130th Ohio General Assembly
The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.

Sub. S. B. No. 202As Passed by the Senate
As Passed by the Senate

125th General Assembly
Regular Session
2003-2004
Sub. S. B. No. 202


SENATORS Mumper, Austria, White, Roberts



A BILL
To amend sections 317.32, 505.101, 901.21, 901.22, 917.01, 917.02, 917.031, 917.09, 917.091, 917.19, 917.22, 918.01, 918.02, 918.08, 918.11, 918.25, 918.28, 955.51 to 955.53, 3707.38, 3715.65, 5301.68, and 5301.691 of the Revised Code to revise the laws governing the inspection of meat and poultry, claims for injuries to certain animals by coyotes or black vultures, dairies, agricultural easements, and applications concerning new drugs, to authorize soil and water conservation districts to acquire agricultural easements, and to authorize a board of township trustees to enter into a contract with a soil and water conservation district, without advertising or bidding, for the purchase of services.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1.  That sections 317.32, 505.101, 901.21, 901.22, 917.01, 917.02, 917.031, 917.09, 917.091, 917.19, 917.22, 918.01, 918.02, 918.08, 918.11, 918.25, 918.28, 955.51, 955.52, 955.53, 3707.38, 3715.65, 5301.68, and 5301.691 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 317.32.  The county recorder shall charge and collect the following fees, to include base fees for the recorder's services and housing trust fund fees, collected pursuant to section 317.36 of the Revised Code:
(A) For recording and indexing an instrument when the photocopy or any similar process is employed, a base fee of fourteen dollars for the first two pages and a housing trust fund fee of fourteen dollars, and a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars for each subsequent page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction of a page, including the caption page, of such instrument;
(B) For certifying a photocopy from the record previously recorded, a base fee of one dollar and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction of a page; for each certification where the recorder's seal is required, except as to instruments issued by the armed forces of the United States, a base fee of fifty cents and a housing trust fund fee of fifty cents;
(C) For manual or typewritten recording of assignment or satisfaction of mortgage or lease or any other marginal entry, a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars;
(D) For entering any marginal reference by separate recorded instrument, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars for each marginal reference set out in that instrument, in addition to the fees set forth in division (A) of this section;
(E) For indexing in the real estate mortgage records, pursuant to section 1309.519 of the Revised Code, financing statements covering crops growing or to be grown, timber to be cut, minerals or the like, including oil and gas, accounts subject to section 1309.301 of the Revised Code, or fixture filings made pursuant to section 1309.334 of the Revised Code, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars for each name indexed;
(F) For recording manually any plat not exceeding six lines, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars, and for each additional line, a base fee of ten cents and a housing trust fund fee of ten cents;
(G) For filing zoning resolutions, including text and maps, in the office of the recorder as required under sections 303.11 and 519.11 of the Revised Code, a base fee of fifty dollars and a housing trust fund fee of fifty dollars, regardless of the size or length of the resolutions;
(H) For filing zoning amendments, including text and maps, in the office of the recorder as required under sections 303.12 and 519.12 of the Revised Code, a base fee of ten dollars and a housing trust fund fee of ten dollars for the first page and a base fee of four dollars and a housing trust fund fee of four dollars for each additional page;
(I) For photocopying a document, other than at the time of recording and indexing as provided for in division (A) of this section, a base fee of one dollar and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction thereof;
(J) For local facsimile transmission of a document, a base fee of one dollar and a housing trust fund fee of one dollar per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction thereof; for long distance facsimile transmission of a document, a base fee of two dollars and a housing trust fund fee of two dollars per page, size eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches, or fraction thereof;
(K) For recording a declaration executed pursuant to section 2133.02 of the Revised Code or a durable power of attorney for health care executed pursuant to section 1337.12 of the Revised Code, or both a declaration and a durable power of attorney for health care, a base fee of at least fourteen dollars but not more than twenty dollars and a housing trust fund fee of at least fourteen dollars but not more than twenty dollars.
In any county in which the recorder employs the photostatic or any similar process for recording maps, plats, or prints the recorder shall determine, charge, and collect for the recording or rerecording of any map, plat, or print, a base fee of five cents and a housing trust fund fee of five cents per square inch, for each square inch of the map, plat, or print filed for that recording or rerecording, with a minimum base fee of twenty dollars and a minimum housing trust fund fee of twenty dollars; for certifying a copy from the record, a base fee of two cents and a housing trust fund fee of two cents per square inch of the record, with a minimum base fee of two dollars and a minimum housing trust fund fee of two dollars.
The fees provided in this section shall be paid upon the presentation of the instruments for record or upon the application for any certified copy of the record, except that the payment of fees associated with the filing and recording of, or the copying of, notices of internal revenue tax liens and notices of other liens in favor of the United States as described in division (A) of section 317.09 of the Revised Code and certificates of discharge or release of those liens, shall be governed by section 317.09 of the Revised Code, and the payment of fees for providing copies of instruments conveying or extinguishing agricultural easements to the office of farmland preservation in the department of agriculture under division (G)(H) of section 5301.691 of the Revised Code shall be governed by that division.
Sec. 505.101.  The board of township trustees of any township may, by resolution, enter into a contract, without advertising or bidding, for the purchase or sale of materials, equipment, or supplies from or to any department, agency, or political subdivision of the state, for the purchase of services with a soil and water conservation district established under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code, or for the purchase of supplies, services, materials, and equipment with a regional planning commission pursuant to division (D) of section 713.23 of the Revised Code. The resolution shall:
(A) Set forth the maximum amount to be paid as the purchase price for the materials, equipment, or supplies, or services;
(B) Describe the type of materials, equipment, or supplies, or services that are to be purchased;
(C) Appropriate sufficient funds to pay the purchase price for the materials, equipment, or supplies, or services, except that no such appropriation is necessary if funds have been previously appropriated for the purpose and remain unencumbered at the time the resolution is adopted.
Sec. 901.21.  (A) As used in this section and section 901.22 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Agricultural easement" has the same meaning as in section 5301.67 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Agriculture" means those activities occurring on land devoted exclusively to agricultural use, as defined in section 5713.30 of the Revised Code, or on land that constitutes a homestead.
(3) "Homestead" means the portion of a farm on which is located a dwelling house, yard, or outbuildings such as a barn or garage.
(B) The director of agriculture may acquire real property used predominantly in agriculture and agricultural easements by gift, devise, or bequest if, at the time an easement is granted, such an easement is on land that is valued for purposes of real property taxation at its current value for agricultural use under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code or that constitutes a homestead. Any terms may be included in an agricultural easement so acquired that are necessary or appropriate to preserve on behalf of the grantor of the easement the favorable tax consequences of the gift, devise, or bequest under the "Internal Revenue Act of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended. The director, by any such means or by purchase or lease, may acquire, or acquire the use of, stationary personal property or equipment that is located on land acquired in fee by the director under this section and that is necessary or appropriate for the use of the land predominantly in agriculture.
(C) The director may do all things necessary or appropriate to retain the use of real property acquired in fee under division (B) of this section predominantly in agriculture, including, without limitation, performing any of the activities described in division (A)(1) or (2) of section 5713.30 of the Revised Code or entering into contracts to lease or rent the real property so acquired to persons or governmental entities that will use the land predominantly in agriculture.
(D)(1) When the director considers it to be necessary or appropriate, the director may sell real property acquired in fee, and stationary personal property or equipment acquired by gift, devise, bequest, or purchase, under division (B) of this section on such terms as the director considers to be advantageous to this state.
(2) An agricultural easement acquired under division (B) of this section may be extinguished under the circumstances prescribed, and in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth, in the instrument conveying the agricultural easement.
(E) There is hereby created in the state treasury the agricultural easement purchase fund. The fund shall consist of the proceeds received from the sale of real and personal property under division (D) of this section; moneys received due to the extinguishment of agricultural easements acquired by the director under division (B) of this section or section 5301.691 of the Revised Code; moneys received due to the extinguishment of agricultural easements purchased with the assistance of matching grants made under section 901.22 of the Revised Code; gifts, bequests, devises, and contributions received by the director for the purpose of acquiring agricultural easements; and grants received from public or private sources for the purpose of purchasing agricultural easements. The fund shall be administered by the director, and moneys in the fund shall be used by the director exclusively to purchase agricultural easements under division (A) of section 5301.691 of the Revised Code and provide matching grants under section 901.22 of the Revised Code to municipal corporations, counties, townships, soil and water conservation districts established under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code, and charitable organizations described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code for the purchase of agricultural easements. Money in the fund shall be used only to purchase agricultural easements on land that is valued for purposes of real property taxation at its current value for agricultural use under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code or that constitutes a homestead when the easement is purchased.
