(1) The Nebraska State Fair Board, formerly known as the State Board of Agriculture, shall hold an annual meeting for the purpose of deliberating and consulting as to the wants, prospects, and conditions of the agricultural, horticultural, industrial, mechanical, and other interests throughout the state, as well as those interests in the encouragement and perpetuation of the arts, skilled crafts, and sciences.

(2) The Nebraska State Fair Board may provide in its constitution and bylaws for the qualification and participation of delegates at the annual meeting from such associations incorporated under the laws of the state for purposes of promoting and furthering the interests of participants in agricultural, horticultural, industrial, mechanical, or other pursuits or for the encouragement and perpetuation of the arts, skilled crafts, and sciences, and from such associations as provide for the training, encouragement, and competition of the youth of Nebraska in such endeavors. The annual meeting shall be held in every odd-numbered year at the capital of the state and in every even-numbered year at such location as the board determines. The chairperson of the board shall also have the power to call meetings of the board whenever he or she may deem it expedient. All meetings of the board shall be conducted in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.

(3) The Nebraska State Fair shall be under the direction and supervision of the Nebraska State Fair Board. The board may, at its discretion, hold or dispense with the holding of the fair, in any year.

(4)(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that no later than 2010 the Nebraska State Fair be permanently located within the city of Grand Island upon the site and tract of land owned by the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association and known as Fonner Park and, as available and necessary, upon other parcels of land adjacent to Fonner Park. The Nebraska State Fair Board shall cooperate and coordinate with the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association, the city of Grand Island, and other appropriate entities to provide for and carry out any plan of improvements to such location, including the construction of buildings and other capital facilities, the relocation of existing improvements, and other enhancements, necessary to develop the site as a location suitable for conducting the Nebraska State Fair. Such cooperation and coordination may include financial participation in the costs of site development, new construction, and other capital improvements upon such location and includes the execution of any agreement for site governance, revenue sharing, and facility utilization between and among the Nebraska State Fair Board, the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association, and other appropriate entities.

(b) The Nebraska State Fair Board, the Department of Administrative Services, and the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska shall cooperate with each other and with other appropriate entities to provide for and carry out the plan to relocate the Nebraska State Fair and transfer the Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Lancaster County to the Board of Regents, including activities by the Board of Regents to obtain due diligence surveys, reports, and site assessments at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Lancaster County and by the Nebraska State Fair Board in connection with providing marketable title to the same in a form acceptable to the Board of Regents.

The Legislature finds that the Nebraska State Fair has been held annually for the exhibition and dissemination of agricultural, horticultural, industrial, mechanical, and other products and innovations and for exhibitions in the arts, skilled crafts, and sciences and is a beneficial cultural and educational event for the state and its citizens. The Legislature declares it to be in the public interest that management of the Nebraska State Fair be based upon a dynamic public-private partnership that includes the active participation of the state and local governments, the private sector, and the citizens of Nebraska. In order to achieve this goal, the Legislature finds that the Nebraska State Fair Board should endeavor to:

(1) Place a priority on the development of private funding sources, including corporate donations and sponsorships;

(2) Work with municipal officials to enhance the board's participation in local planning efforts and to create a partnership with local economic development and tourism officials;

(3) Maintain a policy of openness and accountability that allows for citizen participation in the operation of the Nebraska State Fair; and

(4) Regularly provide the Governor, the Legislature, and appropriate state agencies with information, including, but not limited to, the development of private funding sources, the use of state appropriations, the fiscal management of the Nebraska State Fair, and the activities and goals established for the Nebraska State Fair.

(1) The Nebraska State Fair Board shall be a board consisting of the following members:

(a) Seven members nominated and selected by district as provided in the constitution and bylaws of the board; and

(b) Four members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature, three members selected from the business community of the state with one such member residing in each of the three congressional districts, as such districts existed on January 1, 2009, and one member selected from the business community of the most populous city within the county in which the Nebraska State Fair is located.

(2) The term of office for members of the board shall be for three years. Members selected by gubernatorial appointment pursuant to subdivision (1)(b) of this section as it existed prior to January 1, 2009, who continue to be qualified to serve shall continue their term of appointment and shall be eligible for reappointment subject to the limit of terms served prescribed in subsection (3) of this section. In the event that the Nebraska State Fair is to be relocated to a new host community, the term of the member appointed or designated from the business community of the previous host community shall be vacated and the Governor shall appoint a new member from the business community of the most populous city within the county in which the Nebraska State Fair is located to fulfill the remainder of the term of the vacating member.

(3) No person may serve more than three consecutive terms as a member of the board. No member of the Legislature may serve on the board.

(4) The board shall annually elect from its membership a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, a secretary, and such other officers as the board deems necessary. The officers shall be elected at the annual meeting of the board, or any other meeting of the board called for such purpose, and shall hold their offices for one year and until their successors are elected and qualified.

(5) The State 4-H Program Administrator of the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Nebraska, or his or her designee, and the Executive Director of the Nebraska FFA, or his or her designee, shall be ex officio, nonvoting members of the Nebraska State Fair Board.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the Nebraska State Fair Board establish the State Fair Foundation as a nonprofit foundation operated exclusively as a corporation for charitable purposes as contemplated by sections 170(c)(2) and 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as defined in section 49-801.01, and organized and operated for the benefit of and to carry out the purposes of the board. The foundation may solicit, receive, hold, invest, and contribute funds and property for the use and benefit of the board in a manner consistent with the public good and primarily for capital expenditure and other needs not funded by other means.

The State Fair Cash Fund is created. The Tax Commissioner may use the fund to defray the cost of implementing the check-off program under section 77-27,119.05. The Nebraska State Fair shall use the fund to carry out the public-private partnerships established to enhance the work of the Nebraska State Fair. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund is created. The fund shall be maintained in the state accounting system as a cash fund. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund the disbursement of state lottery proceeds designated for the Nebraska State Fair and matching funds from the most populous city within the county in which the state fair is located. The balance of any fund that is administratively created to receive lottery proceeds designated for the Nebraska State Fair and matching fund revenue prior to May 25, 2005, shall be transferred to the Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund on such date. The Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund shall be expended by the Nebraska State Fair Board to provide support for operating expenses and capital facility enhancements, including new construction and other capital improvements and other enhancements to and upon any exhibition facility utilized as the location of the Nebraska State Fair. Expenditures from the fund shall not be limited to the amount appropriated. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The Department of Revenue shall, at the conclusion of each calendar quarter, provide to the most populous city within the county in which the Nebraska State Fair is held written notification of the amount estimated by the department to equal ten percent of the lottery revenue collected during the calendar quarter to be transferred to the Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund. If the state fair is scheduled to be held in a different county from that in which the most recent state fair was held, the written notification required by this section shall be made to the most populous city within the county in which the state fair is scheduled to be held beginning with the written notification made at the conclusion of the first calendar quarter during the calendar year in which the state fair is held or scheduled to be held in such county. The department shall provide a copy of the written notification to the Department of Administrative Services.

The most populous city within the county in which the Nebraska State Fair is held or scheduled to be held that calendar year shall remit quarterly payments to the State Treasurer in amounts equal to the matching fund requirement established by the Department of Revenue under section 2-109. The State Treasurer shall credit the matching funds to the Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund. The city shall provide written notification to the Department of Administrative Services regarding its compliance with the matching fund requirement. Upon verification by the Department of Administrative Services that a quarterly transfer of lottery proceeds to the Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund has been executed and that the full amount of the matching funds requirement has been received from the city, the Department of Administrative Services shall authorize the expenditure of the fund by the Nebraska State Fair Board. Matching fund requirements shall not apply to investment income accruing to the fund and investment income may be expended by the board.

