(A) No person shall knowingly permit any plant pest that has been determined to be destructive or dangerously harmful by the director of agriculture, in compliance with procedures required by division (A) of section 927.52 of the Revised Code, to exist in or on the person's premises.

(B) Whenever the director or the director's authorized representative finds any article or commodity to be infested or has reason to believe it to be infested, or finds that a host or pest exists on any premises, or is in transit in this state, the director may:

(1) Upon giving notice to the owner or the owner's agent in possession thereof, seize, quarantine, treat, or otherwise dispose of the pest, host, article, or commodity in such manner as the director determines necessary to suppress, control, eradicate, or to prevent or retard the spread of a pest;

(2) Order the owner or agent to so treat or otherwise dispose of the pest, host, article, or commodity.

(C) If the owner or person in charge of the premises refuses or neglects to carry out the orders of the director within seven days after receiving written notice, the director may treat the premises; treat or destroy the infested plants or plant material; or apply any other preventive or remedial measure that the director determines necessary. The expense of any such preventative or remedial measures shall be assessed, collected, and enforced, as taxes are assessed, collected, and enforced, against the premises upon which the expense was incurred. The amount of the expense when collected shall be credited to the plant pest program fund created in section 927.54 of the Revised Code.

Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 7/17/2009.

Effective Date: 11-18-1969