and it is made the special duty of the tax assessor to whom said blanks are furnished to report to the bureau a list of all public or private ginners in his county, with their post offices, upon the demand of the commissioner. It shall be the duty of the commissioner to furnish to such ginner a form or forms of report to be made to the bureau at such time as the commissioner may direct. A failure to make such reports on the part of the ginner or assessor as required by said commissioner shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, punished as provided by law. It shall be the duty of the members of the boards of supervisors and the county tax assessor of each county in this state to make such reports as may be required by this bureau touching the matter within the scope of this chapter; and failure of any supervisor or tax assessor to make such report when required shall be deemed a misdemeanor and shall be punished as provided by law.
(k) He shall appoint county correspondents who shall report to him from time to time, as may be desired.
(l) He shall collect specimens of wood suitable for manufacture and other purposes, and specimens of agricultural, mineral, phosphate and marl deposits of the state; cause correct analysis of such as may be deemed expedient to be made and recorded in a substantial book to be kept for this purpose.
(m) He shall also, as soon as practicable, prepare a convenient handbook with necessary illustrated maps, which shall contain all necessary information as to the mines, mineral, forest, soil, and other products, climate, water, waterpower for the establishing of factories, land, flowers, fisheries, mountains, streams, and all other statistics as are best adapted to the giving of proper information and the attraction of advantages which the state affords to immigrants, and shall make illustrated expositions thereof whenever practicable at international and state expositions.
(n) He shall have the primary responsibility for developing programs that will enhance the marketing of the state's agricultural products to both national and international markets.
(o) He shall have authority to administer and enforce the regulation and exemption of applicants allowed to operate as an agricultural sandbox participant during the pilot period of such participant's testing of innovative products or services, as authorized under Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Pilot established under Sections 1 through 9 of this act.
SECTION 11. Section 69-1-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-1-17. In order to facilitate the collection and collation of the accurate information of the resources of the state along all lines, the heads of the several departments of the state government and of the state institutions are hereby required to furnish accurately such information as may be at their command to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce when called upon for same; and the commissioner is hereby empowered to enter manufacturing establishments chartered by the state and the establishment or premises of agricultural sandbox participants engaged in business under the authority of the Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Pilot Program authorized under Sections 1 through 9 of this act, in prosecution of this work, and the corporations operating the same shall furnish such information as may not be injurious to their business, when requested to furnish same by the commissioner. The commissioner and his clerks shall have the right to accept and use free transportation over steamships, steamboat and railway lines.
SECTION 12. Section 69-1-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-1-25. (1) The State Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, the Governor and the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to protect the welfare of the people of the State of Mississippi by guaranteeing that seeds, feeds, fertilizers, bulbs, vegetables, or any and all other product of farm, grove, forest, garden and minerals, including, but not limited to, coal and lime, and any innovative agricultural product or services permitted on a temporary trial basis under the authority of the Agricultural Regulatory Sandbox Pilot Program authorized under Sections 1 through 9 of this act, coming into the State of Mississippi meet the proper standards, in accordance with the laws of the State of Mississippi and rules and regulations drawn by the State Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, with the approval of the Attorney General, governing the labeling as to net weight, source of origin, purity, and grade thereof. In the case of coal or lime, the State Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, with the approval of the Attorney General, may promulgate rules and regulations setting up a form or forms to be used in guaranteeing the net weight at the point of delivery, to be weighed on approved scales in the presence of the purchaser.
(2) Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or both, and each sale of any such goods or products without meeting the requirements of this section shall constitute a separate offense.
SECTION 13. Section 69-19-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-1. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall have the power to make rules and regulations to govern the qualifications and the practicing of persons engaged in the professional services herein defined and to prevent fraudulent practices in the said professional services. No such rule or regulation shall be effective unless and until the same shall have been approved by the advisory board created under the provisions of Section 69-25-3, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 14. Section 69-19-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-3. This chapter shall apply only to persons soliciting work and engaged in the work defined in this chapter as a profession; but in no event shall it be construed so as to apply to any person employed by the owners or others in possession of property to work under his supervision in grafting, spraying, dusting cotton or any such work.
SECTION 15. Section 69-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-5. Professional services are defined as follows:
(a) Entomological work. Receiving fees for advice or prescriptions for the control or eradication of any insect pest or rodent. Receiving fees for actual spraying, dusting, fumigating or any other methods used for the control or eradication of any insect pest or rodent. When the majority of the income of an operation, business or individual comes from the actual operation of a farm and the sale of crops therefrom and, as a service to other farmers, these services are performed, such services shall not be included in this definition.