The Nebraska State Fair Board shall, no later than November 1 of each year, provide an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the use of the Nebraska State Fair Support and Improvement Cash Fund. The report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted electronically. The report shall include (1) a detailed listing of how the proceeds of the fund were expended in the prior fiscal year and (2) any distributions from the fund that remain unexpended and on deposit in Nebraska State Fair accounts.

The Nebraska State Fair Relocation Cash Fund is created. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund such money as is transferred to the fund by the Legislature or donated as gifts, bequests, or other contributions to such fund from public or private entities. The fund shall be expended by the Nebraska State Fair Board to provide funding to assist in the construction and improvement of capital facilities necessary to develop a location suitable for the operation of the Nebraska State Fair. Expenditures from the fund shall not be limited to the amount appropriated. The money in the fund shall not be subject to any fiscal year or biennium limitation requiring reappropriation of the unexpended balance at the end of the fiscal year or biennium. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) Upon completion of the conditions specified in subsection (2) of this section, the Director of Administrative Services shall, on or before December 31, 2009, transfer by warranty deed the site and tract of land in Lancaster County known as the Nebraska State Fairgrounds, to the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. Such transfer shall occur notwithstanding sections 72-811 to 72-818 or any other provision of law.

(2) The transfer described in subsection (1) of this section shall be contingent upon:

(a) Funds for the purpose of carrying out subsection (4) of section 2-101 having been provided by or on behalf of the University of Nebraska in a total amount of no less than twenty-one million five hundred thousand dollars in cash or legally binding commitments. Such funds may be provided over time, but they shall in cumulative increments equal at least seven million five hundred thousand dollars by October 1, 2008, fourteen million five hundred thousand dollars by February 1, 2009, and twenty-one million five hundred thousand dollars by July 1, 2009;

(b) The University of Nebraska providing a master plan and business plan to carry out the master plan for the Innovation Campus to the Department of Administrative Services and to the Clerk of the Legislature on or before December 1, 2009, and a commitment to provide on or before December 1 of each year thereafter an annual update of the master plan and business plan to the Clerk of the Legislature; and

(c) Funds for the purpose of carrying out subsection (4) of section 2-101 having been provided by or on behalf of the city of Grand Island in a total amount of no less than eight million five hundred thousand dollars in cash or legally binding commitments. Up to one million five hundred thousand dollars in cash or legally binding commitments provided by or on behalf of the city of Grand Island for the purpose of relocating and reconstructing recreational facilities displaced by the relocation of the Nebraska State Fair to Grand Island may be considered part of the eight-million-five-hundred-thousand-dollar contribution required by this subdivision. Such funds may be provided over time, but they shall in cumulative increments equal at least three million dollars by October 1, 2008, six million dollars by February 1, 2009, and eight million five hundred thousand dollars by July 1, 2009.

(3) The University of Nebraska and the city of Grand Island shall provide certification to the Department of Administrative Services on October 1, 2008, February 1, 2009, and July 1, 2009, of all funds provided to carry out subsection (4) of section 2-101. All amounts as certified in subdivisions (2)(a) and (c) of this section shall be held and expended as determined by agreement between the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association and the Nebraska State Fair Board.

(4)(a) The Nebraska State Fair shall be relocated to the city of Grand Island pursuant to subsection (4) of section 2-101 contingent upon completion of the conditions specified in subdivisions (2)(a) and (c) of this section.

(b) The Nebraska State Fair Board shall be responsible for any remaining costs associated with site improvements for relocating the Nebraska State Fair, not to exceed seven million dollars.

(c) On or before December 31, 2009, the Nebraska State Fair Board shall provide written release or other written instrument acceptable to the State Building Administrator in consultation with the President of the University of Nebraska in connection with the transfer of the Nebraska State Fairgrounds to the Board of Regents.

No person shall be permitted to exhibit or conduct indecent shows or dances or to engage in any gambling or other games of chance or horseracing, either inside the enclosure where any state fair or district or county agricultural society fair is being held or within forty rods thereof, during the time of holding such fairs. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit wagering on the results of horseraces by the parimutuel or certificate method when conducted by licensees within the racetrack enclosure at licensed horserace meetings, to prohibit the operation of bingo games as provided in the Nebraska Bingo Act, to prohibit the conduct of lotteries pursuant to the Nebraska County and City Lottery Act, to prohibit the conduct of lotteries or raffles pursuant to the Nebraska Lottery and Raffle Act or the Nebraska Small Lottery and Raffle Act, to prohibit the sale of pickle cards pursuant to the Nebraska Pickle Card Lottery Act, or to prohibit the conduct of games of chance pursuant to the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors, wine, or beer by a person properly licensed pursuant to Chapter 53 on premises under the control of the Nebraska State Fair Board or any county agricultural society. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor. The trial of speed of horses under direction of the society shall not be included in the term horseracing. Upon the filing of proof with the State Treasurer of a violation of this section inside the enclosure of such fair, the amount of money appropriated shall be withheld from any money appropriated for the ensuing year.

The president of any district or county agricultural society, a marshal, or any police officer appointed by the Nebraska State Fair Board shall be empowered to arrest, or cause to be arrested, any person or persons engaged in violating section 2-219. He or she may seize, or cause to be seized, all intoxicating liquors, wine, or beer, of any kind, with the vessels containing the same, and all tools or other implements used in any gambling or other game of chance, and may remove, or cause to be removed, all shows, swings, booths, tents, carriages, wagons, vessels, boats, or any other nuisance that may obstruct, or cause to be obstructed, by collecting persons around or otherwise, any thoroughfare leading to the enclosure in which such fair is being held. Any person owning or occupying any of such causes of obstruction, who may refuse or fail to remove such obstruction or nuisance when ordered to do so by the president or officer, shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.

All carnival companies, booking agencies, or shows that enter into any contract with the Nebraska State Fair Board, any county agricultural society, or any county fair board may be required, within thirty days after the execution of the contract, to either deposit cash or a certified check payable to the State of Nebraska, the county agricultural society, or the county fair board, as appropriate, or execute and file with the chairperson of the Nebraska State Fair Board, the county agricultural society, or the county fair board, as appropriate, a good and sufficient bond with a corporate surety. The Nebraska State Fair Board, the county agricultural society, or the county fair board, as appropriate, shall determine the amount of the deposit or bond required. Such security shall run to the State of Nebraska, the county agricultural society, or the county fair board, as appropriate, on the condition that the carnival company, booking agency, or show will faithfully perform any contract entered into by it during a period of one year from the date of execution of the contract and shall, at the time of the filing of the cash, certified check, or bond, file a sworn statement giving the names and addresses of the owners of the carnival company, booking agency, or show. Further cash, certified check, or bond shall not be required on signing any subsequent contract during the year such bond is in force.

The Nebraska State Fair Board, county agricultural society, or county fair board may bring suit upon the deposit or bond required by section 2-220.01 in the county where such contract was to have been performed to recover any damages sustained by reason of breach of contract or failure to carry out the terms thereof.

Each officer, owner, or manager of any carnival company, booking agency, or show who willfully fails to cause cash, certified check, or bond to be executed and filed as required by section 2-220.01, or who willfully fails to cause the receipt or certificate to be filed as provided by section 2-220.01, shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor.

