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| To amend sections 901.511, 918.12, 943.01, and 943.02 | 1 |
| and to enact sections 943.20 to 943.30 of the | 2 |
| Revised Code to establish a commercial deer | 3 |
| propagating license, a commercial deer hunting | 4 |
| preserve license, and corresponding requirements | 5 |
| under the authority of the Director of | 6 |
| Agriculture. | 7 |
| Section 1. That sections 901.511, 918.12, 943.01, and 943.02 | 8 |
| be amended and sections 943.20, 943.21, 943.22, 943.23, 943.24, | 9 |
| 943.25, 943.26, 943.27, 943.28, 943.29, and 943.30 of the Revised | 10 |
| Code be enacted to read as follows: | 11 |
| Sec. 901.511. (A) As used in this section: | 12 |
| (1) "Agricultural product" means any of the following items | 13 |
| that is produced for testing or research in the context of a | 14 |
| product development program in conjunction or coordination with a | 15 |
| private research facility, a university, or any federal, state, or | 16 |
| local governmental agency or that is produced for personal, | 17 |
| commercial, pharmaceutical, or educational purposes: field crop or | 18 |
| field crop product; timber or timber product; forestry product; | 19 |
| livestock or livestock product; meat or meat product; milk or | 20 |
| dairy product; poultry or poultry product; equine animal; wool; | 21 |
| fruit or vegetable crop; aquacultural product; horticultural crop, | 22 |
| including plant materials grown in a greenhouse, nursery stock | 23 |
| grown inside or outside of a container, ornamental grass, turf | 24 |
| grass, ornamental trees, ornamental shrubs, or flowers; sod; | 25 |
| mushrooms; viticultural product; apicultural product; tobacco; | 26 |
| pasture; wild animal or domestic deer, as "wild animal" and | 27 |
| "domestic deer" are defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised | 28 |
| Code; commercial deer as defined in section 943.20 of the Revised | 29 |
| Code; or any combination of those items. | 30 |
| (2) "Equipment" means any implement, machinery, real or | 31 |
| personal property, building, or structure that is used in the | 32 |
| production, growing, harvesting, or housing of any agricultural | 33 |
| product. "Equipment" also includes any laboratory, research, | 34 |
| product, samples, supplies, or fixed equipment that is used to | 35 |
| test, develop, or analyze the process of producing, growing, or | 36 |
| maintaining any agricultural product. | 37 |
| (3) "Material support or resources" means currency, payment | 38 |
| instruments, other financial securities, financial services, | 39 |
| lodging, training, safehouses, false documentation or | 40 |
| identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, | 41 |
| lethal substances, explosives, personnel, transportation, and | 42 |
| other physical assets, except medicine or religious materials. | 43 |
| (4) "Payment instrument" means a check, draft, money order, | 44 |
| traveler's check, cashier's check, teller's check, or other | 45 |
| instrument or order for the transmission or payment of money | 46 |
| regardless of whether the item in question is negotiable. | 47 |
| (5) "Specified offense" means either of the following: | 48 |
| (a) A violation of section 2909.02, 2909.03, 2909.05, | 49 |
| 2909.06, 2909.07, 2911.13, 2911.21, 2913.02, 2913.04, or 2913.42 | 50 |
| of the Revised Code; | 51 |
| (b) An attempt to commit, complicity in committing, or a | 52 |
| conspiracy to commit an offense listed in division (A)(5)(a) of | 53 |
| this section. | 54 |
| (B) No person shall commit a specified offense involving any | 55 |
| agricultural product or equipment with the intent to do any of the | 56 |
| following: | 57 |
| (1) Intimidate or coerce a civilian population; | 58 |
| (2) Influence the policy of any government by intimidation or | 59 |
| coercion; | 60 |
| (3) Affect the conduct of any government; | 61 |
| (4) Interrupt or interfere with agricultural production, | 62 |
| agricultural research, or equipment for purposes of disrupting or | 63 |
| influencing, through intimidation or other means, consumer | 64 |
| confidence or agricultural production methods. | 65 |
| Division (B) of this section does not apply to the practice | 66 |
| of veterinary medicine by a person who has been issued a valid | 67 |
| license, temporary permit, or registration certificate to practice | 68 |
| veterinary medicine under Chapter 4741. of the Revised Code. As | 69 |
| used in this division, "practice of veterinary medicine" has the | 70 |
| same meaning as in section 4741.01 of the Revised Code. | 71 |
