REPORT TITLE:
Proof of ownership


DESCRIPTION:
Provides ownership and certification requirements for
agricultural commodities, and means of enforcement to prevent
theft of these commodities.  (HB138 CD1)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        138
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           H.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL GOODS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to establish a means
 
 2 of identifying the owner of large lots of picked fruits, nuts, or
 
 3 vegetables of any tree, vine, or plant, or large lots of shrimps,
 
 4 prawns, shell fish, fish, seaweed, algae, and other aquaculture
 
 5 products, or large lots of flowers, ornamentals, or other
 
 6 horticultural products to give law enforcement officers an
 
 7 additional means of identifying the lawful owners of these
 
 8 agricultural commodities and to assist in the prevention of theft
 
 9 of these commodities.
 
10      SECTION 2.  Chapter 145, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
11 by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read
 
12 as follows:
 
13   "PART II.  OWNERSHIP AND MOVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES
 
14      �145-   Definition.  For purposes of this part,
 
15 "agricultural commodity" means any fruit, nut, or vegetable that
 
16 is the food product of any tree, vine, or plant, or any
 
17 aquacultural, horticultural, or floricultural product.
 
18      �145-   Agricultural commodities; ownership and 
 
19 movement certification.  Every owner, upon sale or transportation
 
20 of lots of over two hundred pounds or with a value of at least
 

 
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 1 $100, of any agricultural commodity that is marketed for
 
 2 commercial purposes, shall complete a certificate describing the
 
 3 commodity and indicating:
 
 4      (1)  The seller, owner, buyer, or consignee;
 
 5      (2)  The origin; and
 
 6      (3)  The destination.
 
 7 Two copies of the certificate shall accompany the shipment and a
 
 8 copy shall be retained by the owner.  One of the copies of the
 
 9 certificate shall be presented upon request to a state or county
 
10 law enforcement officer or other officer or employee as described
 
11 in section 145-  .
 
12      �145- Lack of proof of ownership as a violation.  The
 
13 failure of any person who sells, transports, or possesses after
 
14 sale or transport, agricultural commodities in lots of over two
 
15 hundred pounds or with a value of at least $100, to maintain a
 
16 certificate of ownership or other written proof of ownership that
 
17 describes the commodity is a violation of this part. 
 
18      �145- Authorization to inspect.  Every law enforcement
 
19 officer or other officer or employee as described in section
 
20 145-     having probable cause to believe that the possession,
 
21 sale, or transportation of agricultural commodities is unlawful,
 
22 may take reasonable steps to detain the person having possession,
 
23 selling, or transporting the agricultural commodities and request
 

 
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 1 from the person being detained proof of ownership of the
 
 2 commodities.
 
 3      �145- Enforcement; citation and summons.  Violations of
 
 4 this part or any rule adopted pursuant thereto may be enforced by
 
 5 citation and summons issued by:
 
 6      (1)  Any state or county law enforcement officer; or
 
 7      (2)  Any officer or employee of the department of
 
 8           agriculture, authorized and designated by the board of
 
 9           agriculture to investigate and enforce this chapter and
 
10           all rules adopted by the department pursuant thereto.
 
11      �145-   Form of citation and summons.  (a)  In issuing
 
12 citations and summons for violations of this part, state and
 
13 county law enforcement officers shall use the summons and
 
14 complaint citation books issued by the judiciary for violations
 
15 of the traffic code.
 
16      (b)  Citations issued by officers and employees as described
 
17 in section 145-  (2) shall use citation and summons forms that
 
18 shall warn the person to appear and answer the charge against the
 
19 person at a place and at a time within thirty days after the
 
20 citation. 
 
21      The citation and summons shall be in a form that allows a
 
22 carbon copy to be provided to the accused.  The district courts
 
23 may provide for the disposition of the original and any other
 

 
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 1 copies.  Every citation and summons shall be consecutively
 
 2 numbered and each carbon copy shall bear the number of its
 
 3 respective original.
 
 4      �145-   Authorization to seize and hold commodities;
 
 5 disposition.(a)  In addition to the issuance of a citation and
 
 6 summons, upon reasonable belief that the person is in unlawful
 
 7 possession of agricultural commodities a law enforcement officer
 
 8 or other officer or employee as described in section 145-   
 
 9 shall be authorized to hold the agricultural commodity for not
 
10 longer than forty-eight hours to investigate and ascertain the
 
11 ownership of the agricultural commodity.  If the lawful owner is
 
12 determined and located, the agricultural, aquacultural, or
 
13 horticultural commodity shall be released to the lawful owner.
 
14      (b)  If for any reason the agricultural commodity is not
 
15 released to the lawful owner after being in the custody of the
 
16 law enforcement officer or other officer or employee as described
 
17 in section 145-    for forty-eight hours, or less in the case of
 
18 highly perishable commodities, the commodity may be sold at fair
 
19 market value to any retailer, wholesaler, or packer of the
 
20 commodity.  All of the proceeds derived from the sale shall be
 
21 held by the law enforcement officer or other officer or employee
 
22 as described in section 145-    for not longer than six months,
 
23 during which time the lawful owner of the commodity may submit
 

 
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 1 satisfactory proof of ownership and obtain possession of the
 
 2 proceeds.  The owner may be held responsible for any costs and
 
 3 expenses that may be incurred by the law enforcement officer or
 
 4 other officer or employee as described in section 145-   .  Any
 
 5 proceeds of sale not recovered within six months for lack of a
 
 6 claim or for insufficient proof shall be treated as unclaimed
 
 7 property of the State.
 
 8      (c)  Any commodity that remains unsold after being offered
 
 9 for sale pursuant to this section may be donated to a nonprofit
 
10 charitable organization or destroyed at the discretion of the law
 
11 enforcement officer or other officer or employee as described in
 
12 section 145-   .
 
13      �145-   Administration of oath.  When a complaint is made by
 
14 officers and employees as described in section 145-   (2) to any
 
15 prosecuting officer of the violation of this part or of any rules
 
16 adopted pursuant thereto, the officer or employee who issued the
 
17 citation and summons shall subscribe to it under oath
 
18 administered by another official of the department whose name has
 
19 been submitted to the prosecuting officer and who has been
 
20 designated by the chairperson of the board of agriculture to
 
21 administer the oaths."
 
22      SECTION 3.  Chapter 145, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
23 by amending its title to read as follows:
 

 
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 1                           "CHAPTER 145
 
 2             REGULATION OF [DEALERS IN] FARM PRODUCE"
 
 3      SECTION 4.  Chapter 145, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 4 by designating sections 145-1 to 145-15 as part I and inserting a
 
 5 title before section 145-1 to read as follows:
 
 6                 "PART I.  REGULATION OF DEALERS"
 
 7      SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 8 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.