If cash or certified check is deposited with the Nebraska State Fair Board, a county agricultural society, or a county fair board under section 2-220.01, such deposit shall be returned to the person or company making the deposit within sixty days after the completion of the last performance of the contract unless a written, signed, and verified complaint has been filed within such time.

Counties in the State of Nebraska are hereby authorized to establish and maintain county fair boards, to purchase, hold, and improve real estate for the purpose of holding county fairs, to convey the same, to levy and collect taxes for such purposes, and to do all other things necessary for the proper management of such county fairs. Property acquired for such purpose by an elected county fair board shall be held in the name of the (name of county) County Fair.

The boards of county agricultural societies and county fair boards of two or more adjoining counties may hold joint fairs at one location. Such authority shall not disturb their right to purchase, hold, and improve real estate for that purpose, to convey the same, to levy and collect taxes for such purposes, and to do all things necessary for the proper management of such joint county fairs.

Any county may accept the provisions of and proceed under sections 2-221 to 2-231 by resolution duly adopted by the county board. The resolution shall indicate whether the membership of the county fair board to be established under such sections would be elected or appointed pursuant to section 2-224. If, after the adoption of a resolution for such purpose, fifteen percent of the registered voters of the county file with the county board a petition requesting that the acceptance of the provisions of such sections be submitted to the voters of the county, the county board shall submit the same to a vote of the people in like manner as the question of voting courthouse bonds may be submitted. During the time such question is pending for the vote of the people, no further proceedings shall be had for the establishment of a county fair board. If ten percent of the registered voters of the county file a petition with the county board asking that the question of the acceptance of the provisions of such sections and specifying whether the membership of the county fair board to be established under such sections would be elected or appointed pursuant to section 2-224 be submitted to a vote of the people, the county board shall submit such question to the voters in like manner as the question of voting courthouse bonds may be submitted. If a majority of the votes cast upon the question are in favor of such proposition, the county board shall immediately proceed to establish a county fair board.

In any county accepting the provisions of sections 2-221 to 2-231, an elected county fair board or the county board for an appointed county fair board may propose the issuance of bonds or levy a special tax for the purchase and improvement of real estate for county fair purposes in like manner as for the building of a courthouse.

(1) If the membership of the county fair board to be established under sections 2-221 to 2-231 is to be appointed, the county board shall appoint from the residents of the county a county fair board, consisting of nine members who shall in the first instance be appointed as follows: Three for a term of one year, three for a term of two years, and three for a term of three years. Thereafter there shall be appointed each year three members for a term of three years. Vacancies occurring upon such board shall be filled by the county board. No person while a member of the county board shall be a member of the county fair board, nor shall more than two members of the county fair board be residents of the same township, precinct, or incorporated city or village at the time of appointment. An appointed county fair board is a division of the county.

(2)(a) If the membership of the county fair board to be established under sections 2-221 to 2-231 is to be elected, the procedures of this subsection shall be followed.

(b) The county board shall by resolution provide for the election of a nine-member county fair board at a public meeting. The resolution shall designate a time and place for the meeting and shall provide for a notice of the meeting to be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, the last publication to appear at least five days prior to the meeting. The notice shall be addressed to all registered voters of the county. The registered voters present at the meeting shall elect by majority vote persons who reside in the county as members of the county fair board. The election commissioner or county clerk shall administer the initial election.

(c) At the first meeting of the county fair board, the member receiving the highest number of votes shall preside until officers have been selected as provided in section 2-225. The three persons receiving the highest number of votes shall serve for terms of three years. The three persons receiving the next highest number of votes shall serve for terms of two years. The three persons receiving the next highest number of votes shall serve for terms of one year. As the terms expire, their successors shall be elected for three-year terms at an annual meeting of the registered voters of the county held for that purpose and shall hold office until their successors have been elected.

(d) The county fair board may increase its membership by up to six additional members after the initial election and organization by adoption of a resolution stating the number of additional members and designating the applicable election cycles. The new members shall be elected for three-year terms beginning as provided in the resolution.

(e) If any person offering to vote at any meeting is challenged as unqualified by any voter of such county, the person administering the election or presiding at the meeting shall explain to the person challenged the qualifications of a registered voter. If such person states that he or she is qualified and the challenge is not withdrawn, the person shall take an oath, reduced to writing, in substance as follows: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am of the constitutionally prescribed age of an elector or upwards, that I am domiciled in this county, and that I am registered to vote in this county, so help me God." Every person taking such oath and signing his or her name to it shall be permitted to vote on all questions proposed at the meeting.

(f) Notice of the annual meeting shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, such publication to appear at least five days prior to the meeting. A vacancy occurring due to resignation, death, or removal of a member because of malfeasance or nonfeasance shall be elected by the remaining board members for the unexpired term.

(g) An elected county fair board constitutes a body politic and corporate and is a political subdivision of the state.

The county fair board shall select a president, vice president, and treasurer from its own number. The county fair board shall select a county fair secretary who may be a member of the county fair board or may be selected from among other persons. The county fair board may employ such persons as it deems necessary for the proper management of the fair and shall have complete charge and supervision of the real estate and other property. All actions of an elected county fair board shall be taken in the name of the (name of county) County Fair. Actions by an appointed county fair board shall be taken in the name of the county.

The members of the county fair board, other than the secretary if he or she is selected from the board members, shall receive no pay for their services but shall be paid all necessary expenses. The secretary shall receive such salary payable at such times as the county fair board may provide.

The county fair board may adopt from time to time, and when adopted shall publish, such bylaws, rules and regulations as it may deem necessary, and shall publish a premium list, and shall do all things necessary and proper for the successful management of the fair.

If the county fair board is appointed by the county board, the county fair board shall report in writing to the county board as directed by the county board showing a complete statement and report of its actions. The report shall be kept in the office of the county clerk and shall be open to public inspection.

(1) During the month of November each year, each appointed county fair board shall prepare and submit to the county board an estimate, itemized as far as possible, of the amount of money which is necessary to be collected by taxation for the support and management of the fair for the ensuing year. The county board may, subject to section 77-3442, levy such amount of taxes as may be necessary but not to exceed the amount actually required for county fair purposes, including capital construction on and renovation, repair, improvement, and maintenance of county fairgrounds. Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as general taxes for the county.

(2) Each elected county fair board shall annually prepare a budget statement setting forth the amount of money necessary for the operation of the county fair board. On or before August 1, the president and the secretary of the board shall certify the amount of tax to be levied upon all the taxable property within the county for the operation of the county fair board for the ensuing year subject to allocation under section 77-3443. The tax shall be assessed, levied, and collected as other county taxes. The proceeds of such tax shall be paid by the county treasurer to the treasurer of the county fair board. The county fair board may act to exceed the allocation provided by the county board under section 77-3444, but if the county fair board acts to exceed the allocation, the total levy shall not exceed three and one-half cents per one hundred dollars of valuation.

Pursuant to a request by an elected county fair board, the county board of any county may levy an additional levy of three and five-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable valuation, or any part thereof, for the purpose of capital construction on and renovation, repair, improvement, and maintenance of the county fairgrounds, over and above the operational tax levy authorized in section 2-229. Such levy shall not exceed the amount actually required for such work. In counties having a population of more than sixty thousand inhabitants but not more than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants and also containing a city of the primary class, such additional levy or any part thereof may be levied for the purpose of capital construction on and renovation, repair, improvement, and maintenance of the county fairgrounds. The additional levy shall be subject to section 77-3443.

Whenever any county shall have established a county fair under the provisions of sections 2-221 to 2-231, no money shall be paid by the county to any other society or association maintaining a fair within the county.