(F) There is hereby created in the state treasury the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund. Twelve and one-half per cent of net proceeds of obligations issued and sold pursuant to sections 151.01 and 151.09 of the Revised Code shall be deposited into the fund. The fund shall be used by the director for the purposes of sections 901.21 and this section, section 901.22 of the Revised Code, and the provisions of sections 5301.67 to 5301.70 of the Revised Code governing agricultural easements. Investment earnings of the fund shall be credited to the fund and may be used to pay costs incurred by the director in administering those sections and provisions.
(G) The term of an agricultural easement purchased wholly or in part with money from the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund or the agricultural easement purchase fund shall be perpetual and shall run with the land.
Sec. 901.22.  (A) The director of agriculture, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules that do all of the following:
(1) Establish procedures and eligibility criteria for making matching grants to municipal corporations, counties, townships, soil and water conservation districts established under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code, and charitable organizations described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code for the purchase of agricultural easements. With respect to agricultural easements that are purchased or proposed to be purchased with such matching grants that consist in whole or in part of moneys from the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund created in section 901.21 of the Revised Code, the rules shall establish all of the following:
(a) Procedures for all of the following:
(i) Soliciting and accepting applications for matching grants;
(ii) Participation by local governments and by the public in the process of making matching grants to charitable organizations;
(iii) Notifying local governments, charitable organizations, and organizations that represent the interests of farmers of the ranking system established in rules adopted under division (A)(1)(b) of this section.
(b) A ranking system for applications for the matching grants that is based on the soil type, proximity of the land or other land that is conducive to agriculture as defined by rules adopted under this section and that is the subject of an application to other agricultural land or other land that is conducive to agriculture as defined by rules adopted under this section and that is already or is in the process of becoming permanently protected from development, farm stewardship, development pressure, and, if applicable, a local comprehensive land use plan involved with a proposed agricultural easement. The rules shall require that preference be given to proposed agricultural easements that involve the greatest proportion of all of the following:
(i) Prime soils, unique or locally important soils, microclimates, or similar features;
(ii) Land that is adjacent to or that is in close proximity to other agricultural land or other land that is conducive to agriculture as defined by rules adopted under this section and that is already or is in the process of becoming permanently protected from development, by agricultural easement or otherwise, so that a buffer would exist between the land involving the proposed agricultural easement and areas that have been developed or likely will be developed for purposes other than agriculture;
(iii) The use of best management practices, including federally or state approved conservation plans, and a history of substantial compliance with applicable federal and state laws;
(iv) Development pressure that is imminent, but not a result of current location in the direct path of urban development;
(v) Areas identified for agricultural protection in local comprehensive land use plans.
(c) Any other criteria that the director determines are necessary for selecting applications for matching grants;
(d) Requirements regarding the information that must be included in the annual monitoring report that must be prepared for an agricultural easement under division (D)(E)(2) of section 5301.691 of the Revised Code, procedures for submitting a copy of the report to the office of farmland preservation in the department of agriculture, and requirements and procedures governing corrective actions that may be necessary to enforce the terms of the agricultural easement.
(2) Establish provisions that shall be included in the instrument conveying to a municipal corporation, county, township, soil and water conservation district, or charitable organization any agricultural easement purchased with matching grant funds provided by the director under this section, including, without limitation, all of the following provisions:
(a) A provision stating that an easement so purchased may be extinguished only if an unexpected change in the conditions of or surrounding the land that is subject to the easement makes impossible or impractical the continued use of the land for the purposes described in the easement, or if the requirements of the easement are extinguished by judicial proceedings;
(b) A provision requiring that, upon the sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion of the land subject to the easement, the holder of the easement shall be paid an amount of money that is at least equal to the proportionate value of the easement compared to the total value of the land at the time the easement was acquired;
(c) A provision requiring that, upon receipt of the portion of the proceeds of a sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion described in division (A)(2)(b) of this section, the municipal corporation, county, township, soil and water conservation district, or charitable organization remit to the director an amount of money equal to the percentage of the cost of purchasing the easement it received as a matching grant under this section.
Moneys received by the director pursuant to rules adopted under division (A)(2)(c) of this section shall be credited to the agricultural easement purchase fund created in section 901.21 of the Revised Code.
(3) Establish a provision that provides a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, municipal corporation, township, or county, or soil and water conservation district with the option of purchasing agricultural easements either in installments or with a lump sum payment. The rules shall include a requirement that a charitable organization, municipal corporation, township, or county, or soil and water conservation district negotiate with the seller of the agricultural easement concerning any installment payment terms, including the dates and amounts of payments and the interest rate on the outstanding balance. The rules also shall require the director to approve any method of payment that is undertaken in accordance with the rules adopted under division (A)(3) of this section.
(4) Establish any other requirements that the director considers to be necessary or appropriate to implement or administer a program to make matching grants under this section and monitor those grants.
(B) The director may develop guidelines regarding the acquisition of agricultural easements by the department of agriculture and the provisions of instruments conveying those easements. The director may make the guidelines available to public and private entities authorized to acquire and hold agricultural easements.
(C) The director may provide technical assistance in developing a program for the acquisition and monitoring of agricultural easements to public and private entities authorized to hold agricultural easements. The technical assistance may include, without limitation, reviewing and providing advisory recommendations regarding draft instruments conveying agricultural easements.
(D)(1) The director may make matching grants from the agricultural easement purchase fund and the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund to municipal corporations, counties, townships, soil and water conservation districts, and charitable organizations described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, to assist those political subdivisions and charitable organizations in purchasing agricultural easements. Application for a matching grant shall be made on forms prescribed and provided by the director. The matching grants shall be made in compliance with the criteria and procedures established in rules adopted under this section. Instruments conveying agricultural easements purchased with matching grant funds provided under this section, at a minimum, shall include the mandatory provisions set forth in those rules.
Matching grants made under this division using moneys from the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund created in section 901.21 of the Revised Code may provide up to seventy-five per cent of the value of an agricultural easement as determined by a general real estate appraiser who is certified under Chapter 4763. of the Revised Code or as determined through a points-based appraisal system established under division (D)(2) of this section. Not less than twenty-five per cent of the value of the agricultural easement shall be provided by the recipient of the matching grant or donated by the person who is transferring the easement to the grant recipient. The amount of such a matching grant used for the purchase of a single agricultural easement shall not exceed one million dollars.
(2) The director shall establish a points-based appraisal system for the purposes of division (D)(1) of this section. The director may include any or all of the following factors in the system:
(a) Whether the applicable county auditor has determined that the land is land that is devoted exclusively to agriculture for the purposes of sections 5713.30 to 5713.38 of the Revised Code;
(b) Changes in land values following the completion of the applicable county auditor's reappraisal or triennial update;
(c) Soil types and productivity;
(d) Proximity of the land to land that is already subject to an agricultural easement, conservation easement created under sections 5301.67 to 5301.70 of the Revised Code, or similar land-use limitation;
(e) Proximity of the land to water and sewer lines, road interchanges, and nonagricultural development;
(f) Parcel size and roadway frontage of the land;
(g) Existence of an agreement entered into under division (D) of section 1515.08 of the Revised Code or of an operation and management plan developed under division (A) of section 1511.021 of the Revised Code;
(h) Existence of a comprehensive plan that is adopted under section 303.02 or 519.02 of the Revised Code or that is adopted by the planning commission of a municipal corporation under section 713.06 of the Revised Code;
(i) Any other factors that the director determines are necessary for inclusion in the system.
(E) For any agricultural easement purchased with a matching grant that consists in whole or in part of moneys from the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund, the director shall be named as a grantee on the instrument conveying the easement, as shall the municipal corporation, county, township, soil and water conservation district, or charitable organization that receives the grant.
(F)(1) The director shall monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the agricultural easement program as a farmland preservation tool. On or before July 1, 1999, and the first day of July of each year thereafter, the director shall prepare and submit a report to the chairpersons of the standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives that consider legislation regarding agriculture. The report shall consider and address the following criteria to determine the program's effectiveness:
(a) The number of agricultural easements purchased during the preceding year;
(b) The location of those easements;
(c) The number of acres of land preserved for agricultural use;
(d) The amount of money used by a municipal corporation, township, or county, or soil and water conservation district from its general fund or special any fund to purchase the agricultural easements;
(e) The number of state matching grants given to purchase the agricultural easements;
(f) The amount of state matching grant moneys used to purchase the agricultural easements.
(2) The report also shall consider and include, at a minimum, the following information for each county to determine the program's efficiency:
(a) The total number of acres in the county;
(b) The total number of acres in current agricultural use;
(c) The total number of acres preserved for agricultural use in the preceding year;
(d) The average cost, per acre, of land preserved for agricultural use in the preceding year.
Sec. 917.01.  As used in this chapter:
(A) "Person" means any individual, government agency, political subdivision, partnership, corporation, association, co-operative association, or other business unit.