| (C) No person shall raise, solicit, collect, donate, or | 72 |
| provide any material support or resources with the purpose that | 73 |
| the material support or resources will be used in whole or in part | 74 |
| to plan, prepare, carry out, or aid in either a violation of | 75 |
| division (B) of this section or in the concealment of, or an | 76 |
| escape from, a violation of that division. | 77 |
| (D)(1) In addition to the penalties established in section | 78 |
| 901.99 of the Revised Code for a violation of this section, the | 79 |
| court may require any person who violates this section to pay the | 80 |
| victim of the offense an amount up to triple the value of the | 81 |
| agricultural product or equipment that was the subject of the | 82 |
| violation. | 83 |
| (2) In ordering restitution under division (D)(1) of this | 84 |
| section, the court shall consider as part of the value of the | 85 |
| agricultural product or equipment the market value of the | 86 |
| agricultural product or equipment prior to the violation and the | 87 |
| production, research, testing, replacement, and development costs | 88 |
| directly related to the agricultural product or equipment that was | 89 |
| the subject of the violation. | 90 |
| (E) The enactment of this section is not intended to require | 91 |
| the prosecution exclusively under this section of an act, series | 92 |
| of acts, or course of behavior that could be prosecuted either | 93 |
| under this section or under another section of the Revised Code. | 94 |
| One or more acts, series of acts, or courses of behavior that may | 95 |
| be prosecuted either under this section or under another section | 96 |
| of the Revised Code may be prosecuted under this section, the | 97 |
| other section, or both sections. | 98 |
| Sec. 918.12. (A) An establishment, as defined in section | 99 |
| 918.01 of the Revised Code, that slaughters or otherwise prepares | 100 |
| meat of bison, cervidea, other bovidea, camelidae and hybrids | 101 |
| thereof, ratites, domestic rabbits, commercial deer as defined in | 102 |
|
section 943.20 of the Revised Code, domestic deer | 103 |
| section 1531.01 of the Revised Code, or other animals determined | 104 |
| by the director of agriculture by rule for human food purposes may | 105 |
| receive voluntary state inspection, as defined in division (B) of | 106 |
| section 918.01 of the Revised Code, if the establishment complies | 107 |
| with sections 918.01 to 918.11 of the Revised Code and the rules | 108 |
| adopted under those sections for establishments that slaughter or | 109 |
| otherwise prepare for food purposes other animals and if the | 110 |
| establishment complies with division (C) of this section. | 111 |
| (B) The owner of an establishment, as defined in section | 112 |
| 918.21 of the Revised Code, who slaughters or otherwise prepares | 113 |
| the meat of pheasant, quail, partridge, peafowl, grouse, captive | 114 |
| raised wild turkey, captive raised waterfowl, or other poultry | 115 |
| determined by the director by rule may receive voluntary state | 116 |
| inspection as defined in division (I) of section 918.21 of the | 117 |
| Revised Code and the rules adopted under those sections for | 118 |
| establishments that slaughter or otherwise prepare for food | 119 |
| purposes other poultry and if the establishment complies with | 120 |
| division (C) of this section and sections 918.21 to 918.28 of the | 121 |
| Revised Code. | 122 |
| (C) An establishment that receives voluntary state inspection | 123 |
| under division (A) or (B) of this section shall pay the costs of | 124 |
| the inspection at a rate and under terms established by rule of | 125 |
| the director of agriculture in accordance with section 918.04 of | 126 |
| the Revised Code. | 127 |
| Sec. 943.01. As used in sections 943.01 to 943.18 of the | 128 |
| Revised Code: | 129 |
| (A) "Animals" or "livestock" means horses, mules, and other | 130 |
| equidae, cattle, sheep, and goats and other bovidae, swine and | 131 |
| other suidae, commercial deer as defined in section 943.20 of the | 132 |
| Revised Code, alpacas, and llamas. | 133 |
| (B) "Dealer" or "broker" means any person found by the | 134 |
| department of agriculture buying, receiving, selling, | 135 |
| slaughtering, with the exception of those persons designated by | 136 |
| division (B)(1) of section 918.10 of the Revised Code, exchanging, | 137 |
| negotiating, or soliciting the sale, resale, exchange, or transfer | 138 |
| of any animals in an amount of more than two hundred fifty head of | 139 |
