Senate Bill No. 219
(By Senators Anderson, Ross, Sharpe, Bailey, Schoonover, Love,
Dittmar, Kessler and Ball)
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[Introduced January 26, 1999;
referred to the Committee
on Agriculture; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eleven, article two-b,
chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
inspection of meat and poultry; and authorizing the
commissioner of agriculture to assess civil penalties for
violations of this article.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven, article two-b, chapter nineteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2B. INSPECTION OF MEAT AND POULTRY.
§19-2B-11. Criminal penalties; civil penalties.
(a) Criminal penalties:
(1) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
article shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall for the first offense be fined not less than two
hundred nor more than one thousand dollars and upon conviction of
each subsequent offense shall be fined not less than four hundred
nor more than two thousand dollars.
(b)(2) If such a person knowingly sells, offers for sale or
distribution, or attempts to sell, offers for sale or
distribution of a carcass, meat product or poultry product that
is contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms or otherwise
adulterated, such a the person shall be is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars
upon conviction of each offense.
(b) Civil penalties:
(1) Any person violating a provision of this article or
regulations adopted hereunder may be assessed a civil penalty by
the commissioner. In determining the amount of any civil
penalty, the commissioner shall give due consideration to the history of previous violations of this article by the person
charged; the seriousness of the violation, including any hazards
to the health and safety of the public; and the demonstrated good
faith effort put forth to comply with this article by the person
charged after that person has received written notification of
the violation.
(2) The commissioner may assess a penalty of not more than
five hundred dollars for all first offenses, or for each
nonserious violation. The commissioner may assess a penalty of
not more than one thousand dollars for each serious violation, or
for each repeat or intentional violation.
(3) The civil penalty is payable to the state of West
Virginia and may be collected in any manner now or hereafter for
collection of debt to the state. If a person liable for paying
a civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section neglects or
refuses to pay, the amount of that penalty, together with
interest calculated at ten percent per annum, shall be entered as
a lien in favor of the state upon any and all property, both real
and personal, of the person. The lien shall be recorded in the
records kept in the office of the county clerk in the county wherein the property is located. The county clerk in the
recording county shall enter the same to record without requiring
payment of recording fees as a condition precedent to the
recording. A notice of the lien or liens shall be mailed or
delivered to the person against whose property the lien has been
placed.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the
contrary, the commissioner may enter into consent agreements or
negotiated settlement agreements for the civil penalties assessed
as a result of a violation of the provisions of this article.
(d) No state court may allow the recovery of damages for
administrative action taken if the court finds, as a matter of
law, that there was probable cause for such action.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
Agriculture Commissioner to assess civil penalties for violations
of the Meat and Poultry Inspection laws.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.