(B) "Co-operative association" or "agricultural cooperative association" means any agricultural cooperative organized under Chapter 1729. of the Revised Code and qualified to do business in Ohio, this state if the director of agriculture finds the association has, in good faith, its entire activities under the control of its members and has been and is exercising full authority in the sale of milk or cream for its members.
(C) "Market area" means any area that the director finds is a natural marketing area and designates as such.
(D) "Dealer" or "milk dealer" means a person who purchases or receives milk from a producer for the purpose of bottling, packaging, selling, processing, jobbing, brokering, or distributing the milk except where the milk is disposed of in the same container in which it is received, without removal from the container and without processing in any way except by necessary refrigeration. Any person who buys and distributes milk in containers under the person's own label is a dealer.
(E) "Imitation" means imitation as described in 21 C.F.R. 101.3, as amended.
(F) "Milk" means the lacteal secretion, substantially free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows, goats, sheep, or other animals and intended for either of the following purposes:
(1) To be sold for human consumption or for use in dairy products;
(2) To be used for human consumption or for use in dairy products on the premises of a governmental agency or institution.
"Milk" does not include a blend of the lacteal secretions of different species.
(G) "Grade A milk" means milk produced by a person holding a valid producer license of the grade A milk category issued pursuant to section 917.09 of the Revised Code.
(H) "Manufacture milk" means milk produced by a person holding a valid producer license of the manufacture milk category issued pursuant to section 917.09 of the Revised Code.
(I) "Producer" or "milk producer" means a grade A milk producer or a manufacture milk producer.
(J) "Grade A milk producer" means a person located in this state who sells or offers for sale grade A milk obtained from a cow, goat, sheep, or other animal that the person owns or controls.
(K) "Manufacture milk producer" means a person located in this state who sells or offers for sale manufacture milk obtained from a cow, goat, sheep, or other animal that the person owns or controls.
(L) "Grade A milk products" means products derived from grade A milk and having the standard of identity, quality, strength, purity, grade, and, if added, permitted optional ingredients found in the standards of identity established for the products in rules adopted by the director under section 917.02 or 3715.02 of the Revised Code, and includes:
(1) Cottage cheese;
(2) Raw, pasteurized, or aseptically processed products derived from milk and described in either of the following:
(a) The most recent published recommendations of the food and drug administration, public health service, United States department of health and human services;
(b) Rules adopted by the director.
(M) "Manufactured milk products" means all products, other than raw milk for sale to the ultimate consumer and grade A milk products, that are derived from milk and are for human consumption, including:
(1) Butter;
(2) Natural or processed cheese;
(3) Evaporated, condensed, and dry products;
(4) Frozen desserts;
(5) Such other products derived from milk as the director may specify by rule that have the standard of identity, quality, strength, purity, grade, and, if added, permitted optional ingredients found in the standards of identity established for the product in rules adopted by the director under section 917.02 or 3715.02 of the Revised Code.
(N) "Dairy products" means milk, raw milk for sale to the ultimate consumer, grade A milk products, and manufactured milk products.
(O) "Frozen desserts" means frozen desserts, including the mixes, described in 21 C.F.R. 135, as amended, unless otherwise specified by the director by rule.
(P) "Milk plant" means a grade A milk plant or manufacture milk plant.
(Q) "Grade A milk plant" means a place, including a governmental operation, where grade A milk or a grade A milk product is collected, handled, controlled, processed, stored, pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, repasteurized, aseptically processed, bottled, or prepared for distribution, but does not include a place where a grade A milk product is purchased in packaged form and is stored and handled for the sole purpose of sale to the ultimate consumer.
(R) "Manufacture milk plant" means a place, including a governmental operation, where manufacture milk or a manufactured milk product is collected, handled, controlled, manufactured, processed, stored, pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized, repasteurized, commercially sterilized, aseptically processed, bottled, or prepared for distribution, but does not include a place where a manufactured milk product is purchased in packaged form and is stored and handled for the sole purpose of sale to the ultimate consumer.
(S) "Raw milk for sale to the ultimate consumer" means the raw milk sold or offered for sale by a raw milk retailer.
(T) "Raw milk retailer" means a person who, prior to October 31, 1965, was engaged continuously in the business of selling or offering for sale raw milk directly to ultimate consumers.
(U) "Processor" or "milk processor" means a grade A milk processor or a manufacture milk processor.
(V) "Grade A milk processor" means a person who operates or controls a milk plant, transfer station, receiving station, or milk transport cleaning facility that is located in this state or from which grade A milk or grade A milk products are sold or offered for sale for human consumption, as applicable.
(W) "Manufacture milk processor" means any person who operates or controls a manufacture milk plant, transfer station, receiving station, or milk transport cleaning facility that is located in this state or from which manufacture milk or manufactured milk products are sold or offered for sale for human consumption, as applicable.
(X) "Weigher, sampler, or tester" means a person who, in order to determine volume, weight, or composition for the purpose of determining price, weighs, tests, or samples either of the following:
(1) Milk at a dairy farm;
(2) Milk or cream purchased by a dealer from a milk producer or co-operative association.
(Y) "Hauler" or "milk hauler" means a person who owns or leases a vehicle or conveyance used to transport raw milk, but does not include a producer transporting raw milk that the producer has produced.
(Z) "License" means a license issued under section 917.09 of the Revised Code and includes a registration issued under division (I)(J) of that section.
Sec. 917.02. (A) The director of agriculture may do any of the following:
(A)(1) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code regulating all of the following:
(1)(a) The sanitary production, storage, transportation, manufacturing, handling, processing, sampling, testing, examination, and sale of dairy products;
(2)(b) The suspension and revocation of licenses issued under section 917.09 of the Revised Code, provided that the rules are in accordance with and do not conflict with section 917.22 of the Revised Code;
(3)(c) Terms and renewal periods, registration requirements, categories, and fees for licenses issued under section 917.09 of the Revised Code, except that the fee for a producer's license shall not exceed fifteen dollars;
(4)(d) Examinations that must be passed prior to issuance of a weigher, sampler, or tester license and inspections that must be passed prior to issuance of any other type of license issued under section 917.09 of the Revised Code;
(5)(e) Procedures for issuing and renewing licenses under section 917.09 of the Revised Code;
(6)(f) Information that an applicant for a license issued under section 917.09 of the Revised Code is required to provide on the application for licensure;
(7)(g) Standards for equipment or materials used for the production, processing, and handling of dairy products;
(8)(h) Records to be kept by persons holding a license issued under this chapter and the inspection and auditing of books and records of those persons, and any other records that are required to be kept by other rules adopted under this section;
(9)(i) Security arrangements and evidence of financial responsibility for milk dealers, to ensure prompt payment to milk producers;
(10)(j) Standards of identity, quality, strength, purity, grading, and labeling of dairy products;
(11)(k) The production, processing, and handling of dairy products and the prompt and accurate payment for milk and cream by milk dealers, but not the establishment or control of the price of milk and cream;
(12)(l) Criteria for the equipment, methods, or materials to be used in performing weighing, volumetric measuring, sampling, and testing of milk and its components when such an operation is used as the basis for determining payment for milk delivered to or purchased by dealers;
(13)(m) The size and placement of labels and of words on labels required by section 917.04 of the Revised Code to be placed on final delivery containers used for the sale of raw milk to ultimate consumers.
The director shall have exclusive authority to administer and enforce rules adopted under division (A)(1) of this section.
(B)(2) Enter into, with the approval of the milk sanitation board created in section 917.03 of the Revised Code, an agreement with a public or private entity that the director determines is properly qualified for the performance of any of the inspections and analyses required by this chapter;
(C)(3) Adopt rules by reference to all or any part of the following recommendations:
(1)(a) The grade A pasteurized milk ordinance, as amended, and the "grade A condensed and dry milk products and condensed and dry whey" supplement I to the grade A pasteurized milk ordinance of the food and drug administration, public health service, of the United States department of health and human services, to the extent those provisions do not conflict with the laws of this state;
(2)(b) The most recent recommendations for milk for manufacturing purposes and its production and processing published in final form in the Federal Register by the United States department of agriculture, to the extent those recommendations do not conflict with the laws of this state.
(D)(4) Administer and enforce this chapter and rules adopted under it and appoint inspectors and other personnel necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and those rules;
(E)(5) Embargo a dairy product that the director reasonably suspects, believes, or determines is adulterated as described in section 3715.59 of the Revised Code or is misbranded as described in section 3715.60 of the Revised Code;
(F)(6) Adopt by reference all or any part of the rules governing the dairy industry adopted by the United States food and drug administration and the United States department of agriculture;
(G)(7) Annually, not later than ninety days after the end of the state fiscal year, determine the expense of administering and enforcing this chapter and rules adopted under it during the preceding state fiscal year and report the determinations to the milk sanitation board created in section 917.03 of the Revised Code.
