Section 75-79-7 - General powers and duties of commissioner of agriculture and commerceIt shall be the function and duty of the commissioner to:
(a) Issue licenses to operators of pulpwood receiving facilities determined to qualify under the provisions of this chapter, and revoke or suspend licenses previously issued by the commissioner in any case where the licensee is determined to have violated any of the provisions of this chapter.(b) Establish standard procedures and promulgate regulations for the measurement of pulpwood offered for sale, both by weight and by volume, in a manner consistent with the Mississippi Weights and Measures Law of 1964, as amended (Section 75-27-1 et seq.). Such standard provisions and regulations shall require that all pulpwood receiving facilities shall give every cutter-hauler a ticket which shall state at the minimum (i) the name of the cutter-hauler; (ii) the name of the landowner from which the wood was severed or the name of the owner of the timber; (iii) the county or county code in which the timber was severed; and (iv) the number of cords or, in the event of weighing, the gross weight on the truck of the cutter-hauler. In the event that neither the cutter-hauler nor the landowner nor the owner of the timber is the person to be paid for such pulpwood, the ticket shall also contain the name of the payee. The ticket shall be prepared upon delivery and acceptance of a load of pulpwood and shall be made available for inspection by the cutter-hauler if the cutter-hauler so desires. All cutter-haulers have the right to inspect the ticket before unloading of the pulpwood. However, where such wood is measured on scales, the ticket shall be issued at the time of the weighing and shall state the gross weight of the wood and truck and the tare weight of the truck after unloading to determine the net weight of the wood; the number of cords is not required on tickets so weighed. The pulpwood facility shall keep a copy of such ticket on file for subsequent inspection by the State Tax Commission and the Department of Agriculture and Commerce for a period not less than three (3) years. The facility operator shall maintain on the facility premises, at a minimum, the following information on the cutter-hauler and the payee for the pulpwood if the payee is someone other than the cutter-hauler: (ii) social security number or employer identification number, or both;(iv) the corresponding identification code used on the scale ticket. The facility operator is required to obtain, in good faith, such information from the cutter-hauler who is liable for the accuracy of this information.(c) Conduct periodic inspections no less than once every six (6) months, and establish and carry out other procedures designed to insure that licensees will comply with the provisions of this chapter.(d) Receive, investigate and take appropriate action with respect to any charge or complaint filed with the commissioner to the effect that any pulpwood receiving facility operator has violated any provision of this chapter.(e) Randomly weigh, at his discretion, any agricultural product being delivered throughout the state to determine the accuracy of the bill of lading. If the weight exceeds or falls below the amount of weight reported on the bill of lading by five percent (5%) or more, then the commissioner shall report the discrepancy, in writing, to the Director of the Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau. Such agricultural products shall be weighed on certified scales approved by the Weights and Measures Division of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce.Laws, 1982, ch. 317, § 4; Laws, 1994, ch. 575, § 1; reenacted, Laws, 1995, ch. 465, § 1; reenacted, Laws, 1997, ch. 322, § 1; reenacted without change, Laws, 2000, ch. 509, § 1; reenacted without change, Laws, 2004, ch. 423, § 1, eff. 7/1/2004.