Each appointed county fair board shall cause to be filed with the county board from time to time all claims to be paid from money raised by taxation, and such claims shall be allowed and paid in like manner as general claims against the county.

Any county in this state which has established a county fair board pursuant to sections 2-221 to 2-231, or which has taken any steps or made any expenditures or investments to establish and maintain a county fair under the terms and provisions of such sections, may dissolve such county fair board and may dispose in whole or in part of the property, real and personal, purchased by the county or county fair board for the purpose of such county fair.

Whenever it is deemed expedient to dissolve any county fair board established in any county with less than one hundred twenty-five thousand people in this state under sections 2-221 to 2-231 as determined by (1) the county board upon its own motion in counties with appointed county fair boards, (2) the county fair board upon its own motion in counties with elected county fair boards, or (3) petition of not less than twenty-five percent of the registered voters of the county as shown by the list of registered voters of the last general election, the county board shall submit to the people of the county, to be voted upon at a general or special election called by the county board for that purpose, a proposition to dissolve such county fair board. The question of dissolving any such county fair shall not be submitted until the expiration of three years after the vote to establish such fair has been taken.

The manner of submitting such proposition shall be governed by the provisions of section 23-126.

(1) Upon being satisfied that sections 2-232 to 2-234 have been substantially complied with and that sixty percent of all the votes cast on the proposition are in favor of the dissolution, the county board shall cause such proposition and all the proceedings had thereon to be entered upon the records of the county board and shall notify the county fair board of the results of the election.

(2) Upon receiving such notice, an elected county fair board shall transfer by deed all real property and by bill of sale all personal property to the county for disposition pursuant to section 2-236.

Upon the dissolution of such appointed county fair board, all the property, both real and personal, which had been purchased by such county or county fair board or transferred to the county board under subsection (2) of section 2-235 for such county fair purposes may be sold or disposed of by the county board in whole or in part and from time to time in the same manner as other properties of the county may lawfully be sold or disposed of. If any of such property is appropriate for any other lawful use or purpose of such county, such property may be held for or transferred to the county.

Upon the dissolution of any such county fair board in the manner provided in sections 2-232 to 2-236, the county fair board in such county shall cease to exist as an official body of such county, except for the purpose of making its final report and accounting and returning its records. An appointed county fair board shall make its report and accounting and return its records to the county board. An elected county fair board shall publish its final report and accounting one time in a newspaper of general circulation in the county and shall file such report and accounting and its records with the county clerk for inspection by the public.

(1) An elected county fair board may be dissolved and reformed as either a county agricultural society or an appointed county fair board as provided in this section. An appointed county fair board may be dissolved and reformed as either a county agricultural society or an elected county fair board as provided in this section.

(2) An elected county fair board may by resolution request the county board to place the question of reformation of the county fair board before the registered voters of the county. The county board may on its own resolution place the question of reformation of an appointed county fair board before the registered voters of the county.

(3) Upon the adoption of a resolution under subsection (2) of this section, the county board shall call a general or special election on the question of reformation. If a majority of those voting on the question vote for reformation, the county board or the county fair board shall proceed with the statutory requirements to form the new entity.

(4) Any contract, action, rule, regulation, resolution, or other matter made, done, or performed by and within the scope of the previous board's authority shall remain in force and effect. Any real or personal property, rights, or credits and any duty, debt, or liability of the previous board shall automatically transfer to the new entity on the date of the entity's first meeting. Upon such transfer, the previous board shall automatically be dissolved. The previous board shall file notice of transfers and dissolutions with the register of deeds.

County fair boards established under sections 2-221 to 2-231 shall comply with the Open Meetings Act and the Records Management Act.

(1) The budget of each appointed county fair board shall be subject to annual review, audit, and approval by the county board of the county in which such fair board is located.

(2) The budget of each elected county fair board shall be subject to the Nebraska Budget Act.

The vote of a member of a county fair board for any election held within such board shall be cast by the member personally and shall not be cast by a proxy vote.

Sections 2-250 to 2-273 shall be known and may be cited as the County Agricultural Society Act.

All county agricultural societies existing, organized, or reinstated on or after January 1, 1998, shall comply with the County Agricultural Society Act and shall annually offer and award premiums and perform such other acts which such society deems will be for the improvement of agriculture, industry, homes, and communities of the state. For purposes of the act, county agricultural society means all county agricultural societies existing, organized, or reinstated on or after January 1, 1998.

A county agricultural society shall adopt a constitution and bylaws and may, upon approval of its board of directors, file articles of incorporation with the Secretary of State pursuant to the Nebraska Nonprofit Corporation Act. Any agricultural society forming itself as a nonprofit corporation shall incorporate as a public benefit corporation as defined in section 21-1914.

A county agricultural society shall hold an annual meeting open to all registered voters of the county for the purpose of electing a board of directors and conducting any other business of the county agricultural society. Only registered voters of the county are eligible to participate and vote at the annual meeting of the county agricultural society. The board of directors of the county agricultural society shall give notice of the annual meeting in a newspaper of general circulation within the county once at least five days before the scheduled annual meeting. The notice shall state the time and place of the annual meeting and that all registered voters of the county are eligible to participate and vote at the annual meeting. The vote for any election held in connection with the county agricultural society shall be cast personally and not by proxy vote. At the annual meeting of the county agricultural society, all questions upon motions made at the annual meeting shall be determined by a majority of the registered voters voting and the presiding officer shall ascertain and declare the result of the votes upon each question. If the result of a vote is questioned, the presiding officer shall make the vote certain by recount. If any person offering to vote at the annual meeting is challenged as an unqualified voter, the presiding officer shall explain to the person challenged the qualifications of a registered voter. If such person states that he or she is qualified and the challenge is not withdrawn, the person shall take an oath, reduced to writing, in substance as follows: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am of the constitutionally prescribed age of an elector or upwards, that I am domiciled in this county, and that I am registered to vote in this county, so help me God." Every person taking such oath and signing his or her name to it shall be permitted to vote on all questions proposed at the meeting.

Subject to sections 2-267 to 2-273, the registered voters of a county may petition the county board to organize a county agricultural society in a county where a county agricultural society has not already been organized. The petition shall be signed by registered voters of the county equal in number to fifteen percent of the whole number of registered voters of the county who cast votes for Governor at the statewide general election next preceding the submission of the petition to the county board. The petition shall be in the form required by section 32-628 and the Secretary of State shall provide such forms upon request.

Upon receipt of a petition to create a county agricultural society, the county board shall have the signatures verified by the election commissioner or county clerk pursuant to section 32-631. The election commissioner or county clerk shall return the verified petition within fifteen days after receipt of the petition from the county board. If the number of signatures required under section 2-254 are verified, the county board shall declare the petition approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting following the submission of the petition by the petitioners to the county board. If the petition is approved, the county board shall schedule an organizational meeting for the county agricultural society and shall give notice of the organizational meeting in a newspaper of general circulation within the county once each week for three weeks before the scheduled organizational meeting. The notice shall state the time and place of the organizational meeting and that all registered voters of the county are eligible to participate and vote at the organizational meeting. At the organizational meeting, the registered voters present shall, by majority vote, (1) determine the size of the board of directors for the county agricultural society, an odd number not less than five and not larger than nineteen, and (2) elect the board members.

(1) The board of directors shall annually elect from its membership a chairperson and such other officers as may be necessary. The term of office for members of the board shall be for three years, except that the term of the members of the board first taking office shall be for one, two, or three years as determined by lot.