(B) The director shall do both of the following:
(1) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing requirements for continuing education courses for weighers, samplers, and testers licensed under section 917.09 of the Revised Code;
(2) Review continuing education courses for weighers, samplers, and testers licensed under section 917.09 of the Revised Code and grant approval to those that meet the requirements established in rules adopted under division (B)(1) of this section.
Sec. 917.031.  The milk sanitation board may do all of the following:
(A) Advise and consult with the director of agriculture in the administration and enforcement of this chapter and rules adopted under it;
(B) Make recommendations to the director regarding proposed rules;
(C) Approve or disapprove agreements between the director and any public or private entity desiring to perform or performing any of the inspections or analyses required under this chapter and rules adopted under it.
The milk sanitation board, after reviewing the director's annual report required under division (G)(A)(7) of section 917.02 of the Revised Code, shall prescribe inspection fees for milk producers and milk processors, and may prescribe inspection fees for milk producers and milk haulers, except that no inspection fees shall be prescribed for manufacture milk producers, processors, or haulers until on or after July 1, 1998. The board may modify any fees it has prescribed. The fees prescribed or modified by the board together with the license fees collected pursuant to this chapter shall not exceed sixty-three per cent of the estimated cost of administering and enforcing this chapter, as determined by the board's review of the director's annual report.
Sec. 917.09.  (A) The director of agriculture may issue the following types of licenses:
(1) Producer;
(2) Processor;
(3) Milk dealer;
(4) Raw milk retailer;
(5) Weigher, sampler, or tester;
(6) Milk hauler.
(B) The director may adopt rules establishing categories for each type of license that are based on the grade or type of dairy product with which the licensee is involved.
(C) Except as provided in section 917.091 of the Revised Code and division (I)(J) of this section, no person shall act as or hold the person's self out as a producer; processor; milk dealer; raw milk retailer; weigher, sampler, or tester; or milk hauler unless the person holds a valid license issued by the director under this section.
(D) Each person desiring a license shall submit to the director a license application on a form prescribed by the director, accompanied by a license fee in an amount specified in rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code. The applicant shall specify on the application the type of license and category requested and shall include any other information required by rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code.
(E) Each applicant for a weigher, sampler, or tester license or registration, prior to issuance of the license or registration, shall pass an examination that is given in accordance with section 917.08 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code.
Each applicant for any other type of license issued under this section, prior to issuance of the license, shall pass an inspection that is made in accordance with rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code.
(F) The director shall not issue a license to an applicant unless the director determines, through an inspection or otherwise, that the applicant is in compliance with the requirements set forth in this chapter and the rules adopted under it.
(G) Examinations that must be passed prior to issuance of a weigher, sampler, or tester license, inspections that must be passed prior to issuance of any other type of license issued under this section, procedures for issuing and renewing licenses, and license terms and renewal periods shall comply with rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code.
(H) Suspension and revocation of licenses shall comply with section 917.22 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code.
(I) Each licensed weigher, sampler, and tester annually shall meet the continuing education requirements established in rules adopted under division (B) of section 917.02 of the Revised Code.
(J) A person whose religion prohibits the person from obtaining a license under this section, in place of a license, shall register with the director as a producer; processor; milk dealer; raw milk retailer; weigher, sampler, or tester; or milk hauler.
The person claiming the exemption from licensure shall register on a form prescribed by the director and shall meet any other registration requirements contained in rules adopted under section 917.02 of the Revised Code. Upon receiving the person's registration form and determining that the person has satisfied all requirements for registration, the director shall notify the person that the person is registered to lawfully operate as a producer; processor; milk dealer; raw milk retailer; weigher, sampler, or tester; or milk hauler.
A registrant is subject to all provisions governing licensees, such as provisions concerning testing, sampling, and inspection of dairy products. A registrant is subject to provisions governing issuance of a temporary weigher, sampler, or tester license under section 917.091 of the Revised Code. A registration shall be renewed, suspended, and revoked under the same terms as a license.
Sec. 917.091.  The director of agriculture may issue a temporary weigher, sampler, or tester license to an applicant upon determining that the applicant has met all qualifications for licensure under section 917.09 of the Revised Code except successful completion of an examination. A temporary weigher, sampler, or tester license is effective only until for ninety days from the date of the next examination issuance. An applicant who has not taken an examination for licensure may receive no more than three temporary weigher, sampler, or tester licenses. An applicant who takes and fails an examination for licensure may receive no more than two temporary weigher, sampler, or tester licenses.
If an applicant for a temporary weigher, sampler, or tester license previously held a weigher, sampler, or tester license issued under section 917.09 of the Revised Code, the following shall apply, as appropriate:
(A) In the case of a license that expired not more than twelve months previously, the applicant shall submit an application and the appropriate fee but is not required to take and pass the examination.
(B) In the case of a license that expired more than twelve months previously, the applicant shall submit an application and the appropriate fee and shall take and pass the examination. The applicant may apply for and receive licenses, both temporary and permanent, to the same extent as a new applicant.
Sec. 917.19.  The following items shall be subject to inspection by a person designated by the director of agriculture:
(A) Milk plant facilities and equipment;
(B) Vehicles and containers used by milk haulers Milk transport vehicles;
(C) Dairy farms, including dairy animals, stables, milk parlors, milk houses, and milk vessels of milk producers.
The inspector, while in the normal, lawful, and peaceful pursuit of inspection duties, may enter upon, cross over, and remain upon privately owned lands for those purposes and shall not be subject to arrest for trespass.
Sec. 917.22.  (A)(1) The director of agriculture may deny, suspend, or revoke a license issued under this chapter for a violation of this chapter or the rules adopted under it. Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license is not effective until the licensee is given written notice of the violation, a reasonable amount of time to correct the violation, and an opportunity for a hearing.
(2) If the director determines that a dairy product constitutes adulterated food as described in section 3715.59 of the Revised Code or exceeds bacterial or chemical standards established by rules adopted under this chapter, or that an emergency exists that presents a clear and present danger to the public health, the director may deny, suspend, or revoke a license, effective immediately without a hearing, provided that an opportunity for a hearing shall be afforded thereafter without delay.
(B) All proceedings under this chapter shall comply with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, except that:
(1) The location of any adjudicatory hearing that the licensee requests shall be the county seat of the county in which is located the licensee's facility that is involved in the alleged violation central office of the department of agriculture.
(2) The director shall notify a licensee by certified mail or personal delivery that the licensee is conditionally entitled to a hearing. The director shall specify in the notice that, in order to obtain a hearing, the licensee must request the hearing not later than ten days after the date of receipt of the notice.
(3) If the licensee requests a hearing, the date set for the hearing shall be no later than ten days after the date on which the director receives the request, unless the director and the licensee agree otherwise.
(4) The director shall not postpone or continue an adjudication hearing without the consent of the licensee. If the licensee requests a postponement or continuation of an adjudication hearing, the director shall not grant it unless the licensee demonstrates that an extreme hardship will be incurred in holding the adjudication hearing on that hearing date. If the director grants a postponement or continuation on the grounds of extreme hardship to the licensee, the record shall document the nature and cause of the extreme hardship.
(5) In lieu of having a hearing and upon the licensee's written request to the director, the licensee may submit to the director, not later than the date of the hearing set pursuant to division (B)(3) of this section, documents, papers, and other written evidence to support the licensee's claim.
(6) If the director appoints a referee or examiner to conduct the hearing, the following apply:
(a) A copy of the written adjudication report and recommendations of the referee or examiner shall be served by certified mail upon the director and the licensee or the licensee's attorney or other representative of record not later than three business days following the conclusion of the hearing.
(b) Not later than three business days after receipt of the report and recommendations, the licensee may file with the director written objections to the report and recommendations.
(c) The director shall consider the objections submitted by the licensee before approving, modifying, or disapproving the report and recommendations. The director shall serve the director's order upon the licensee or the licensee's attorney or other representative of record by certified mail not later than six business days after receiving the report.
(7) If the director conducts the hearing, the director shall serve the director's decision by certified mail upon the licensee or the licensee's attorney or other representative of record not later than three business days following the close of the hearing.
(8) If no hearing is held, the director shall issue an order by certified mail to the licensee or the licensee's attorney or other representative of record not later than three business days following the last date possible for a hearing, based on the record that is available.
Sec. 918.01.  As used in sections 918.01 to 918.11 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Federal inspection" means an inspection pursuant to the "Federal Meat Inspection Act," 34 Stat. 1260 (1907), 21 U.S.C.A. 71, as amended by the "Wholesome Meat Act," 81 Stat. 584 (1967), 21 U.S.C.A. 601, and any subsequent amendments thereto.
(B) "State inspection" means the meat inspection service conducted by the department of agriculture.
(C) "Establishment" means all premises in the state where animals are slaughtered or otherwise prepared for food purposes, meat canneries, sausage factories, smoking or curing operations, and similar places.
