TITLE 3.1. AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND FOOD.

§§ 3.1-14, 3.1-73.5, and 3.1-249.29.
See § 2.2-720; HB 2321.

§ 3.1-14.3 added.
Right to consume farm products. Provides that no regulation shall prohibit a person, his immediate family, or his guests from consuming products or commodities grown or processed on his property provided that the products or commodities are not offered for sale. HB 2295; CH. 882.

§§ 3.1-18.13 through 3.1-18.25 added.
Agricultural Enterprise Act of 2005; penalty. Directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to establish, as an element of the Office of Farmland Preservation, agricultural enterprise districts upon application by localities with established agricultural or forestal districts, locally designated agricultural enterprise districts, or purchase of development rights programs. "Qualified agricultural businesses" and "qualified farm businesses" located in such districts may apply to the Department for assistance in developing a new business plan and grant funding for up to 50 percent of the associated costs of implementing that plan, up to a maximum $500,000. "Qualified agricultural businesses" are agricultural businesses that establish a new business operation or plan to expand and improve an existing operation within a designated agricultural enterprise district. "Qualified farm businesses" are farm businesses that establish a new agricultural or forestal production operation or plan to expand or improve an existing operation within an agricultural enterprise district. This bill contains a delayed enactment clause of January 1, 2007, which is conditioned upon funding for the program being included in the appropriations act for fiscal years 2006-2008. HB 1947; CH. 795 (effective - see bill).

§§ 3.1-22.53 through 3.1-22.77 added; §§ 3.1-22.38 through 3.1-22.51 repealed.
Horse Industry Board; penalty. Authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, upon petition, to conduct a referendum of horse owners in the Commonwealth on the question of whether or not an assessment of $3 per ton or 7.5 cents per 50-pound bag of manufactured horse feed should be established to support additional market development, education, publicity, research, and promotion of the equine industry. HB 2423; CH. 588/SB 1009; CH. 497.

§ 3.1-249.28 amended.
Membership of the Pesticide Control Board. Changes the membership of the Pesticide Control Board. Currently at least one member of the Board is to represent commercial applicators. Under this bill, at least one of the two appointees representing the commercial sale or application sector must be a structural commercial applicator. HB 1644; CH. 282/SB 699; CH. 238.

§ 3.1-336.2 amended.
Master Settlement Agreement; release of escrow funds. Implements uniform language concerning the release of escrow funds to cigarette manufacturers that are not participating manufacturers under the Master Settlement Agreement. At the manufacturer's request, the new provisions will not be applied to those escrow funds associated with cigarettes sold prior to July 1, 2005, for which cigarettes the manufacturer places funds into escrow on or before April 15, 2006. HB 2629; CH. 4/ SB 1202; CH. 870.

§ 32.1-366 amended; §§ 3.1-336.2:1, 3.1-336.2:2, and 58.1-439.15:01 added.
Assignment of escrow funds by nonparticipating tobacco manufacturers; incentive payments for assignment. Allows nonparticipating tobacco manufacturers to assign tobacco escrow funds to the Commonwealth and after certain amounts are used for incentive payments, the remainder goes into the Virginia Health Care Fund. HB 2919; CH. 899.

§ 32.1-366 amended; §§ 3.1-336.2:1, 3.1-336.2:2, and 58.1-439.15:01 added.
Assignment of escrow funds by nonparticipating tobacco manufacturers; incentive payments for assignment. Allows nonparticipating tobacco manufacturers to assign tobacco escrow funds to the Commonwealth and after certain amounts are used for incentive payments, the remainder goes into the Virginia Health Care Fund. SB 1332; CH. 901.

§§ 3.1-358 and 3.1-389.
See § 8.01-2; SB 1118.

§§ 3.1-383, 3.1-411, and 3.1-412.
See § 1-200; HB 2640.

§§ 3.1-618 and 3.1-626 amended; §§ 3.1-636.1 through 3.1-636.12 added.
Referendum on question of levying excise tax on apples; penalty. Directs the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to authorize the holding of a referendum on the levy of an excise tax of 2.5 cents per tree run bushel of ungraded apples grown in the Commonwealth for sale by producers of at least 5,000 tree run bushels per calendar year. The bill defines "tree run bushel" as a bushel of harvested apples that have not yet been graded or sized. HB 1746; CH. 875/SB 1008; CH. 864.

§ 3.1-796.84 amended.
Permits to sell companion animals; penalty. Authorizes localities that adopt an ordinance to require permits for pet shops or companion animal dealers to provide either a criminal penalty not to exceed a Class 3 misdemeanor or a civil penalty not to exceed $500 for any violation of the ordinance. HB 2338; CH. 307.

§ 3.1-796.94 amended.
Enforcement of animal laws in towns. Gives towns the option of adopting by reference any ordinance of the surrounding county to be applied within its town limits, instead of adopting an ordinance of its own. HB 2221; CH. 304.

§§ 3.1-928, 3.1-969.10, and 3.1-969.12 amended.
Weights and measures; inspections. Eliminates (i) the annual minimum inspection of commercial weights and measures by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and grants the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services discretion to determine the frequency of inspections, and (ii) the required official inspection of new or used weights or measures. This bill also (i) allows the Commissioner to accept private companies' inspection of weights and measures as official inspections and (ii) requires that the Commissioner report annually to the General Assembly on the Department's testing and inspection activities for the weights and measures program including the number and frequency of inspections. HB 2837; CH. 850.

§§ 3.1-1089, 3.1-1090, and 3.1-1091 amended.
Assessment on cotton. Authorizes the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, upon petition, to conduct a referendum of cotton producers in the Commonwealth on the question of whether or not the Cotton Board should be authorized to increase the current assessment of $0.85 per bale of ginned cotton by a maximum of $0.15 to support education, research, and promotion of the growth and use of cotton. HB 2737; CH. 326.

§ 3.1-1108.
See § 30-73.2; SB 1115.