(2) The bylaws adopted by a county agricultural society shall state whether the board of directors of the county agricultural society will nominate candidates for membership on the board from districts or from the county at large. The members of the board shall be elected by the registered voters of the entire county whether the candidates are nominated from districts or from the county at large. If nominating districts are used, the board of directors shall divide the county into districts of substantially equal population. Such districts shall be consecutively numbered. The boundaries and numbering of such districts shall be designated at least three months prior to the annual meeting.

(3) If the county agricultural society replaces an existing county fair board as provided in section 2-237.01, the county fair board shall remain in existence until the county agricultural society has its first annual meeting. After the first annual meeting of the county agricultural society, any existing county fair board shall cease to exist.

(1) The county board may, at the time other levies and assessments for taxation are made and subject to section 77-3443, levy a tax upon all of the taxable property within the county for the operation of the county agricultural society. The tax shall be assessed, levied, and collected as other county taxes. The proceeds of such tax shall be paid by the county treasurer to the treasurer of the board of directors of such county agricultural society on or before the fifteenth day of each month or more frequently as provided in section 77-1759.

(2) The county agricultural society may act to exceed the allocation provided by the county board under section 77-3444, but if the county agricultural society acts to exceed the allocation, the total levy shall not exceed three and one-half cents per one hundred dollars of valuation.

The money raised by the operational tax levy authorized in section 2-257 shall be used for the purpose of paying premiums and for permanent improvements for such fair, for the purpose of purchasing the necessary fair supplies, advertising, and the paying of necessary labor in connection therewith, and for other necessary expenses for the operation of the fair. In the county in which the Nebraska State Fair is located, the money so raised may be used for permanent improvements on the state and county fairgrounds or for leasing, contracting for, or in any manner acquiring use of fairground facilities for such fairs.

Pursuant to a request by a county agricultural society, the county board of any county may levy an additional levy of three and five-tenths cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable valuation, or any part thereof, for the purpose of acquiring an interest in real property to comprise a portion or all of the county fairgrounds, for the purpose of capital construction on and renovation, repair, improvement, and maintenance of the county fairgrounds, over and above the operational tax levy authorized in section 2-257, or for the purpose of purchasing equipment. Such levy shall not exceed the amount actually required for such acquisition or work and shall be subject to section 77-3443.

If an existing county agricultural society fails to hold a fair for at least three successive days, no money so levied for that year shall be paid to the use of such levy, but the same shall be paid into the general fund of the county and expended as other funds therein. Such money shall be paid by the county treasurer to the board of directors of such county agricultural society only after a sworn statement has been filed with the county clerk of such county, which statement shall be signed by the chairperson of the county agricultural society and shall set out when and where such county fair is to be held.

(1) County agricultural societies are subject to the Nebraska Budget Act. County agricultural societies shall comply with the Open Meetings Act and the Records Management Act.

(2) The budget of each county agricultural society is subject to annual review, audit, and approval by the county board of the county in which such society is located.

Each county agricultural society may acquire, take, hold, and appropriate so much real estate as may be necessary for the purpose of holding county fairs. No appropriation of private property for the use of such society shall be made until full and just compensation therefor be first made to the owner thereof, and not more than forty acres shall be taken without the consent of the owner. The procedure to condemn property shall be exercised in the manner set forth in sections 76-704 to 76-724.

In all cases when county agricultural societies neglect for two years to hold a county fair or cease to exist, in any county where payments have been made for real estate or improvements upon such real estate for the use of a county agricultural society, then all such real estate and improvements shall vest in fee simple in the county, and the district court of the county, upon proof thereof, shall, upon petition of the county board, make a proper decree vesting the title of such property in the county.

With the consent of the county board of the county within which the real estate is located, a county agricultural society may exchange its real estate and improvements for other real estate and improvements or may lease or sell its real estate and improvements and may make, execute, deliver, and accept all proper or necessary conveyances relating to such exchange, lease, sale, or purchase. County board approval is not required for leases having a term of less than ninety days. The right of the county to real estate and improvements as provided in section 2-263 shall extend to real estate, improvements, or proceeds derived from any exchange, sale, or purchase of real estate or improvements acquired with the additional tax levy provided in section 2-259.

A county agricultural society may purchase real estate and improve the same. The payment of the purchase price may be secured by mortgage or deed of trust.

(1) To dissolve a county agricultural society established or sought to be established under the County Agricultural Society Act, the county board shall, upon petition of not less than fifteen percent of the registered voters of the county as shown by the poll books of the last previous general election, submit to the people of the county to be voted upon at a general or special election called by the county board for that purpose, a proposition to dissolve such county agricultural society. Such proposition shall be submitted as provided in section 23-126.

(2) If a majority of all the votes cast on the proposition are in favor of the dissolution, the county board shall cause the record of such proposition and all the proceedings thereon to be entered upon the records of the county agricultural society and shall make an order that such county agricultural society is dissolved.

Upon the dissolution and the abandonment under section 2-265:

(1) All the real and personal property which has been purchased for or by the county agricultural society may be sold or disposed of by the county board in whole or in part and from time to time in the same manner as other properties of the county may lawfully be sold or disposed of. If any of such property is appropriate or available for any other lawful use or purpose of such county, the county board may appropriate, use, and apply any of such property to any such other lawful use or purpose; and

(2) Such county agricultural society shall cease to exist as an official body of such county except for the purpose of making its final report and accounting and returning its records to the county board.

(1) A county agricultural society may be dissolved and reformed as either an elected or appointed county fair board as provided in this section in addition to any other procedure for dissolution provided by law.

(2) A county agricultural society board may by resolution request the county board to place the question of reformation of the society before the registered voters of the county.

(3) Upon the adoption of a resolution under subsection (2) of this section, the county board shall place the question of reformation on the ballot at any primary, general, or special election. If a majority of those voting on the question vote for reformation, the county board shall proceed with the statutory requirements to form the new entity.

(4) Any contract, action, rule, regulation, resolution, or other matter made, done, or performed by and within the scope of the county agricultural society's authority shall remain in force and effect. Any real or personal property, rights, or credits and any duty, debt, or liability of the society shall automatically transfer to the new entity on the date of the entity's first meeting. Upon such transfer, the society shall automatically be dissolved. The county agricultural society shall file the notice of transfers and dissolutions with the register of deeds.

A county agricultural society operating or organized under the County Agricultural Society Act, which has become inoperative because of neglect in the discharge of its duties devolved upon it by law, or for any other reason, may at any time procure an extension, restoration, renewal, or revival of its corporate existence, together with all the rights, franchises, privileges, and immunities and subject to all of its duties, debts, and liabilities which had been secured or imposed by its original articles of incorporation and its amendments, by filing with the Secretary of State a certificate of its last acting president and secretary or treasurer, chairperson and other officers, or officers elected or appointed as provided in section 2-271.

The certificate filed pursuant to section 2-267 shall set forth (1) the name of the county agricultural society, which name shall be the existing name of the society or the name it bore when its corporate existence expired, except as otherwise provided in sections 2-267 to 2-271, (2) whether the renewal, restoration, or revival is to be perpetual and if not the time for which the renewal, restoration, or revival is to continue, (3) that the society desiring to be renewed or revived and so renewing or reviving its corporate existence was duly organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, and (4) the date when the society became inoperative and that this certificate for renewal or revival is filed by authority of those who were directors or managers of the society at the time its corporate existence expired or who were elected or appointed directors of the society as provided in section 2-271. A copy of the certificate, certified by the Secretary of State, shall be recorded in the office of the clerk in and for the county in which the original articles of incorporation of the society are recorded. Upon filing and recording the original of the certificate of revival in the office of the Secretary of State, the society shall be renewed and revived with the same force and effect as if its corporate existence had not become inoperative.