| cattle, horses, or other equidae or five hundred head of sheep, | 140 |
| goats, or other bovidae or swine and other suidae or alpacas or | 141 |
| llamas during any one year. "Dealer" or "broker" does not mean any | 142 |
| of the following: | 143 |
| (1) Any railroad or other carrier transporting animals either | 144 |
| interstate or intrastate; | 145 |
| (2) Any person who by dispersal sale is permanently | 146 |
| discontinuing the business of farming, dairying, breeding, | 147 |
| raising, or feeding animals; | 148 |
| (3) Any person who sells livestock that has been raised from | 149 |
| birth on the premises of the person; | 150 |
| (4) Any person who buys or receives animals for grazing or | 151 |
| feeding purposes at a premises owned or controlled by the person | 152 |
| and sells or disposes of the animals after the minimum grazing or | 153 |
| feeding period of thirty days; | 154 |
| (5) Any person who places livestock in facilities other than | 155 |
| the person's own pursuant to a written agreement for feeding or | 156 |
| finishing, provided that the person retains legal and equitable | 157 |
| title to the livestock during the term of the agreement; | 158 |
| (6) Any person who has been issued a commercial deer | 159 |
| propagating license under section 943.22 of the Revised Code or a | 160 |
| commercial deer hunting preserve license under section 943.24 of | 161 |
| the Revised Code. | 162 |
| The exemptions set forth in divisions (B)(1) to | 163 |
| this section are exclusive of those activities requiring | 164 |
|
licensure
under | 165 |
| Revised Code, so that a person shall be deemed to be a dealer or | 166 |
|
broker or subject to divisions
(B)(1) to
| 167 |
| but shall not be, or be subject to, both. No person who is a | 168 |
| licensed dealer or broker and whose license is suspended shall | 169 |
| have livestock or animals exempted pursuant to divisions (B)(1) | 170 |
|
to | 171 |
| (C) "Employee" means any person employed by a dealer or | 172 |
| broker to act in the dealer's or broker's behalf to buy, sell, | 173 |
| exchange, negotiate, or solicit sale or resale of animals in the | 174 |
| dealer's or broker's name. | 175 |
| Sec. 943.02. (A) No person shall act as a dealer or broker | 176 |
| without first being licensed. No person shall be an employee of | 177 |
| more than one dealer or broker. Except as provided in division (B) | 178 |
| of this section, no person holding a license as a dealer or broker | 179 |
| shall be an employee. No employee shall act for any dealer or | 180 |
| broker unless the dealer or broker is licensed, and has designated | 181 |
|
the employee to act in | 182 |
|
notified the department of agriculture in | 183 |
| license or has given official notice in writing of the appointment | 184 |
| of the employee. The dealer or broker shall be accountable and | 185 |
| responsible for all contracts pertaining to the purchase, | 186 |
| exchange, or sale of livestock made by the employee. The dealer or | 187 |
| broker who terminates the services of an employee shall notify the | 188 |
| department in writing of the employee's termination. No person who | 189 |
| is a licensed dealer or broker shall have livestock exempted | 190 |
|
pursuant to divisions (B)(1) | 191 |
| of the Revised Code. | 192 |
| (B) A dealer or broker may be an employee of other dealers or | 193 |
|
brokers only
when | 194 |
| soliciting agent for a video auction. | 195 |
| (C) The director of agriculture shall define by rule | 196 |
| "soliciting agent" and "video auction" for the purposes of this | 197 |
| section. | 198 |
| Sec. 943.20. As used in this section and sections 943.21 to | 199 |
| 943.30 of the Revised Code: | 200 |
| (A) "Authorized enclosure" means an area of land that is | 201 |
| surrounded by a fence that complies with division (A) of section | 202 |
| 943.23 of the Revised Code. | 203 |
| (B) "Chronic wasting disease" has the same meaning as in 9 | 204 |
| C.F.R. 55.1. | 205 |
| (C) "Commercial deer" means captive deer that have been | 206 |
| legally acquired or their offspring and that are privately owned | 207 |
| primarily for the purposes of agriculture, propagation, or the | 208 |
| operation of a hunting preserve. | 209 |
| (D) "Hunting preserve" means an area of land where commercial | 210 |
| deer are released and hunted as authorized by a commercial deer | 211 |
| hunting preserve license obtained under section 943.24 of the | 212 |
| Revised Code. | 213 |
| (E) "Rule" means a rule adopted under section 943.26 of the | 214 |
| Revised Code. | 215 |
| Sec. 943.21. The department of agriculture the sole | 216 |
