(1) The duty of administering this law and enforcing its provisions and requirements shall be vested in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which is hereby authorized to employ such agents and persons as in its judgment shall be necessary therefor. It shall be the duty of the department, which may act through its authorized agents, to sample, inspect, make analyses of, and test agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed transported, sold, offered or exposed for sale, or distributed within this state for sowing or planting purposes, at such time and place and to such extent as it may deem necessary to determine whether said agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed are in compliance with the provisions of this law, and to notify promptly the person who transported, distributed, sold, offered or exposed the seed for sale, of any violation.

(2) The department is authorized to:

(a) Enforce this chapter and prescribe the methods of sampling, inspecting, testing, and examining agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed.

(b) Establish standards and tolerances to be followed in the administration of this law, which shall be in general accord with officially prescribed practices in interstate commerce.

(c) Prescribe uniform labels.

(d) Adopt prohibited and restricted noxious weed seed lists.

(e) Prescribe limitations for each restricted noxious weed to be used in enforcement of this chapter 1and add or subtract therefrom from time to time as the need may arise.

(f) Make commercial tests of seed and fix and collect charges for such tests.

(g) List the kinds of flower, tree, and shrub seed subject to this law.

(h) Analyze samples, as requested by a consumer. The department shall establish, by rule, a fee schedule for analyzing samples at the request of a consumer. The fees shall be sufficient to cover the costs to the department for taking the samples and performing the analysis, not to exceed $150 per sample.

(i) Adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this chapter.

(j) Establish, by rule, requirements governing aircraft used for the aerial application of seed, including requirements for recordkeeping, annual aircraft registration, secure storage when not in use, area-of-application information, and reporting any sale, lease, purchase, rental, or transfer of such aircraft to another person.

(3) For the purpose of carrying out this law, the department, through its authorized agents, is authorized to:

(a) Enter upon any public or private premises, where agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed is sold, offered, exposed, or distributed for sale during regular business hours, in order to have access to seed subject to this law and the rules and regulations hereunder.

(b) Issue and enforce a stop-sale notice or order to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural, vegetable, flower, tree, or shrub seed which the department finds or has good reason to believe is in violation of any provisions of this law, which shall prohibit further sale, barter, exchange, or distribution of such seed until the department is satisfied that the law has been complied with and has issued a written release or notice to the owner or custodian of such seed. After a stop-sale notice or order has been issued against or attached to any lot of seed and the owner or custodian of such seed has received confirmation that the seed does not comply with this law, she or he has 15 days beyond the normal test period within which to comply with the law and obtain a written release of the seed. This paragraph may not be construed as limiting the right of the department to proceed as authorized by other sections of this law.

(c) Establish and maintain a seed laboratory, employ seed analysts and other personnel, and incur such other expenses as may be necessary to comply with these provisions.

History.—s. 7, ch. 19364, 1939; CGL 1940 Supp. 4151(596); s. 6, ch. 20251, 1941; s. 6, ch. 21942, 1943; s. 6, ch. 22694, 1945; s. 5, ch. 57-199; s. 4, ch. 61-436; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 8, ch. 69-144; s. 6, ch. 78-95; s. 24, ch. 92-143; s. 7, ch. 93-29; s. 912, ch. 97-103; s. 191, ch. 98-200; s. 4, ch. 2001-360; s. 45, ch. 2018-84; s. 92, ch. 2019-3.

1Note.—The word “to” following the word “and” was deleted by the editors.