The reinstatement of a county agricultural society shall validate all contracts, acts, matters, and things made, done, and performed within the scope of its articles of incorporation, its officers, and its agents during the time when the corporate existence was inoperative with the same force and effect and to all intents and purposes as if the corporate existence had at all times remained in full force and effect. All real and personal property, rights, and credits which were of the county agricultural society at the time its corporate existence became inoperative and which were not disposed of prior to the time of the revival or renewal shall be vested in the society, after the revival and renewal, as fully and completely as they were held by the society at and before the time its corporate existence became inoperative. The corporation, after such renewal and revival, shall be as exclusively liable for all contracts, acts, matters, and things made, done, or performed in its name and on its behalf by its officers and agents prior to the reinstatement as if its corporate existence had at all times remained in full force and effect.

If, since the corporate existence of a county agricultural society became inoperative, any other county agricultural society organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska adopted the same name as the society sought to be renewed or revived or shall have adopted a name so nearly similar to it as not to distinguish it from the society renewed or revived under the provisions of sections 2-267 to 2-271, then, in such case, the renewed or revived society shall not be renewed under the same name which it bore when its corporate existence became inoperative, but shall adopt and be renewed under a new name which, under existing law, could be adopted by a society formed and organized under the County Agricultural Society Act, and in such case the certificate to be filed under section 2-272 shall set forth the name borne by such society at the time its existence became inoperative and the new name under which the society is to be renewed or revived.

If the last president and secretary or treasurer, chairperson and other officers, or the officers performing the functions of the offices, or any of them, of the county agricultural society renewing or reviving its corporate existence are dead at the time of the renewal or refuse or neglect to act pursuant to section 2-267, the directors of the society or the successors of them, if not less than two, may elect a successor to the officer or officers who are dead or who refuse or neglect to act pursuant to section 2-267. In any case where there are less than two directors of the society living or if any of them refuse or neglect to act for the purpose of renewing or reviving the corporate existence, the county board may appoint as many directors as necessary, together with the surviving director who is ready and willing to act, to constitute a board of five directors to conduct necessary business until, within ninety days, an annual meeting is held and new directors are elected pursuant to the County Agricultural Society Act.

The certificate for the renewal and continuance of the existence of a county agricultural society shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, who shall furnish a certified copy of the certificate under his or her hand and seal of office. The certified copy shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county in which the principal office of the society is located in this state in a book kept for the purpose. The certificate or a certified copy of the certificate duly certified under the hand of the Secretary of State and his or her seal of office, accompanied with the certificate of the clerk of the county where it is recorded under the clerk's hand and seal of his or her office, stating that it had been recorded, the record of the same in the office of the clerk, or a copy of such record duly certified by the clerk, or the record of such certified copy, recorded in the county clerk's office, is evidence in all courts of law and equity of this state.

A county agricultural society renewing, extending, and continuing its corporate existence shall, upon complying with sections 2-267 to 2-272, be a corporation and continue its existence for the time stated in its certificate of renewal and shall, in addition to the rights, privileges, and immunities conferred by its original articles of incorporation, possess and enjoy all of the benefits of the laws of this state which are applicable to the nature of its business and shall be subject to the restrictions and liabilities imposed on such societies by the laws of this state.

Sections 2-301 to 2-304 shall be known and may be cited as the Community Gardens Act.

(1) The Legislature finds and declares that:

(a) Community gardens provide significant health, educational, and social benefits to the general public, especially for those who reside in urban and suburban areas of this state;

(b) The community garden movement (i) continues to provide low-cost food that is fresh and nutritious for those who may be unable to readily afford fresh fruits and vegetables for themselves or their families, (ii) promotes public health and healthier individual lifestyles by encouraging better eating habits and increased physical activity by growing food, (iii) fosters the retention and expansion of open spaces, particularly in urban environments, (iv) enhances urban and suburban environmental quality and community beautification, (v) provides inexpensive community building activities, recreation, and physical exercise for all age groups, (vi) establishes a safe place for community involvement and helps to reduce the incidence of crime, (vii) engenders a closer relationship between urban residents, nature, and the local environment, and (viii) fosters green job training and ecological education at all levels; and

(c) It is the public policy of this state to promote and foster growth in the number of community gardens and the acreage of such gardens.

(2) It is the intent of the Legislature and the purpose of the Community Gardens Act to foster growth in the number, size, and scope of community gardens in this state by encouraging state agencies, municipalities, and private parties in their efforts to promote community gardens.

For purposes of the Community Gardens Act:

(1) Community garden means public or private land upon which individuals have the opportunity to raise a garden on land which they do not themselves own;

(2) Garden means a piece or parcel of land appropriate for cultivation of herbs, fruits, flowers, nuts, honey, poultry for egg production, maple syrup, ornamental or vegetable plants, nursery products, or vegetables;

(3) Municipality means any county, village, or city or any office or agency of a county, village, or city;

(4) State agency means any department or other agency of the State of Nebraska;

(5) Use means to avail oneself of or to employ without conveyance of title gardens on vacant public land by any individual or organization; and

(6) Vacant public land means any land owned by the state or another governmental subdivision, including a municipality, that is not in use for a public purpose, is otherwise unoccupied, idle, or not being actively utilized for a period of at least six months, and is suitable for garden use.

(1) A state agency or municipality having title to vacant public land may permit community organizations to use such lands for community garden purposes. Such use of vacant public land may be conditioned on the community organization having liability insurance and accepting liability for injury or damage resulting from use of the vacant public land for community garden purposes. State agencies and municipalities may adopt and promulgate rules, regulations, ordinances, or resolutions to establish an application process for a community garden. The applicant may include a request for access to a fire hydrant or other source of water owned or operated by the state agency or municipality or by a utility district in order to provide water to the community garden. The state agency, municipality, or utility district shall consider whether to supply the water to the applicant at a reduced or fixed rate.

(2) A state agency or municipality which receives an application pursuant to this section shall respond to the applicant within sixty days from the date on which the application is received and shall make a final determination within one hundred eighty days from such date.

The Legislature finds that:

(1) Healthy soils are a limited natural resource and fundamental for healthy and sustainable food production. Improving soil health means increasing soil's organic matter and diversifying its microbial activity to enhance agricultural productivity and environmental resilience. A commitment to healthy and productive soils and clean water is critical as world population and food production demands rise;

(2) Nebraska is a powerhouse agricultural state because of its productive soils and abundant water. However, through the years there has been a depletion of organic matter and trace minerals, making the soil less fertile than it was;

(3) There is a significant opportunity for Nebraska farmers and ranchers to capitalize on the economic and production benefits of improved soil health, while simultaneously improving surface and ground water quality;

(4) Improving the health of Nebraska's soil is the most effective way for agricultural producers to increase crop and forage productivity and profitability while also protecting the environment;

(5) Appropriate planning and coordination is needed to speed up and coordinate the adoption of conservation practices that rebuild and protect soil carbon to increase water holding capacity and enhance the vitality of the subsurface microbiome for landowners to capitalize on the economic and production benefits of soil health, while simultaneously enhancing water quality, capturing carbon, building resilience to drought and pests, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, expanding pollinator and other wildlife habitat, and protecting fragile ecosystems for a more sustainable future; and

(6) A number of states have initiated formal soil health programs either through the establishment of new entities or collaborations between existing entities.