| authority to regulate commercial deer. | 217 |
| Sec. 943.22. (A) Except as otherwise provided by rules, a | 218 |
| person desiring to engage in the business of propagating and | 219 |
| selling commercial deer in an authorized enclosure that is owned | 220 |
| or leased by the person shall apply in writing to the director of | 221 |
| agriculture for a license to do so. | 222 |
| (B)(1) The director may issue to the applicant a commercial | 223 |
| deer propagating license if all of the following conditions are | 224 |
| satisfied: | 225 |
| (a) The application is made in good faith. | 226 |
| (b) The applicant complies with or, in the case of an | 227 |
| application for an initial license, has demonstrated to the | 228 |
| director's satisfaction that the applicant will comply with | 229 |
| section 943.23 of the Revised Code. | 230 |
| (c) The applicant pays a license fee of three hundred | 231 |
| dollars. | 232 |
| (2) A commercial deer propagating licensee may do all of the | 233 |
| following: | 234 |
| (a) Propagate commercial deer in an authorized enclosure that | 235 |
| is specified in the license application; | 236 |
| (b) Sell commercial deer and ship them alive within and | 237 |
| outside the state at any time; | 238 |
| (c) In the case of the licensee and the licensee's employees, | 239 |
| kill commercial deer and sell the carcasses for food in accordance | 240 |
| with sections 918.01 to 918.12 of the Revised Code. | 241 |
| The director may establish terms and conditions of a license. | 242 |
| (C) A license issued under this section expires on the | 243 |
| fifteenth day of March of each year. A licensee wishing to | 244 |
| continue to propagate and sell commercial deer shall apply for a | 245 |
| new license under this section and shall include with the | 246 |
| application the information that is required by division (G)(1) of | 247 |
| section 943.23 of the Revised Code. | 248 |
| (D) All money collected under this section shall be credited | 249 |
| to the commercial deer fund created in section 943.30 of the | 250 |
| Revised Code. | 251 |
| Sec. 943.23. (A) A commercial deer propagating licensee | 252 |
| shall keep commercial deer in an authorized enclosure that is | 253 |
| surrounded by a fence that is eight feet in height with a minimal | 254 |
| deviation not to exceed four per cent, is constructed in a manner | 255 |
| that prevents ingress and egress of deer, and is constructed of | 256 |
| materials that are approved by the director of agriculture in | 257 |
| rules. | 258 |
| A person who is raising and selling commercial deer on the | 259 |
| effective date of this section shall comply with the fence | 260 |
| requirements established in this division not later than one year | 261 |
| after the director has adopted rules under division (A) of section | 262 |
| 943.26 of the Revised Code. | 263 |
| (B) A commercial deer propagating licensee only shall | 264 |
| purchase or acquire commercial deer from, or sell or otherwise | 265 |
| transfer commercial deer to, another such licensee or from a herd | 266 |
| that is monitored by the United States department of agriculture | 267 |
| for chronic wasting disease or any other animal disease. | 268 |
| (C) Each commercial deer that is raised by a licensee and | 269 |
| held in an authorized enclosure that is owned or leased by the | 270 |
| licensee shall be identified with a tag that has a symbol | 271 |
| identifying the licensee and a distinctive number for that deer. | 272 |
| (D) If a commercial deer escapes or is missing from an | 273 |
| authorized enclosure that is owned or leased by a licensee, the | 274 |
| licensee shall notify by telephone the director within a | 275 |
| reasonable amount of time after the licensee determines that the | 276 |
| commercial deer has escaped or is missing. | 277 |
| (E) A licensee shall submit animal tissue from ten per cent | 278 |
| of all of the licensee's commercial deer that are twelve months of | 279 |
| age or older and that have died or thirty such deer, whichever is | 280 |
| less, to the animal disease diagnostic laboratory in the | 281 |
| department of agriculture for chronic wasting disease testing. The | 282 |
| director shall send the results of the testing to the licensee. If | 283 |
| the results of the testing indicate that a commercial deer had | 284 |
| chronic wasting disease, the director shall take appropriate | 285 |
| actions as provided in sections 941.01 to 941.15 of the Revised | 286 |
| Code. | 287 |
| (F) A licensee shall dispose of the body of a commercial deer | 288 |
