State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Connecticut > Title22 > Chap424 > Sec22-57Sec. 22-57. Restrictions on sale and exposure and transportation for sale. Registration. Fee. Regulations. (a) No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale or transport for sale any agricultural or vegetable seed or seed used for lawn or turf purposes within this state unless the person is registered with the Commissioner of Agriculture, except that any person selling only seeds which are supplied and labeled by a registered distributor is not required to be registered. The application for registration shall be submitted to the commissioner on a form furnished by the commissioner. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of fifty dollars. On and after January 1, 1993, said fee shall be established by the commissioner by regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54. All registrations shall expire on March thirty-first of each year.
(b) No person shall sell, offer for sale, expose for sale or transport for sale any agricultural or vegetable seed or seed used for lawn or turf purposes within this state unless the following conditions are complied with: (1) The test to determine the percentage of germination required by section 22-56 was completed within the nine-month period, exclusive of the calendar month in which the test was completed, immediately prior to the sale, exposure for sale or offering for sale or transportation. Any seed not sold within the nine-month period shall be retested with test samples taken from stock at the point of wholesale and retail sale; (2) the seed is labeled in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the labeling is not false or misleading and the seed has not been advertised in a false or misleading manner; (3) the labeling, advertising or other representations subject to this chapter shall represent the seed as certified or registered if: (A) A seed-certifying agency has determined that the seed was produced, processed and packaged, and conforms to purity standards for the kind or variety of seed, in compliance with the rules and regulations of the agency pertaining to the seed and (B) the seed bears an official label of the certifying agency stating that the seed is certified or registered, and (4) the seed does not contain: (A) Prohibited noxious weed seeds subject to tolerances; (B) restricted noxious-weed seeds per pound in excess of the number prescribed by the regulations adopted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, or in excess of the number declared on the label attached to the container of the seed or associated with the seed within recognized tolerances, and (C) more than two and one-half per cent by weight of all weed seeds.
(c) No person shall, within this state: (1) Detach, alter, deface or destroy any label provided for in this chapter or the regulations adopted thereunder, or alter or substitute seed, in a manner that may defeat the purposes of this chapter; (2) disseminate any false or misleading advertisement concerning agricultural or vegetable seed; (3) hinder or obstruct any authorized person in the performance of his duties under this chapter; (4) fail to comply with a "stop-sale" order, or move or otherwise handle or dispose of any lot of seed held under a "stop-sale" order or tags attached thereto, except with express permission of the enforcing officer and for the purpose specified thereby; (5) use the word "trace" as a substitute for any statement which is required, or (6) use the word "type" in any labeling in connection with the name of any agricultural or vegetable seed variety. Each person whose name appears on the label as handling agricultural or vegetable seeds subject to this chapter shall keep for a period of two years complete records of each lot of agricultural or vegetable seed handled, and keep for one year a file sample of each lot of seed after final disposition of such lot. All records and samples pertaining to the shipment or shipments involved shall be accessible for inspection by the Commissioner of Agriculture or the commissioner's authorized agents during usual business hours.
(1949 Rev., S. 3096; 1957, P.A. 358, S. 4; 1959, P.A. 637, S. 2; 1961, P.A. 67; 1963, P.A. 75, S. 3; 1971, P.A. 872, S. 446, 448; P.A. 74-136; P.A. 82-91, S. 8, 38; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 44, 117; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(e); P.A. 04-189, S. 1.)
History: 1959 act replaced commissioner of agriculture with commissioner of agriculture, conservation and natural resources; 1961 act replaced commissioner of agriculture, conservation and natural resources with commissioner of agriculture and natural resources; 1963 act made provisions of Subsec. (a) applicable to "transport for sale", amended Subdiv. (1) to require tests within 9 rather than 12 months and to delete proviso requiring that test results be available to commissioner for one year, amended Subdiv. (4) to replace "primary" with "prohibited" noxious seeds and to delete reference to methods of determination prescribed by regulation and added Subdivs. (6) to (8) and amended Subsec. (b) to add Subdivs. (4) to (6) and to add provision re required records and samples; 1971 act replaced commissioner of agriculture and natural resources with commissioner of agriculture; P.A. 74-136 amended Subsec. (a)(1) to allow retesting of seed not sold within 9 months; P.A. 82-91 added provisions requiring application for registration to be submitted on form furnished by commissioner, requiring application to be accompanied by fee established by commissioner by regulations, and specifying that registrations expire on March 31 of each year; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (a) to establish a $50 application fee and to provide that the commissioner shall adopt regulations to establish the fee for the period commencing January 1, 1993; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Agriculture with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.
See Sec. 53-321 re penalty for knowingly selling grass seed containing seed of Canadian thistle.