(1) The Healthy Soils Task Force is created.

(2) The task force shall consist of the following voting members:

(a) The Director of Agriculture or his or her designee;

(b) Two representatives of natural resources districts in Nebraska, appointed by the Governor;

(c) Two academic experts in agriculture and natural resources in Nebraska, appointed by the Governor;

(d) Six representatives from production agriculture, including at least two producers that are using healthy soil practices, appointed by the Governor;

(e) Two representatives from agribusiness, appointed by the Governor; and

(f) Two representatives from environmental organizations in Nebraska, appointed by the Governor.

(3) The task force shall consist of the following nonvoting members:

(a) The chairperson of the Natural Resources Committee of the Legislature, or his or her designee; and

(b) The chairperson of the Agriculture Committee of the Legislature, or his or her designee.

(4) In selecting membership for appointment to the task force, the Governor shall seek to appoint members with relevant expertise regarding methods for incorporating healthy soil stewardship practices into working agricultural operations and for optimizing environmental services provided through such practices. Appointments to the task force shall be made within sixty days after April 18, 2019, and appointed members shall begin serving immediately following notice of appointment. Members shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their duties as members, as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177.

(5) The task force shall hold its first meeting no later than September 1, 2019. At its first meeting, the members shall elect a chairperson. Subsequent to the initial meeting, the task force may meet as necessary at the call of the chairperson.

(6) For administrative and budgetary purposes, the task force shall be housed within the Department of Agriculture. Additional support to facilitate the work of the task force may be requested from appropriate federal and state agencies.

(1) The Healthy Soils Task Force shall:

(a) Develop a comprehensive healthy soils initiative for the State of Nebraska;

(b) Develop a comprehensive action plan to coordinate efforts to carry out such healthy soils initiative using standards for organic matter, biological activity, biological diversity, and soil structure as measures to assess improved soil health. The action plan shall set goals, formulate timelines for task completion, and determine resources required and resource availability. In developing the action plan, the task force shall examine:

(i) Issues related to providing farmers and ranchers with research, education, technical assistance, and demonstration projects;

(ii) Options for financial incentives to improve soil health; and

(iii) The contribution of livestock to soil health;

(c) Identify realistic and achievable goals and timelines for improvement of soil health in Nebraska through voluntary partnerships among agricultural producers and relevant state and local agencies and other public and private entities; and

(d) Review provisions of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Public Law 115-334, and any implementing rules, regulations, and guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture and identify opportunities to leverage state, local, or private funds under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program of the United States Department of Agriculture and other conservation programs for the purposes of the healthy soils initiative. Such information shall be included in the report issued pursuant to section 2-404.

(2) To carry out its duties, the Healthy Soils Task Force may consult other agencies or organizations, including, but not limited to, the University of Nebraska, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, and the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Soil Health Institute, the Soil Health Partnership, and other state and federal agencies or public or private organizations with responsibility or expertise in research, demonstration, education, advising, funding, or promotion relating to agronomic and other agricultural land management practices consistent with the purpose of the task force.

On or before January 1, 2021, the Healthy Soils Task Force shall submit the comprehensive action plan and report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and electronically to the Agriculture Committee of the Legislature. The task force shall terminate on January 1, 2021.

Sections 2-405 to 2-409 shall be known and may be cited as the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act.

The Legislature finds that:

(1) With over ninety percent of Nebraska's land base in cropland and rangeland agricultural production, its agricultural sector is foundational to the state's economy. Nebraska agricultural producers face many challenges, from shrinking profit margins, depletion of natural resources, and extreme weather events, to increased public interest concerning the impact of current agricultural practices on the environment;

(2) Since the prairie was plowed for farming, Nebraska has lost topsoil and organic matter to both water and wind erosion. Soil erosion reduces soil productivity and deteriorates water quality. Organic matter is vital to soil fertility, structure, and water retention ability and is only at one-half of its original level;

(3) This state's soil and abundant water are Nebraska's most critical natural resources. The quality of both is vital for productive and profitable agricultural production, rural and urban economic viability, long-term food security, natural resource resiliency, and the associated influences on human health and quality of life. The relative quality and availability of the state's ground water and surface waters are directly impacted by the health of the land, particularly its agricultural soil;

(4) It is not uncommon to find nitrate levels in excess of federal drinking water standards in wells across the state. Elevated levels of nitrates in Nebraska's ground water are alarming as approximately eighty-five percent of Nebraska residents rely on drinking water pumped from the ground. While nitrate levels in Nebraska's ground water are gradually improving in some areas, they remain at troublesome levels elsewhere, particularly in the central and northeastern parts of Nebraska;

(5) The Healthy Soils Task Force created under section 2-402 concluded that healthier soils produced through best soil management practices improve yield stability, produce greater financial returns over time, reduce the need for chemical inputs, increase water infiltration rates and water storage capacity making soil more resilient to drought, flooding, and erosion, and protect and improve water quality. The task force also concluded that two significant barriers to adoption of healthy soil management practices by agricultural producers are uncertainty of the positive economic return on investment in healthy soil management practices and the lack of education and information available to a broader audience; and

(6) With the general public's growing interest in how food is grown relative to human health and long-term resiliency of our natural resources, greater adoption of healthy soil management practices is beneficial to both rural and urban contingencies. A voluntary grassroots effort to accelerate the means to protect and enhance Nebraska's soil and receive the benefits described in the task force report should be encouraged and supported.

The purposes of the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act are to (1) initiate first steps to accelerate the use and scope of best practices for healthy soil management, (2) protect and improve soil and water quality throughout the state, (3) protect the public's health and enhance agricultural production and profitability, (4) address soil health economics, resource stewardship, and managerial and environmental issues, (5) increase awareness, education, and promotion of healthy soil best practices through producer-to-producer, peer-to-peer, and mentoring relationships, networking, and sharing of technical information, and (6) provide observational proof of healthy soil benefits through access to demonstration and research farms and data.

For purposes of the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act:

(1) Demonstration and research farms means large-scale field and pasture settings located across the state that provide a demonstration of healthy soil practices in support of the educational and research programs of the producer learning community;

(2) Department means the Department of Natural Resources; and

(3) Producer learning community means an agricultural producer-led, nonprofit, voluntary membership organization dedicated to fostering learning, skills, and abilities and the gathering and sharing of knowledge for the purpose of carrying out the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act.

(1) The department shall provide technical and legal assistance in the formation of a producer learning community comprised of active agricultural producers, landowners, and others who have an interest in soil health and water quality. The department shall assist the producer learning community in building awareness and knowledge relating to soil health and water quality to guide agricultural producers and landowners in making informed decisions in order to bring about a more rapid and widespread adoption of best management practices. The department shall hire a facilitator to lead a collaborative effort to organize the producer learning community and assist the producer learning community in acquiring gifts, grants, and sponsorships. The department shall authorize the facilitator to serve as an ex officio member of the producer learning community and may locate the facilitator outside of the city of Lincoln.

(2) The department may partner or contract with any entity or entities that have resources that would assist in the formation of the producer learning community, including, but not limited to, the University of Nebraska and any association of natural resources districts. The department may also collaborate with the Corn Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board, the Soybean Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board, the Grain Sorghum Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board, the Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board, and any private farm and ranch associations or membership organization.