| that dies of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, as | 289 |
| defined in section 941.01 of the Revised Code, in accordance with | 290 |
| section 941.14 of the Revised Code. | 291 |
| (G)(1) A licensee shall file with a license renewal | 292 |
| application, on a form provided by the director, a complete and | 293 |
| accurate report signed by the licensee showing the total number of | 294 |
| commercial deer that have been held by the licensee in the | 295 |
| previous twelve months. If the licensee fails to file the | 296 |
| inventory report with the renewal application, the director shall | 297 |
| not renew the license. | 298 |
| (2) A licensee shall maintain and keep all of the following | 299 |
| on the premises of the licensee: | 300 |
| (a) Records of all commercial deer that are held, purchased | 301 |
| or otherwise acquired, sold or otherwise transferred, or killed in | 302 |
| an authorized enclosure that is owned or leased by the licensee. | 303 |
| The records shall include the distinctive number that is assigned | 304 |
| to each commercial deer as required in division (C) of this | 305 |
| section. | 306 |
| (b) The name and address of a recipient or consignee of any | 307 |
| commercial deer that is raised by the licensee and the date on | 308 |
| which the person received or was consigned the commercial deer; | 309 |
| (c) Records that verify that each commercial deer that is | 310 |
| raised and sold by the licensee was purchased or otherwise | 311 |
| acquired from another commercial deer propagating licensee or from | 312 |
| a herd that is monitored by the United States department of | 313 |
| agriculture for chronic wasting disease or any other animal | 314 |
| disease; | 315 |
| (d) Herd and individual animal health certificates, including | 316 |
| certificates of veterinary inspection, and the results of any | 317 |
| tests performed under division (E) of this section. | 318 |
| (H) No commercial deer propagating licensee shall fail to | 319 |
| comply with this section. | 320 |
| Sec. 943.24. (A) Except as otherwise provided by rules, no | 321 |
| person shall hunt or offer for hunting any commercial deer except | 322 |
| in a licensed commercial deer hunting preserve. No person shall | 323 |
| own or operate a commercial deer hunting preserve without first | 324 |
| obtaining a license to do so issued by the director of agriculture | 325 |
| under this section. | 326 |
| (B) Application for a commercial deer hunting preserve | 327 |
| license shall be made on a form prescribed by the director and | 328 |
| shall be accompanied by an annual license fee of three hundred | 329 |
| dollars. The application shall contain a description of the lands | 330 |
| that constitute or will constitute the preserve and any other | 331 |
| information that is required by the director in rules. | 332 |
| (C) Except as otherwise provided in division (E) of this | 333 |
| section, the director, upon payment of the license fee, may issue | 334 |
| to an applicant a commercial deer hunting preserve license if both | 335 |
| of the following conditions are met: | 336 |
| (1) The commercial deer hunting preserve complies with or, in | 337 |
| the case of an application for an initial license, the applicant | 338 |
| has demonstrated to the director's satisfaction that the proposed | 339 |
| preserve will comply with section 943.25 of the Revised Code. | 340 |
| (2) The applicant is the owner or lessee of the land | 341 |
| described in the application and the applicant certifies that the | 342 |
| applicant will remain the owner or lessee of the land until the | 343 |
| license expires. | 344 |
| The director may establish terms and conditions of a license. | 345 |
| (D) A license issued under this section expires on the | 346 |
| fifteenth day of March of each year. A licensee wishing to | 347 |
| continue to own or operate a commercial deer hunting preserve | 348 |
| shall apply for a new license under this section. | 349 |
| (E) The director shall not issue a commercial deer hunting | 350 |
| preserve license to an applicant that owns or leases an authorized | 351 |
| enclosure that is not in compliance with division (B) of section | 352 |
| 943.25 of the Revised Code. | 353 |
| (F) All money collected under this section shall be credited | 354 |
| to the commercial deer fund created in section 943.30 of the | 355 |
| Revised Code. | 356 |
| Sec. 943.25. (A) A commercial deer hunting preserve that is | 357 |
| licensed under section 943.24 of the Revised Code shall be not | 358 |
| less than eighty acres in area. A hunting preserve shall be | 359 |