(b) Plant pathological work. Receiving fees for advice or prescriptions for the control or eradication of any plant disease. Receiving fees for actual spraying or any other methods used for the control or eradication of any plant disease. When the majority of the income of an operation, business or individual comes from the actual operation of a farm and the sale of crops therefrom and, as a service to other farmers, these services are performed, such services shall not be included in this definition.
(c) Horticultural and floricultural work. Receiving fees for landscaping and setting of plants or for the sale of any plants for which the seller contracts to render future services.
(d) Tree surgery work. Advertising in a local phone book, newspaper, newsletter, bulletin or other prominently displayed sign as a licensed or bonded tree surgeon and receiving compensation for any work or consultation relative to the care, pruning, cabling, bracing, topping, trimming, fertilizing, cavity work and removal of ornamental trees and shrubs in any manner. Nothing shall prevent any person from performing such services as long as their advertising does not include the description licensed or bonded.
(e) Weed control work. Receiving fees for advice or prescriptions for the control or eradication of any weed. Receiving fees for actual spraying or other methods used for the control or eradication of any plant which grows where not wanted. When the majority of the income of an operation, business or individual comes from the actual operation of a farm and the sale of crops therefrom and, as a service to other farmers, these services are performed, such services shall not be included in this definition.
(f) Soil classifying work. Receiving compensation for plotting the boundaries of soil and describing and evaluating the kinds of soil as to their behavior and response to management under various uses.
SECTION 16. Section 69-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-7. For the purpose of this chapter the word "person" shall be construed to mean an individual, a partnership, or a corporation.
SECTION 17. Section 69-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-9. (1) Any person desiring to engage in professional services or work as herein defined shall obtain from the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce a license to engage in such professional work, and the application for such license shall be in writing and on such blank forms as may be required. No fee shall be required for the license. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce shall require applicants to submit statements as to training and experience in professional practice and may further require applicants to pass such tests or examinations as the commissioner may prescribe. The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce may require an applicant to furnish a surety bond satisfactory to him and conditioned so that the principal therein named shall conduct honestly such business in accordance with the laws and regulations of this state and shall faithfully perform all his professional service contracts. In no case shall a bond exceeding Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) be required. A copy of the bond, duly certified by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce or his agent, the State Entomologist, shall be received as evidence in all of the courts of this state without further proof. Any bond issued before July 1, 1971, shall be deemed to be effective until the expiration date stated thereon. Any person having a right of action against such person may bring suit against the principal and sureties of such bond. Should the surety furnished become unsatisfactory, such person shall execute a new bond, and should he fail to do so, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce or his agent, the State Entomologist, to cancel his license and give him notice of such fact, and it shall be unlawful thereafter for such person to engage in such business without obtaining a new license.
(2) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, with the approval of the Advisory Board to the Bureau of Plant Industry, may require persons providing professional services as defined in this chapter to provide satisfactory proof of insurance for personal injury and property damage incurred as a result of the negligent or careless provision of such services, including coverage for errors and omissions. Such insurance shall be in an amount determined by the advisory board, but shall not exceed Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00). Such insurance shall be in effect before a person may offer such professional services to the general public. Notice of cancellation or failure to renew such insurance shall be provided to the advisory board by the persons offering such professional services. The license to engage in such professional work shall be revoked if proof of insurance is not provided to the advisory board by the licensee within thirty (30) days of the notice of cancellation or failure to renew such insurance.
(3) For horticultural and floricultural work and soil classifying work, as defined in Section 69-19-5, such surety bond which may be required shall be in an amount not to exceed One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($1,250.00) and such insurance which may be required shall be in an amount not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00).
(4) No such bond and insurance shall be required from any person providing professional services as defined in this chapter if the Commissioner of Insurance certifies that such bond and insurance is not available to such person.
SECTION 18. Section 69-19-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-13. The Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture and Commerce, in cases of natural disaster, may waive any and all provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 19. Section 69-19-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
69-19-15. (1) (a) Any person violating this chapter or the rules and regulations issued under this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court having jurisdiction.
(b) Each violation and each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense.
(c) Any person violating this chapter or the rules and regulations issued under this chapter in such a way that causes harm or poses a threat to man, animals or the environment is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) or by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary for a term of not more than twenty (20) years or by both such fine and imprisonment for each violation.
(2) Each violation of this chapter or the applicable rules and regulations shall subject the violator to administrative action as provided for in Sections 69-25-51 through 69-25-63.
SECTION 20. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2023.