SB 927 — Clarifying Commissioner of Agriculture's authority to regulate bees

SB927 HFASFA HeckertMartin 3-11#2 #1Casto3-14Wolfe 3264 Delegate7816 Senator HeckertMartin moved to amend the committee strike and insert amendment onby pagestriking 5,out sectioneverything 3,after line 44, immediately following the wordarticle “boundaries”heading byand inserting the following:“that is not maintained in accordancelieu withthereof the requirementsfollowing: of §19-13-3(a)”.  Adopted 

§19-13-1.

Short title;

legislative findings.

  (a) This article may be cited shall be known as the West Virginia Apiary Act.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares that:(1) Pollinators such as honey bees have been in drastic decline in this state and nationwide for several decades.(2) Protecting pollinators, including, but not limited to, honey bees, is of critical importance to building and maintaining the state's economy, specifically with respect to agricultural operations that rely on pollinators.(3) The practice of beekeeping has had a positive economic impact on this state and on the food security of the state's residents.(4) The private keeping and maintaining of honey bee colonies in apiaries by citizens of this state is critical to increasing pollinator populations, which will in turn strengthen the state’s agricultural operations.

Therefore, it is in the best interest of the state and its citizens to provide for a uniform and predictable statewide regulatory framework applicable to bees, bee equipment, and apiaries. §19-13-2.

Definitions.

    For the purpose of this article, the term:

(1) "Abandoned apiary" means any apiary in which twenty-five percent or more of the colonies are dead or diseased, or the death or disarray of the colonies exposes them to robbing, or diseased or potentially diseased abandoned bee equipment which may jeopardize the welfare of neighboring colonies.(2) "Apiary" means any place where one or more colonies or nuclei of bees are kept or where bee equipment is stored.(3) "Appliances" means any apparatus, tool, machine, or other device used in the handling and manipulating of bees, honey, wax, and hives.

It also means, as well as any container of honey and wax that may be used in any apiary or in transporting bees and their products and apiary supplies.(4) "Bees" means any stage of the common hive or honey bee (Apis mellifera), or other species of the genus Apis.(5) "Bee equipment" means hives, supers, frames, veils, gloves, or any other appliances.(6) "Bee products" means honey, bees wax, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly.(7) "Colony" means the hive and includes bees, comb, honey, and bee equipment.(8) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture of the State of West Virginia or a duly authorized employee.(9) "Control agents or control mechanisms" means any method of chemical or mechanical control to suppress or eradicate an apiary disease, pest, or parasitic infestation in an apiary or the colonies contained therein.(10) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture of the State of West Virginia.(11) "Hive" means a frame hive, box hive, box, barrel, log, gum, skep, or any other receptacle or container, natural or artificial, or any part thereof, which may be used or employed as a domicile for bees.(12) "Honey bee pest" means American foulbrood (Bacillus larvae), European foulbrood (Melissococcus pluton), Varroa mite (Varroa destructor), honey bee tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi), Tropilaelaps mite (Tropilaelaps clareae or Tropilaelaps mercedsae), or any other virus or infectious or parasitic organism determined by the commissioner to be transmissible to other bee colonies and that represents a threat to beekeeping in West Virginia.(13) "Nuclei" means the removal of a split portion or division of any colony of honey bees for the express purpose of creating a numerical increase in colonies for honey production, pollination service, or monetary gain through sale of honey bees.(14) "Packaged bees" means bees shipped in combless packages accompanied by a valid certificate of health from an authorized state or federal agency verifying which verifies:(A) The absence or presence of any infectious or communicable diseases or parasitic infestations;

and further providing(B) That no honey has been used for food while in transit or that any honey used as food in transit was properly sterilized.(15) "Person" means corporations, partnerships, associations, societies, individuals or group of individuals or any employee, servant, or agent acting for or employed by any person.(16) "Premises" means any parcel of real estate and or structures in which bee equipment, bees, bee products, and or bee appliances are or may be utilized for storage purposes.(17) "Quarantine" means a declaration by the commissioner which specifies a period of enforced isolation to contain and prevent the spread of honey bee pests.(18) "Sterilized or sterilization" means to treat and neutralize honey bee pests by means of steam autoclave, pit incineration, or by any other acceptable method which the commissioner determines effective for control of honey bee pests.