| located in one continuous block of land, except that the block of | 360 |
| land may be intersected by highways or roads if the hunting | 361 |
| preserve was in operation prior to the effective date of this | 362 |
| section. | 363 |
| (B) Except for a hunting preserve that was in operation prior | 364 |
| to the effective date of this section, a commercial deer hunting | 365 |
| preserve licensee shall maintain or keep commercial deer in an | 366 |
| authorized enclosure. | 367 |
| The owner or lessee of a hunting preserve that was in | 368 |
| operation prior to the effective date of this section and that | 369 |
| wishes to operate in accordance with a license issued under | 370 |
| section 943.24 of the Revised Code shall comply with the fence | 371 |
| requirements established for authorized enclosures not later than | 372 |
| one year after the director has adopted rules under division (A) | 373 |
| of section 943.26 of the Revised Code. | 374 |
| (C) A licensee only shall release and allow to be hunted | 375 |
| within the confines of the licensee's commercial deer hunting | 376 |
| preserve either or both of the following: | 377 |
| (1) Deer that have been propagated by a person who holds a | 378 |
| commercial deer propagating license issued under section 943.22 of | 379 |
| the Revised Code; | 380 |
| (2) Deer that have been purchased from a herd that is | 381 |
| monitored by the United States department of agriculture for | 382 |
| chronic wasting disease or any other animal disease or that has | 383 |
| had animal tissue from ten per cent of all of the herd's | 384 |
| commercial deer that are twelve months of age or older and that | 385 |
| have died or thirty such deer, whichever is less, submitted to the | 386 |
| animal disease diagnostic laboratory in the department of | 387 |
| agriculture for chronic wasting disease. | 388 |
| A licensee shall allow to be hunted within the confines of | 389 |
| the licensee's commercial deer hunting preserve commercial deer, | 390 |
| without regard to sex, bag limit, or hunting season, by hunters | 391 |
| who have been authorized by the licensee to hunt on the preserve. | 392 |
| (D) If a commercial deer escapes or is missing from an | 393 |
| enclosure that is owned or leased by a licensee, the licensee | 394 |
| shall notify by telephone the director within a reasonable amount | 395 |
| of time after the licensee determines that the commercial deer has | 396 |
| escaped or is missing. | 397 |
| (E) A licensee shall dispose of the body of a commercial deer | 398 |
| that dies of a dangerously contagious or infectious disease, as | 399 |
| defined in section 941.01 of the Revised Code, in accordance with | 400 |
| section 941.14 of the Revised Code. | 401 |
| (F) No commercial deer hunting preserve licensee shall fail | 402 |
| to comply with this section. | 403 |
| Sec. 943.26. The director of agriculture shall adopt rules | 404 |
| in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that do all of | 405 |
| the following: | 406 |
| (A) Compile a list of materials that must be used to | 407 |
| construct fences for authorized enclosures for the purposes of | 408 |
| sections 943.23 and 943.25 of the Revised Code. In adopting the | 409 |
| rules, the director shall consult with the animal and plant health | 410 |
| inspection service in the United States department of agriculture, | 411 |
| the department of natural resources, and representatives of the | 412 |
| Ohio cervid industry. | 413 |
| (B) Establish information that must be included in an | 414 |
| application for a license to own or operate a commercial deer | 415 |
| hunting preserve; | 416 |
| (C) Establish the amount of civil penalties that may be | 417 |
| assessed by the director under division (B) of section 943.29 of | 418 |
| the Revised Code for violation of section 943.22, 943.23, 943.24, | 419 |
| 943.25, or 943.27 of the Revised Code; | 420 |
| (D) Any other requirements and procedures that are necessary | 421 |
| to administer and enforce sections 943.20 to 943.30 of the Revised | 422 |
| Code. | 423 |
| Sec. 943.27. No person shall do either of the following: | 424 |
| (A) Take a white-tailed deer from the wild into an authorized | 425 |
| enclosure that houses commercial deer; | 426 |
| (B) Knowingly release or knowingly fail to prevent the escape | 427 |
| of commercial deer from an authorized enclosure or other holding | 428 |
| area that is owned or leased by a commercial deer propagating | 429 |
| licensee or a commercial deer hunting preserve licensee. | 430 |
| Sec. 943.28. The director of agriculture or the director's | 431 |