(D) "Animals" means cattle, calves, sheep, swine, horses, mules, other equines, goats, and other animals specified under division (A) of section 918.12 of the Revised Code.
(E) "Carcass" means all parts, including viscera, of slaughtered animals that are capable of being used for human food.
(F) "Meat products" means any product capable of use as human food that is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any animal, excepting products which that are exempted from definition as a meat product by the director of agriculture under such conditions as he the director prescribes to ensure that the meat or other portions of such carcasses contained in such the product are not adulterated and that such the products are not represented as meat products.
(G) "Wholesome" means sound, healthful, clean, and otherwise fit for human food.
(H) "Adulterated," as applied to any carcass, part thereof, or meat product, has the same meaning as in sections 3715.59 and 3715.62 of the Revised Code or as otherwise prescribed by the director by rules.
(I) "Inspector" means any employee of the department authorized by the director to inspect animals, carcasses, or meat products.
(J) "Official mark" means the official inspection legend or any other symbol prescribed by rules of the director to identify the status of any article or animals under this chapter.
(K) "Labeling" means all labels and any other display of written, printed, or graphic matter:
(1) Upon any article or any of its containers or wrappers, not including package liners;
(2) Accompanying such an article.
(L) "Ohio retained" means that the animal or the meat product so identified is held for further examination by a veterinary inspector to determine its disposal.
(M) "Prepared" means slaughtered, canned, salted, rendered, boned, cut up, smoked, cooked, or otherwise manufactured or processed.
(N) "Capable of use as human food" as applied to any animal carcass, part thereof, or meat product means any animal carcass, part thereof, or meat food product that is not denatured or otherwise identified as required by state or federal law or rules or regulations to deter its use as human food and that is naturally edible by humans.
(O) "Misbranded," as applied to any carcass, part thereof, or meat product has the same meaning as in section 3715.60 of the Revised Code, or as otherwise prescribed by the director by rules.
(P) "Retail dealer" or "retail butcher" means any place of business where the sales of products are made to consumers only, at least seventy-five per cent of the total dollar value of sales of products represents sales to household consumers, and the sales of products to consumers other than household consumers does do not exceed twenty-eight thousand eight hundred dollars per year the adjusted dollars limitation for annual retail sales published in the Federal Register by the food safety and inspection service in the United States department of agriculture.
On the first day of March in any year in which an adjustment is made, and whenever the change exceeds five hundred dollars, the director shall adjust the then current ceiling based upon the change in the price of the volume of products whose total price is equal to the then current ceiling. The adjustment shall be equal to the total dollar change in price of the same volume of products between the most recently completed calendar year and the next preceding calendar year as measured by changes in the United States department of labor's national consumer price index for those periods of time.
Sec. 918.02.  (A) The director of agriculture, or the director's designee, shall provide ante-mortem inspections of all animals slaughtered at establishments licensed under division (A) of section 918.08 of the Revised Code where and to the extent the director considers it necessary. If, upon inspection, symptoms of disease or other abnormal conditions that would render the animals unfit for human food are found, those animals shall be retained or permanently and conspicuously identified with an official mark indicating they have been condemned and shall be disposed of in a manner prescribed by the director.
(B) The director shall provide post-mortem inspection to the extent the director considers necessary of all animals for human food in establishments licensed under division (A) of section 918.08 of the Revised Code. The head, tongue, tail, viscera, and other parts, and blood used in the preparation of meat products or medicinal products shall be retained in such a manner as to preserve their identity until the post-mortem examination has been completed. Wholesome carcasses shall be identified with an official mark indicating they have been approved. Each unwholesome carcass shall be marked conspicuously by the inspector at the time of inspection with an official mark indicating the carcass has been condemned, and all carcasses and parts thereof thus inspected and condemned shall be destroyed for food purposes by the establishment in the presence of an inspector. If any carcass or any part thereof, upon examination and inspection subsequent to the first examination and inspection, is found to be adulterated, it shall be destroyed for food purposes by the establishment in the presence of an inspector. All unborn or stillborn animals shall be condemned. Carcasses of animals that have died by means other than slaughter shall not be brought into any room in which meat products are processed, handled, or stored.
(C) The director shall provide inspection of all processing operations at establishments licensed under division (A) of section 918.08 of the Revised Code where animal carcasses, parts thereof, or meat products may be brought in and further treated and prepared, and shall provide inspection and supervision in processing departments to ensure that controls are effective at all times.
(D) Establishments licensed under section 918.08 of the Revised Code shall furnish satisfactory facilities and assistance for ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections as required by the director. The director may require operations at the establishments to be conducted during reasonable hours. Licensees shall inform the director in advance of intended hours of operation. When one inspector is assigned to make inspections at two or more establishments where few animals are slaughtered, or where small quantities of meat products are prepared, the director may designate the hours of the day and the days of the week during which the establishment may be operated. No person shall deny access to any authorized inspector upon the presentation of proper identification at any reasonable time to such establishments and to records pertaining to the source and sale of carcasses and meat products. The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing the rate at which an establishment shall reimburse the division of meat inspection for inspection services of more than eight hours in any given day, of more than forty hours in any given week Sunday through Saturday, or on any holiday as specified in division (A) of section 124.19 of the Revised Code.
(E) The director may limit the entry of animals, animal carcasses, or parts thereof, meat food products, and other materials into any establishment at which inspection is maintained under this chapter to ensure that allowing the entry of such articles into such inspected establishments will be consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
(F) All carcasses, parts thereof, and meat products inspected at any establishment under the authority of this chapter and found to be not adulterated, at the time they leave the establishment, shall bear, in distinctly legible forms directly theron thereon or on their containers, appropriate labeling as the director may require in accordance with rules adopted under this chapter. No article subject to this chapter shall be sold or offered for sale by any person, under any names or labeling that is false or misleading.
(G) The director shall adopt and enforce sanitation rules pursuant to this chapter, under which establishments shall be maintained. Where the sanitary conditions of any such establishment are such that the meat product is rendered adulterated, the product shall be retained and not allowed to be labeled with an official mark. The rules pertaining to sanitary conditions shall conform with the sanitation standard operating procedures established in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations and shall require that an establishment be evaluated by determining its compliance with those procedures. In addition, the rules shall require that if an establishment does not have a plan for a particular production process under its hazard analysis critical control point system plan as required in rules, the meat product of the process may be considered to be adulterated and shall be retained pending a production process review and not allowed to be labeled with an official mark.
Sec. 918.08.  (A) Except as provided in division (E)(F) of this section, no person shall operate an establishment without first licensing the establishment with the department of agriculture. The owner of an establishment desiring a license with the department may make application therefor on forms provided by the department. If after inspection the director of agriculture finds that an establishment is in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it, the director shall notify the owner of the establishment and, upon receipt of the required license fee, the establishment shall be permitted to operate. However, if after inspection the director finds that an establishment is not in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it, the director shall deny the license application. The applicant may appeal the denial of the license application in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The license shall expire annually on the thirty-first day of March and, if the director finds that the establishment is in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it, shall be renewed according to the standard renewal procedure of sections 4745.01 to 4745.03 of the Revised Code.
(B) The annual license fee for each establishment, or a renewal thereof, is fifty dollars. All fees collected under this section shall be deposited into the poultry and meat products fund created in section 918.15 of the Revised Code.
(C) If after inspection the director determines that an establishment licensed under division (A) of this section is operating in violation of this chapter or the rules adopted thereunder, the director shall notify the licensee in writing of the violation and give the licensee ten days from the date of notice to cease or correct the conditions causing the violation. If the conditions causing the violation continues continue after the expiration of the ten-day period, the director may withdraw inspection and order the establishment to cease those operations subject to this chapter. Any such order and the appeal therefrom shall be governed by do either of the following:
(1) Impose progressive enforcement actions as provided in division (D)(1) of this section in the same manner as inspectors;
(2) Suspend or revoke the establishment's license in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(D)(1) If an inspector determines that an establishment licensed under division (A) of this section is operating in violation of sections 918.01 to 918.12 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections, the inspector shall may notify the licensee in writing of the violation. The inspector immediately may impose progressive enforcement actions, including withholding the mark of inspection, suspension of inspection, and suspension of inspection held in abeyance, and withdrawal of inspection. The progressive enforcement actions may be taken prior to affording the licensee an opportunity for a hearing. As authorized in division (C) of section 119.06 of the Revised Code, a decision to impose an a progressive enforcement action is immediately appealable to a higher authority within the department who is classified by the director as a district supervisor and who is designated by the director to hear the appeal. If the district supervisor affirms the enforcement action of the inspector, the licensee may appeal the enforcement action in accordance with chapter Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(2) As used in this division (D)(1) of this section, "suspension of inspection held in abeyance" means a period of time during which a suspension of inspection is lifted because an establishment has presented the director with a corrective action plan that, if implemented properly, would bring the establishment into compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.
