Enforcement; Corrective Action Plan; Revocation of Licenses; Reporting of Licensees and Permittees to Attorney General

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Agriculture
  4. Hemp Farming
  5. Enforcement; Corrective Action Plan; Revocation of Licenses; Reporting of Licensees and Permittees to Attorney General

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  1. A violation of a plan authorized by Code Section 2-23-11 and approved by the secretary of agriculture of the United States by a licensee or permitee shall be subject to enforcement in accordance with this Code section.
    1. A licensee or permittee under this chapter shall be required to conduct a corrective action plan if the Commissioner determines that the licensee or permittee has negligently violated this chapter or has violated rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter by:
      1. Failing to provide a legal description and global positioning coordinates sufficient for locating fields and greenhouses the licensee uses to cultivate and harvest hemp or facilities at which the permittee processes hemp;
      2. Failing to properly obtain a license or permit from the department;
      3. Producing Cannabis sativa L. with more than the federally defined THC level for hemp; or
      4. Otherwise negligently violating this chapter.
    2. A corrective action plan required by this Code section shall include:
      1. A reasonable date by which the licensee or permittee shall correct the negligent violation; and
      2. A requirement that the licensee or permittee shall periodically report to the Commissioner on the compliance status of the licensee or permittee with the corrective action plan for a period of not less than two calendar years after the violation.
  3. Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, a licensee or permittee that negligently violates this chapter or rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter shall not as a result be subject to any criminal or civil enforcement action by any government agency other than the enforcement action authorized under subsection (b) of this Code section.
  4. A licensee or permittee that negligently violates the corrective action plan under subsection (b) of this Code section three times in a five-year period shall have its license or permit issued pursuant to this chapter immediately revoked and shall be ineligible to reapply for a license or permit for a period of five years after the date of the third violation.
  5. If the Commissioner determines that a licensee or permittee has violated state law with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, the Commissioner shall immediately report the licensee or permittee to the United States Attorney General and the state Attorney General, and subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply to the violation.
  6. Laws enacting criminal offenses, including laws provided for in Title 16, not in conflict with this chapter shall continue to be enforceable and of full force and effect.

(Code 1981, §2-23-10, enacted by Ga. L. 2019, p. 1030, § 1/HB 213; Ga. L. 2020, p. 292, § 8/HB 847.)

The 2020 amendment, effective July 22, 2020, in subsection (a), substituted "a plan authorized by Code Section 2-23-11 and approved by the secretary of agriculture of the United States by a licensee or permitee" for "this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated by the department pursuant to this chapter" and deleted "solely" following '"enforcement".

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2019, "Commissioner" was substituted for "commissioner" in paragraph (b)(1), in subparagraph (b)(2)(B), and twice in subsection (e).


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