| authorized representative may enter at reasonable times on the | 432 |
| premises of commercial deer propagating licensees and commercial | 433 |
| deer hunting preserve licensees to conduct investigations and | 434 |
| inspections or to otherwise execute duties that are necessary for | 435 |
| the administration and enforcement of sections 943.20 to 943.30 of | 436 |
| the Revised Code. If refused entry, the director or the director's | 437 |
| authorized representative may apply for and the court of common | 438 |
| pleas having jurisdiction may issue an appropriate warrant. With | 439 |
| regard to commercial deer propagating licensees, the director or | 440 |
| the director's authorized representative may examine and copy at | 441 |
| reasonable times any records that are required to be kept and | 442 |
| maintained by section 943.23 of the Revised Code. | 443 |
| Sec. 943.29. (A) The director of agriculture may propose to | 444 |
| require corrective actions and assess a civil penalty against a | 445 |
| commercial deer propagating licensee or a commercial deer hunting | 446 |
| preserve licensee if the director or the director's authorized | 447 |
| representative determines that the licensee is not in compliance | 448 |
| with section 943.22, 943.23, 943.24, 943.25, or 943.27 of the | 449 |
| Revised Code, as applicable, the terms and conditions of the | 450 |
| commercial deer propagating license or commercial deer hunting | 451 |
| preserve license, as applicable, or rules. However, the director | 452 |
| may impose a civil penalty only if all of the following occur: | 453 |
| (1) The licensee is notified in writing of the deficiencies | 454 |
| resulting in noncompliance, the actions that the licensee must | 455 |
| take to correct the deficiencies, and the time period within which | 456 |
| the licensee must correct the deficiencies and attain compliance. | 457 |
| (2) After the time period that is specified in the notice has | 458 |
| elapsed, the director or the director's authorized representative | 459 |
| has inspected the authorized enclosure that is owned or leased by | 460 |
| the licensee, determined that the licensee is still not in | 461 |
| compliance, and issued a notice of an adjudication hearing. | 462 |
| (3) The director affords the licensee an opportunity for an | 463 |
| adjudication hearing under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code | 464 |
| regarding the director's determination that the licensee is not in | 465 |
| compliance or the imposition of the civil penalty, or both. | 466 |
| However, the licensee may waive the right to an adjudication | 467 |
| hearing. | 468 |
| (B) If the opportunity for an adjudication hearing is waived | 469 |
| or if, after an adjudication hearing, the director determines that | 470 |
| a violation has occurred or is occurring, the director may issue | 471 |
| an order requiring compliance and assess a civil penalty. The | 472 |
| order and the assessment of the civil penalty may be appealed in | 473 |
| accordance with section 119.12 of the Revised Code. | 474 |
| A civil penalty assessed under this section shall be in an | 475 |
| amount established in rules. Each thirty-day period during which a | 476 |
| violation continues constitutes a separate violation, except that | 477 |
| for a violation of section 943.22, 943.23, 943.24, 943.25, or | 478 |
| 943.27 of the Revised Code, each seven-day period during which a | 479 |
| violation continues constitutes a separate violation. | 480 |
| (C) If after the assessment of a civil penalty under division | 481 |
| (B) of this section a licensee continues to be in violation of | 482 |
| section 943.22, 943.23, 943.24, 943.25, or 943.27 of the Revised | 483 |
| Code, the terms and conditions of a license, or rules, the | 484 |
| director may conduct an adjudication hearing under Chapter 119. of | 485 |
| the Revised Code to suspend or revoke the licensee's license. | 486 |
| (D) All money collected under this section shall be credited | 487 |
| to the commercial deer fund created in section 943.30 of the | 488 |
| Revised Code. | 489 |
| Sec. 943.30. The commercial deer fund is hereby created in | 490 |
| the state treasury. The fund shall consist of money credited to it | 491 |
| under sections 943.20 to 943.30 of the Revised Code. The director | 492 |
| of agriculture shall use money in the fund to administer those | 493 |
| sections. | 494 |
| Section 2. That existing sections 901.511, 918.12, 943.01, | 495 |
| and 943.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed. | 496 |