(E) If in the opinion of the director the establishment is being operated under such insanitary conditions as to be a hazard to public health, or if the director determines that an establishment is not in compliance with its hazard analysis critical control point system plan as required by rules, the director may condemn or retain the product on hand and immediately withdraw inspection from the establishment until the insanitary conditions are corrected or until the establishment is in compliance with its hazard analysis critical control point system plan, as applicable. The director may take those actions prior to an adjudication hearing as required under section 119.06 of the Revised Code. The director subsequently shall afford a hearing upon the request of the owner or operator of the establishment.
(F) Any person operating an establishment as defined in section 918.01 of the Revised Code who also operates on the same premises an establishment as defined in section 918.21 of the Revised Code shall apply either for licensure under section 918.08 of the Revised Code or for licensure under section 918.28 of the Revised Code, but not for both, as the director shall determine.
(G) If the director determines that the owner or operator of or any person employed by an establishment licensed under division (A) of this section forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, or interfered with any person while that person was engaged in, or because of the person's performance of, official duties under sections 918.01 to 918.12 of the Revised Code or the rules adopted under those sections, the director immediately may withdraw inspection from the establishment prior to an adjudication hearing as required under section 119.06 of the Revised Code.
(H) In addition to any remedies provided by law and irrespective of whether or not there exists an adequate remedy at law, the director may apply to the court of common pleas of the county in which a violation of sections 918.01 to 918.12 of the Revised Code or rules adopted under those sections occurs for a temporary or permanent injunction or other appropriate relief concerning the violation.
Sec. 918.11.  (A) No carcass, parts thereof, or meat products shall be stamped or otherwise identified with an official mark unless the carcass, parts, or products have been so identified at an establishment licensed under division (A) of section 918.08 of the Revised Code.
(B) No person shall offer for sale or sell meat or meat products that have not been inspected in compliance with sections 918.01 to 918.11 of the Revised Code.
(C) No person shall knowingly offer for sale or sell adulterated meat or meat products that are detrimental to public health and safety.
(D) All fines and penalties recovered for violating this section shall be deposited into the poultry and meat products fund created in section 918.15 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 918.25.  The director of agriculture shall, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, adopt and enforce rules as necessary for the implementation, administration, and enforcement of sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code. The rules shall meet or exceed the federal standards for meat inspection established in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The rules adopted under this section shall provide for the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and for maximum coordination and cooperation between state and federal programs for regulation of poultry and poultry products, and may include the following:
(A) Exemption of certain products as "poultry products" under the definition in section 918.21 of the Revised Code;
(B) Provision for the retention, identification, and disposal of condemned poultry and poultry products and for the identification of approved products;
(C) Sanitary requirements for premises, facilities, and equipment, for the operation thereof, and for the storage and handling of poultry and poultry products in establishments licensed under section 918.28 of the Revised Code. The rules pertaining to sanitary conditions shall conform with the sanitation standard operating procedures in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations and shall require that an establishment be evaluated by determining its compliance with those procedures.
(D) Requirements for maintenance of records under section 918.24 of the Revised Code;
(E) Procedures for application and licensing, and the revocation and suspension of licenses;
(F) Requirements for marking and attaching the information required by section 918.31 of the Revised Code, including specific styles, legibility and size of type, method of affixing, variations, and exemptions;
(G) Such other rules as are necessary for the proper administration, implementation, and enforcement of sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code, including rules requiring that an inspection of an establishment's slaughter and processing operations be conducted in accordance with the establishment's hazard analysis critical control point system plan. In addition, the rules shall require that if an establishment does not have a plan for a particular production process under its hazard analysis critical control point system plan as required in rules, the poultry product of the process may be considered to be adulterated and shall be retained pending a production process review and not allowed to be labeled with an official mark.
Sec. 918.28.  (A) Except as provided in division (F) of section 918.08 of the Revised Code, application for a license to operate an establishment shall be made to the director of agriculture on forms provided by the department of agriculture. The director shall inspect the establishment and if, upon inspection, the establishment is found to be in compliance with sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code, this chapter and rules adopted under it, the director shall so notify the owner of the establishment and, upon receipt of the annual license fee of fifty dollars, shall issue the owner a license. However, if after inspection the director finds that an establishment is not in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it, the director shall deny the license application. The applicant may appeal the denial of the license application in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The license shall expire on the thirty-first day of March of each year and, if the director finds that the establishment is in compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it, shall be renewed according to the standard renewal procedures of sections 4745.01 to 4745.03 of the Revised Code.
(B) If after inspection the director determines that an establishment licensed under this section is operating in violation of sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code, this chapter or a rule or order adopted or made issued under authority thereof, the director shall notify the licensee in writing of the violation, giving the licensee ten days from the date of the notice to correct the conditions causing the violation. If the conditions are not corrected within the ten-day period, the director may revoke do either of the following:
(1) Impose progressive enforcement actions as provided in division (C)(1) of this section in the same manner as inspectors;
(2) Suspend or suspend revoke the license in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) If an inspector determines that an establishment licensed under division (A) of this section is operating in violation of sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under those sections, the inspector shall may notify the licensee in writing of the violation. The inspector immediately may impose progressive enforcement actions, including withholding the mark of inspection, suspension of inspection, and suspension of inspection held in abeyance, and withdrawal of inspection. The progressive enforcement actions may be taken prior to affording the licensee an opportunity for a hearing. As authorized in division (C) of section 119.06 of the Revised Code, a decision to impose an a progressive enforcement action is immediately appealable to a higher authority within the department who is classified by the director as a district supervisor and who is designated by the director to hear the appeal. If the district supervisor affirms the enforcement action of the inspector, the licensee may appeal the enforcement action in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(2) As used in this division (C)(1) of this section, "suspension of inspection held in abeyance" means a period of time during which a suspension of inspection is lifted because an establishment as has presented the director with a corrective action plan that, if implemented properly, would bring the establishment into compliance with this chapter and rules adopted under it.
(D) If in the opinion of the director the establishment is being operated under such insanitary conditions as to be a hazard to public health, or if the director determines that an establishment is not in compliance with its hazard analysis critical control point system plan as required by rules, the director may condemn or retain the product on hand and immediately withdraw inspection from the plant establishment until such time as the insanitary conditions are corrected or until the establishment is in compliance with its hazard analysis critical control point system plan, as applicable.
(E) If the director determines that the owner or operator of or any person employed by an establishment licensed under division (A) of this section forcibly assaulted, resisted, opposed, impeded, intimidated, or interfered with any person while that person was engaged in, or because of the person's performance of, official duties under sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code or the rules adopted under those sections, the director immediately may withdraw inspection from the establishment prior to an adjudication hearing as required under section 119.06 of the Revised Code.
(F) In addition to any remedies provided by law and irrespective of whether or not there exists an adequate remedy at law, the director may apply to the court of common pleas of the county in which a violation of sections 918.21 to 918.31 of the Revised Code or rules adopted under those sections occurs for a temporary or permanent injunction or other appropriate relief concerning the violation.
Sec. 955.51.  (A) Any owner of horses As used in sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Animal" means a horse, mule, sheep, head of cattle, swine, mules, goats goat, domestic rabbits rabbit, or domestic fowl or poultry that have an aggregate fair market value of ten dollars or more and.
(2) "Fair market value" means the average price that is paid for a healthy grade animal at a livestock auction selected by the director of agriculture and licensed under Chapter 943. of the Revised Code.
(3) "Grade animal" means an animal that is not eligible for registration by a breed association or in a registry.
(4) "Predator" means a coyote or a black vulture.
(B) An owner of an animal that have has been injured or killed by a coyote or a black vulture predator and that the owner believes has a fair market value of more than twenty-five dollars shall notify the dog warden do both of the following within three days seventy-two hours after the loss or injury has been discovered. The:
(1) Notify the dog warden by telephone;
(2) Document by photograph the wounds sustained by the animal.
If the owner chooses to file a claim under sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code, the owner shall complete a claim form for indemnification in quadruplicate as prescribed by the director in section 955.53 of the Revised Code and provided by the dog warden. The owner may request, and the dog warden shall provide, assistance in filling out the form. For the purposes of section 955.52 of the Revised Code, the owner shall send to the department of agriculture, within thirty days after discovery of the animal, the original copy of the claim form, all photographs documenting the wounds of the animal, and any other pertinent facts in the possession of the owner.
If the animal that is killed or injured is registered by an accepted association or in an accepted registry, the owner shall submit with the claim form that is filed with the department the registration papers showing the animal's lines of breeding, age, and other relevant information. If the animal is the offspring of registered stock and is eligible for registration, the registration papers showing the lines of breeding of the offspring shall be submitted as well.
The owner shall retain a copy of the claim form and provide a copy of the form to both the dog warden and the wildlife officer who investigates the claim, if applicable.