  §19-13-3.

Commissioner's powers and duties;

rule-making authority;

apiary education;

cooperation with governmental agencies;

seizure of infected bees and bee equipment;

commissioner’s exclusive authority.

   (a) The commissioner may shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq.

of this code:

(1) To effectively eradicate, suppress, or control honey bee pests as far as may be practical;(2) To regulate the keeping and maintaining of bees, bee equipment, queen breeding equipment, apiaries, and appliances.

All apiaries in this state shall be subject to the provisions of this article, and those located within the boundaries of a municipality shall be maintained in accordance with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s Honey Bee Best Management Practices (HBBMP), which the commissioner shall promulgate by legislative rule:

Provided, That no more than two colonies shall be permitted on any tract of land of less than 1/4 acre, subject to all other requirements of the HBBMP;(3) To regulate treatments, retreatments, and fees for the services;

and(4) any other rules For any other purpose necessary to effectuate the enforcement of this article:

Provided, That in no case shall any rule promulgated by the commissioner be interpreted or enforced in any way that prevents, inhibits, or otherwise impedes any economic development activity.

For purposes of this subdivision, “economic development activity” means total private real and property investment in a project that is in excess of $50,000, through acquisition of real property, infrastructure, new construction, reconstruction, installation of fixtures, and equipping of the project.(b) The commissioner is authorized to conduct apiary education in a manner which advances and promotes bee culture in West Virginia.(c) The commissioner is authorized to cooperate with the federal government and its agencies, departments, and instrumentalities;

other West Virginia agencies, departments, divisions, or political subdivisions;

and any other state or commonwealth and its agencies, departments, or political subdivisions, in order to carry out the effective administration of this article.(d) The commissioner is authorized to stop the delivery of, to seize, to destroy, to treat, or to order returned to point of origin, at the owner's expense, all appliances, bees, bee equipment, bee products, or hives transported into or within this state which are found to be infected with honey bee pests, regardless of whether a valid certificate of inspection is attached.(e) The commissioner shall have exclusive authority to register, permit, inspect, sample, and otherwise regulate the keeping and maintaining of bees, bee equipment, and apiaries in this state, but solely upon the parcel or tract of property upon which an apiary is located, as provided in this article.

(f) No county, municipality, or other political subdivision may, whether by ordinance, charter, resolution, administrative act, or otherwise, enact, adopt, implement, or enforce any ordinance, regulation, or rule which relates to the registration, permitting, inspection, placement, location, or management of apiaries in any manner which conflicts with the powers and duties of the commissioner or with rules promulgated by the commissioner pursuant to this article:

Provided, That a municipality may adopt any ordinance, regulation, or rule that requires beekeepers and apiaries within its jurisdiction to comply with the HBBMP, and may reference the HBBMP in relation to zoning classifications or land use:

Provided, however, That no county, municipality, or other political subdivision may adopt or enforce any ordinance, regulation, or rule that imposes requirements more restrictive than, or inconsistent with, those established pursuant to §19-13-3(a) of this code:

Provided further, That a municipality may impose reasonable minimum lot size restrictions and/or setback restrictions in the interest of public safety for any apiary within its boundaries that is not maintained in accordance with the requirements of § 19-13-3(a) of this code.(g) Any ordinance, regulation, or rule in conflict with §19-13-3(f) of this code is preempted by the provisions of this article.

Article 19.

Preservation of Agricultural Production.

   §19-19-4.

Agriculture not adverse;

limitation of actions.

The conduct of agriculture upon agricultural land shall not be deemed adverse to other use or uses of adjoining or neighboring land, whether such other land be used or occupied for residential, commercial, business or for governmental, or any uses other than agricultural.

No complaint or right of action shall be maintained in any court of this state against the owner or operator of agricultural lands adverse to the conduct of agriculture upon agricultural lands, unless:(1) The complainant's use and occupancy of land of the complainant has existed upon his or her adjoining or neighboring land before the agricultural operation complained of upon the agricultural land;