Senate Bill 2468

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE TO ISSUE CERTIFICATES OF FREE SALE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM THE STATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. A certificate of free sale is sometimes required for agricultural products from Mississippi to enter importing states and foreign countries. Persons exporting products from Mississippi are often asked by importing states and foreign countries to supply a certificate for products registered with or regulated by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. The purpose of this act is to authorize the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce to issue a certificate of free sale for agricultural products and those products registered with or regulated by the Department for the purpose of exporting these products from Mississippi.

SECTION 2. As used in this act:

(a) "Agricultural products" means, but is not limited to, any agricultural commodity or product, whether raw or processed, including any commodity or product derived from livestock that is marketed for human or livestock consumption or products that are used for agricultural purposes such as fertilizers and soil and plant amendments.

(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

SECTION 3. (1) The department is authorized to issue certificates of free sale for products grown or manufactured in Mississippi or distributed and sold from Mississippi. The business must be in good standing with the Mississippi Secretary of State's office.

(2) The department shall charge a fee of Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) for issuing each certificate. The fee shall be deposited into the special fund created for the administration of the certificate of sale program.

(3) All requests for certificates must be in writing and shall contain at least the following information:

(a) The name under which the business is conducted and/or licensed;

(b) The physical address where the business is conducted;

(d) The product's full, common or usual name of the product, the name of the manufacturer and the size of the product. Each product size shall be submitted as a separate product. Products on the certificate will be listed exactly as submitted;

(e) The country or countries to where the product is being shipped; and

(f) The number of certificates requested.

(4) (a) Labeling information, promotional information, website information, master formulas, marketing clearance letters, distribution records, and advertising affixed to, accompanying, or relating to the products may be required to be submitted for each product upon request by the department.

If labeling is in a foreign language, applicant shall provide English translation. Labeling information shall be in final format. Label prototypes and drafts shall not be accepted.

(b) The certificate will list the product name, the manufacturer's name, and the product size, if applicable.

(5) The department assumes no legal liability by issuing these certificates, but merely serves to promote the export of agricultural products from the State of Mississippi.

SECTION 4. (1) There shall be established in the State Treasury a special fund of the department for the purposes of depositing certificate fees and any funds received by the department and for the payment of expenses incurred by the department in respect to the administration of this section.

Unexpended monies remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund.

(2) The department is authorized and empowered to accept, budget, receive or expend such funds in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.