(C) Following notification from the owner of an animal under division (B) of this section, the dog warden promptly shall investigate the loss or injury and shall determine whether or not the loss or injury was made by a coyote or a black vulture predator. If the dog warden finds determines that the loss or injury was not made by a coyote or a black vulture predator, the owner has no claim under sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code. If the dog warden finds determines that the loss or injury was made by a coyote or a black vulture predator, the dog warden promptly shall notify by telephone the wildlife officer of that finding determination. For the purposes of section 955.52 of the Revised Code, the dog warden shall send to the department the dog warden's determination of whether the animal was killed or injured by a predator and any other documents, testimony, or information that the dog warden has received relating to the loss or injury of the animal. The
(D) Following notification from the dog warden under division (C) of this section, the wildlife officer then shall confirm the finding determination of the dog warden on the claim, disaffirm it, or state that the wildlife officer is uncertain about the finding determination. If the wildlife officer disaffirms the determination of the dog warden, the owner has no claim under sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code. If the wildlife officer affirms the finding determination of the dog warden or states that the wildlife officer is uncertain about that finding determination, the owner may proceed with a claim under sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code, and the dog warden shall provide the owner with duplicate copies of the claim form provided for in section 955.53 of the Revised Code and assist the owner in filling it out. The owner shall set forth the kind, grade, quality, and what the owner has determined is the fair market value of the animals, fowl, or poultry, the nature and amount of the loss or injury, the place where the loss or injury occurred, and all other pertinent facts in the possession of the claimant. If the animals, fowl, or poultry die as a result of their injuries, their fair market value is the market value of uninjured animals, fowl, or poultry on the date of the death of the injured animals, fowl, or poultry. If the animals, fowl, or poultry do not die as a result of their injuries, their fair market value is their market value on the date on which they received their injuries.
(B) If the dog warden finds all the statements that the owner made on the form to be correct and agrees with the owner as to the fair market value of the animals, fowl, or poultry, the dog warden promptly shall so certify and send both copies of the form, together with whatever other documents, testimony, or information the dog warden has received relating to the loss or injury, to the department of agriculture.
(C) If the dog warden does not find all the statements to be correct or does not agree with the owner as to the fair market value, the owner may appeal to the department of agriculture for a determination of the owner's claim. In that case the owner shall secure statements as to the nature and amount of the loss or injury from at least two witnesses who viewed the results of the killing or injury and who can testify about the results and shall submit both copies of the form to the department no later than twenty days after the loss or injury was discovered. The dog warden shall submit to the department whatever documents, testimony, and other information the dog warden has received relating to the loss or injury. The department shall receive any other information or testimony that will enable it to determine the fair market value of the animals, fowl, or poultry injured or killed.
(D) If the animals, fowl, or poultry described in division (A) of this section are registered in any accepted association or registry, the owner or the owner's employee or tenant shall submit with the claim form the registration papers showing the lines of breeding, age, and other relevant matters. If the animals are the offspring of registered stock and eligible for registration, the registration papers showing the breeding of the offspring shall be submitted wildlife officer shall so notify in writing the department for the purposes of section 955.52 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 955.52.  (A)(1) The department of agriculture shall hear claims submitted to it that are approved by the dog warden and supported by the wildlife officer pursuant to section 955.51 of the Revised Code in the order of their filing and may allow the claims in full or in part, or may disallow any claim, as the testimony shows and information submitted under that section show to be just. The department shall make the final determination of the fair market value of any animal, foul, or poultry that is the subject of a claim. The
If the animal that is the subject of a claim dies as a result of the injuries that it received from a predator, the amount of indemnity is the fair market value of the animal on the date of its death. If the animal that is the subject of a claim does not die as a result of the injuries that it received from a predator, the amount of indemnity is the fair market value of the animal on the date that it received its injuries. If the animal that is the subject of a claim is registered or eligible for registration as described in division (B) of section 955.51 of the Revised Code, the amount of indemnity is one hundred twenty-five per cent of the fair market value of the animal on the date that the animal was killed or injured. If the date of death or injury of an animal cannot be determined, the amount of indemnity shall be based on the fair market value of the animal on the date that the animal was discovered by its owner.
(2) If the owner of an animal does not agree with the department's determination of the animal's fair market value, the owner may appeal the determination in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(3) The department shall certify any claim or part of a claim that has been found to be valid under division (A)(1) of this section. Claims certified in accordance with this section shall be paid out of the agro Ohio fund provided for in section 901.04 of the Revised Code money that has been appropriated from the general revenue fund for the purposes of sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code, except that no claim shall be paid from the fund that money if a either of the following applies:
(a) A claim for the same loss or injury has been paid or is payable under a policy or policies of insurance. However, a claim may be paid from the fund for the amount of any deductible paid or payable by the claimant under such insurance.
(b) The owner of an animal who otherwise would receive indemnity under a claim has been paid more than five hundred dollars within the immediately preceding calendar year from money so appropriated. However, that owner may be paid if the owner has implemented a voluntary animal damage control plan that meets the requirements established in rules adopted under division (D) of this section.
(B) If at any time the money that has been appropriated from the general revenue fund for the purposes of sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code for a fiscal year is not sufficient to pay certified claims, the department shall disapprove those claims. Any claim that has been disapproved due to lack of money shall not be resubmitted.
(C) The department either may assist owners in developing and implementing a voluntary animal damage control plan to prevent and minimize loss or injury to animals by predators or may enter into an agreement with another state agency, a federal agency, or a person to provide such assistance. The department may use no more than fifty per cent or twenty-five thousand dollars, whichever is less, of the money that is appropriated for the purposes of sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code to pay the costs incurred by the department for either providing assistance under this division or entering into an agreement under this division to provide that assistance.
(D) The director of agriculture shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code that are necessary to administer sections 955.51 to 955.53 of the Revised Code, including rules that establish requirements governing voluntary animal damage control plans.
Sec. 955.53.  All claims against the agro Ohio fund pursuant to money appropriated from the general revenue fund for the purposes of sections 955.51 and 955.52 to 955.53 of the Revised Code and all accompanying statements and testimony shall be upon claim forms prepared by the director of agriculture and furnished by the dog warden. The forms shall not require an affidavit, but shall contain lines for the signatures of the claimant and witnesses and, immediately above those lines, the sentence, "This statement is made subject to the criminal penalties for falsification provided for in section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3707.38.  The board of health of a city or general health district may appoint, define the duties of, and fix the compensation of the number of inspectors of shops, wagons, appliances, and food, and the number of other persons necessary to carry out this chapter and Chapter 3717. of the Revised Code and, if applicable, to carry out any duties assumed by the board under an agreement entered into under division (B)(A)(2) of section 917.02 of the Revised Code. Inspectors for those purposes may enter any house, vehicle, or yard. The board may authorize the health commissioner to perform the duties of the inspectors.
Sec. 3715.65.  (A) No person shall sell, deliver, offer for sale, hold for sale, or give away any new drug unless:
(1) An an application with respect to the drug has become effective under section 505 of the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040 (1938), 21 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended.
(2) If the drug is not subject to the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," the drug has been tested and found to be safe for use under the conditions prescribed, recommended, or suggested in its labeling, and, prior to selling the drug or offering it for sale, there has been filed with the director of agriculture an application setting forth all of the following:
(a) Full reports of investigations that have been made to show whether or not the drug is safe for use;
(b) A full list of the articles used as components of the drug;
(c) A full statement of the drug's composition;
(d) A full description of the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used for, the manufacture, processing, and packing of the drug;
(e) Samples, as the director may require, of the drug and the articles used as components of the drug;
(f) Specimens of the labeling proposed to be used for the drug.
(B) An application provided for in division (A)(2) of this section shall become effective sixty days after it is filed, except that if the director finds after due notice to the applicant and after giving the applicant an opportunity for a hearing, that the drug is not safe for use under the conditions prescribed, recommended, or suggested in the drug's proposed labeling, the director shall, prior to the effective date of the application, issue an order refusing to permit the application to become effective. The order may be revoked by the director.
(C) This section does not apply to the following:
(1) A drug intended solely for investigational use by experts qualified by scientific training and experience to investigate the safety of drugs, provided that the drug is plainly labeled "For investigational use only";
(2) A drug sold in this state at any time prior to the enactment of sections 3715.01 and 3715.52 to 3715.72 of the Revised Code, or introduced into interstate commerce at any time prior to the enactment of the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act";
(3) Any drug that is licensed under the "Public Health Service Act," 58 Stat. 682 (1944), 42 U.S.C.A. 301, as amended, or under the "Virus-Serum-Toxin Act," 37 Stat. 832 (1913), 21 U.S.C.A. 151, as amended.
Sec. 5301.68.  An owner of land may grant a conservation easement to the department of natural resources, a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, a township park district created under section 511.18 of the Revised Code, a conservancy district created under Chapter 6101. of the Revised Code, a soil and water conservation district created under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code, a county, a township, a municipal corporation, or a charitable organization that is authorized to hold conservation easements by division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, in the form of articles of dedication, easement, covenant, restriction, or condition. An owner of land also may grant an agricultural easement to the director of agriculture; to a municipal corporation, county, or township, or soil and water conservation district; or to a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code. An owner of land may grant an agricultural easement only on land that is valued for purposes of real property taxation at its current value for agricultural use under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code or that constitutes a homestead when the easement is granted.
All conservation easements and agricultural easements shall be executed and recorded in the same manner as other instruments conveying interests in land.
Sec. 5301.691.  (A)(1) Subject to divisions (A)(2) and (E)(F) of this section, the director of agriculture, with moneys credited to the agricultural easement purchase fund created in section 901.21 of the Revised Code, may purchase agricultural easements in the name of the state.
(2) Not less than thirty days prior to the acquisition of an agricultural easement under division (A)(1) of this section or the extinguishment of such an easement purchased under that division, the director shall provide written notice of the intention to do so to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the land that is or is proposed to be subject to the easement or extinguishment is located, and either to the legislative authority of the municipal corporation in which the land is located, if it is located in an incorporated area, or to the board of township trustees of the township in which the land is located, if it is located in an unincorporated area. If, within thirty days after the director provides the notice, the board of county commissioners, legislative authority, or board of township trustees requests an informational meeting with the director regarding the proposed acquisition or extinguishment, the director shall meet with the legislative authority or board to respond to the board's or authority's questions and concerns. If a meeting is timely requested under division (A)(2) of this section, the director shall not undertake the proposed acquisition or extinguishment until after the meeting has been concluded.
The director, upon the director's own initiative and prior to the purchase of an agricultural easement under division (A)(1) of this section or the extinguishment of such an easement, may hold an informational meeting with the board of county commissioners and the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or board of township trustees in which land that would be affected by the proposed acquisition or extinguishment is located, to respond to any questions and concerns of the board or authority regarding the proposed acquisition or extinguishment.
(B)(1) Subject to division (E)(F) of this section, the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, board of county commissioners of a county, or board of trustees of a township, with moneys in the political subdivision's general fund not required by law or charter to be used for other specified purposes or with moneys in a special fund of the political subdivision to be used for the purchase of agricultural easements, may purchase agricultural easements in the name of the municipal corporation, county, or township.
(2) Subject to division (E)(F) of this section, the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, board of county commissioners of a county, or board of township trustees of a township may acquire agricultural easements by gift, devise, or bequest. Any terms may be included in an agricultural easement so acquired that are necessary or appropriate to preserve on behalf of the grantor of the easement the favorable tax consequences of the gift, devise, or bequest under the "Internal Revenue Act of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended.
(C)(1) Subject to division (F) of this section, the board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district, with moneys in any fund not required by law to be used for other specified purposes or with moneys provided to the board through matching grants made under section 901.22 of the Revised Code for the purchase of agricultural easements, may purchase agricultural easements in the name of the board.
(2) Subject to division (F) of this section, the board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district may acquire agricultural easements by gift, devise, or bequest. Any terms may be included in an agricultural easement so acquired that are necessary or appropriate to preserve on behalf of the grantor of the easement the favorable tax consequences of the gift, devise, or bequest under the "Internal Revenue Act of 1986," 100 Stat. 2085, 26 U.S.C.A. 1, as amended.
(D)(1) The term of an agricultural easement purchased wholly or in part with money from the agricultural easement purchase fund shall be perpetual and shall run with the land.
(2) The term of an agricultural easement purchased by such a the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, board of county commissioners of a county, board of township trustees of a township, or board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district without the use of any money from the agricultural easement purchase fund may be perpetual or for a specified period. The agricultural easement shall run with the land. The instrument conveying an agricultural easement for a specified period shall include provisions specifying, at a minimum, all of the following:
(a) The consideration to be paid for the easement and manner of payment;
(b) Whether the easement is renewable and, if so, procedures for its renewal;
(c) The circumstances under which the easement may be extinguished;
(d) The method for determining the amount of money, if any, due the holder of the easement upon extinguishment and for payment of that amount to the holder.
(D)(E)(1) The director and each legislative authority of a municipal corporation, board of county commissioners, or board of township trustees, or board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district, upon acquiring an agricultural easement by purchase, gift, devise, or bequest under this section or section 901.21 of the Revised Code, shall name an appropriate administrative officer, department, or division to supervise and enforce the easement. A legislative authority or of a municipal corporation, board of county commissioners, or board of township trustees may enter into a contract with the board of park commissioners of a park district established under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, the board of park commissioners of a township park district established under section 511.18 of the Revised Code, or the board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district established under Chapter 1515. of the Revised Code having territorial jurisdiction within the municipal corporation, county, or township, or with a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, to supervise on behalf of the legislative authority or board an agricultural easement so acquired. A board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district may enter into a contract with the board of park commissioners of a park district established under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code or the board of park commissioners of a township park district established under section 511.18 of the Revised Code having territorial jurisdiction within the soil and water conservation district, or with a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, to supervise on behalf of the board an agricultural easement so acquired. The contract may be entered into on such terms as are agreeable to the parties and shall specify or prescribe a method for determining the amounts of any payments to be made by the legislative authority or, board of county commissioners or, board of township trustees, or board of supervisors for the performance of the contract.
(2) With respect to an agricultural easement purchased with a matching grant that is made under division (D) of section 901.22 of the Revised Code and that consists in whole or in part of moneys from the clean Ohio agricultural easement fund created in section 901.21 of the Revised Code, the recipient of the matching grant shall make an annual monitoring visit to the land that is the subject of the easement. The purpose of the visit is to ensure that no development that is prohibited by the terms of the easement has occurred or is occurring. In accordance with rules adopted under division (A)(1)(d) of section 901.22 of the Revised Code, the grant recipient shall prepare a written annual monitoring report and submit it to the office of farmland preservation in the department of agriculture. If necessary to enforce the terms of the easement, the grant recipient shall take corrective action in accordance with those rules. The director may agree to share these monitoring and enforcement responsibilities with the grant recipient.
(E)(F) The director; a municipal corporation, county, or township, or soil and water conservation district; or a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code, may acquire agricultural easements by purchase, gift, devise, or bequest only on land that is valued for purposes of real property taxation at its current value for agricultural use under section 5713.31 of the Revised Code or that constitutes a homestead when the easement is granted.
(F)(G) An agricultural easement acquired by the director under division (A) of this section may be extinguished if an unexpected change in the conditions of or surrounding the land that is subject to the easement makes impossible or impractical the continued use of the land for the purposes described in the agricultural easement, or if the requirements of the easement are extinguished by judicial proceedings. Upon the sale, exchange, or involuntary conversion of the land subject to the easement, the director shall be paid an amount of money that is at least equal to the proportionate value of the easement compared to the total value of the land at the time the easement was acquired. Moneys so received shall be credited to the agricultural easement purchase fund.
An agricultural easement acquired by a municipal corporation, county, or township under division (B) of this section or by a soil and water conservation district under division (C) of this section may be extinguished under the circumstances prescribed, and in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth, in the instrument conveying the agricultural easement. An agricultural easement acquired by a charitable organization described in division (B) of section 5301.69 of the Revised Code may be extinguished under the circumstances prescribed, and in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth, in the instrument conveying the agricultural easement.
Any instrument extinguishing an agricultural easement shall be executed and recorded in the same manner as other instruments conveying or terminating interests in real property.
(G)(H) Promptly after the recording and indexing of an instrument conveying an agricultural easement to any person or to a municipal corporation, county, or township, or soil and water conservation district or of an instrument extinguishing an agricultural easement held by any person or such a political subdivision, the county recorder shall mail, by regular mail, a photocopy of the instrument to the office of farmland preservation in the department of agriculture. The photocopy shall be accompanied by an invoice for the applicable fee established in section 317.32 of the Revised Code. Promptly after receiving the photocopy and invoice, the office of farmland preservation shall remit the fee to the county recorder.
(H)(I) The director, the legislative authority of a municipal corporation, a board of county commissioners, or a board of township trustees, or a board of supervisors of a soil and water conservation district may receive and expend grants from any public or private source for the purpose of purchasing agricultural easements and supervising and enforcing them.
Section 2.  That existing sections 317.32, 505.101, 901.21, 901.22, 917.01, 917.02, 917.031, 917.09, 917.091, 917.19, 917.22, 918.01, 918.02, 918.08, 918.11, 918.25, 918.28, 955.51, 955.52, 955.53, 3707.38, 3715.65, 5301.68, and 5301.691 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Please send questions and comments to the Webmaster.
© 2024 Legislative Information Systems | Disclaimer