(3) Because of the state's diversity of soils, topography, rainfall, cropping systems, and other environmental factors, one set of healthy soil management practices will not fit the entire state and such practices will differ by region. The department shall divide the state into different regions in which to establish demonstration and research farms that are representative of each region's particular agricultural diversity. In establishing such regions, the department may use the land management areas of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the state's natural resources district boundaries, and the Nebraska Extension Engagement Zones of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources as guidance in establishing boundaries. The department may enter into lease agreements with private landowners for the purpose of establishing demonstration and research farms.

(4) Beginning in 2022 and through 2027, the department shall submit an annual report on or before December 31 to the Governor and electronically to the Agriculture Committee of the Legislature and the Natural Resources Committee of the Legislature to report on the status and progress of implementing the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act and any impacts and accomplishments made in protecting and improving soil and water quality across the state.

It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate two hundred fifty thousand dollars beginning in FY2022-23 through FY2026-27 to carry out the Resilient Soils and Water Quality Act.

Sections 2-501 to 2-519 shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

It is the policy of this state that hemp is recognized as a viable agricultural crop. The purpose of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act is to:

(1) Align state law with federal law regarding the cultivation, handling, marketing, and processing of hemp and hemp products;

(2) Promote the cultivation and processing of hemp and open up new commercial markets for farmers and businesses through the sale of hemp products;

(3) Establish testing and compliance procedures;

(4) Promote the expansion of Nebraska's hemp industry to the maximum extent permitted by law and allow farmers and businesses to cultivate, handle, and process hemp and sell hemp products for commercial purposes;

(5) Encourage and empower research into hemp cultivation and the processing of hemp products at postsecondary institutions in the state and in the private sector;

(6) Facilitate interstate commerce by not impeding the shipment of hemp into and out of this state; and

(7) Return Nebraska to the forefront of the hemp industry.

For purposes of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act:

(1) Acceptable hemp THC level has the same meaning as in 7 C.F.R. 990.1, as such section existed on January 1, 2020;

(2) Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 means section 10113 of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Public Law 115-334, and any regulations adopted and promulgated under such section, as such section, act, and regulations existed on January 1, 2020;

(3) Approved testing facility means a testing facility approved by the department;

(4) Broker means a person who engages or participates in the marketing of hemp by acting as an intermediary or negotiator between prospective buyers and sellers;

(5) Commercial sale means the sale of products in the stream of commerce, at retail, wholesale, and online;

(6) Commission means the Nebraska Hemp Commission;

(7) Cultivate or cultivating means planting, watering, growing, and harvesting a hemp plant or crop. The presence of plants of the plant Cannabis sativa L. growing as uncultivated, naturalized plants in the environment is not cultivating hemp for purposes of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act;

(8) Cultivator means a person who cultivates hemp;

(9) Department means the Department of Agriculture;

(10) Director means the Director of Agriculture or his or her designee;

(11) GPS coordinates means latitude and longitude coordinates derived from a global positioning system;

(12) Handle or handling means possessing or storing hemp plants or hemp plant parts prior to cultivation, in the process of cultivation, or after being harvested or dried but before processing. Handle or handling also includes possessing or storing such hemp plants or hemp plant parts in a vehicle for any period of time other than during its actual transport from the premises of a person licensed to cultivate or process hemp to the premises of another licensee. Handle or handling does not include possessing, storing, or transporting finished hemp products or hemp seeds;

(13) Hemp means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, including the viable seeds of such plant and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Hemp shall be considered an agricultural commodity. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, hemp shall not be considered a controlled substance under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act;

(14) Licensee means an individual or a business entity possessing a license issued by the department under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, including authorized employees or agents of such licensee, to cultivate, handle, process, or broker hemp;

(15) Location ID means the unique identifier established by a licensee for each unique set of GPS coordinates where hemp is cultivated, handled, or processed;

(16) Lot means a contiguous area in a field, greenhouse, or indoor growing structure containing the same variety or strain of hemp throughout such area;

(17) Measurement of uncertainty has the same meaning as in 7 C.F.R. 990.1, as such section existed on January 1, 2020;

(18) Person means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, postsecondary institution, or other legal entity;

(19) Postsecondary institution means a postsecondary institution as defined in section 85-2403 that also meets the requirements of 20 U.S.C. 1001, as such section existed on January 1, 2019;

(20) Process or processing means converting hemp plants or plant parts into a marketable form;

(21) Processor-handler means a person who handles or processes hemp;

(22) Site means an area defined by the same legal description in a field, greenhouse, or other outdoor area or indoor structure, or for a mobile processor, such processor's primary place of business;

(23) THC means tetrahydrocannabinol; and

(24) USDA-licensed hemp producer means a person licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture to produce hemp as provided in 7 C.F.R. part 990, subpart C, as such regulations existed on January 1, 2020.

(1) Subject to the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, it shall be lawful:

(a) For a licensee or his or her employee or agent to cultivate, handle, process, or broker hemp in Nebraska and to transport hemp outside of Nebraska; and

(b) To possess, transport, sell, and purchase lawfully produced hemp products.

(2) The department shall establish, operate, and administer a program to license and regulate cultivators, processor-handlers, and brokers that meets the requirements of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

(3) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to implement the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act and administer programs, including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Practices to maintain relevant information regarding land where hemp is cultivated, handled, or processed in the state, including a legal description of such land, for a period of not less than three calendar years;

(b) Procedures governing the sampling, chain of custody, and testing of hemp cultivated, handled, or processed in the state;

(c) Procedures for the effective destruction of plants cultivated, handled, or processed in violation of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act and hemp products made from those plants;

(d) Procedures implementing enforcement provisions outlined in the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, including factors to be considered when issuing administrative fines;

(e) A procedure for conducting, at a minimum, annual inspections of a random sample of hemp cultivators and processor-handlers to verify that hemp is not cultivated, processed, or handled in violation of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act or the state plan as described in section 2-516. The department may, at its discretion, conduct other inspections of a cultivator's or processor-handler's operation, including all sites registered with the department;

(f) A procedure for submitting required information to the United States Secretary of Agriculture not more than thirty days after the information is received;

(g) Standards governing the approval and denial of license applications by cultivators, processor-handlers, and brokers;

(h) Developing a bill of lading form for use by a person transporting hemp as provided in section 28-476. Such bill of lading shall, at a minimum:

(i) Identify the transporting person;

(ii) List a traceable reference, in accordance with the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, to the lot in which the hemp was grown, matching the lot listed on the test results or other documentation required by section 2-515 or section 28-476; and

(iii) Indicate the owner, shipping point of origin, and destination of the hemp;

(i) In consultation with the Nebraska State Patrol, standards for transporting hemp in this state to ensure that marijuana or any other controlled substance is not disguised as hemp and transported into, within, or through this state;

(j) Record-keeping requirements and procedures; and

(k) Any other standard, practice, or procedure required by the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act or the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

(1) Hemp may only be cultivated by a USDA-licensed hemp producer or a person meeting the requirements of section 2-5701 or in compliance with this section.

(2) Before a person may be licensed to cultivate hemp under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, such person shall submit an application on a form prescribed by the department that includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's full name, birthdate, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address;

(b) If the applicant is an entity and not an individual, (i) the name of the applicant, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address, (ii) the full name of each officer, director, partner, member, or owner owning in excess of ten percent of equity or stock in such entity, (iii) the full name of each key participant as defined in 7 C.F.R. 990.1, and (iv) the birthdate, title, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address of each such person or key participant;

(c) The proposed acreage to be cultivated or the square footage of a greenhouse or other indoor space to be cultivated;

(d) The street address, legal description, location ID, and GPS coordinates for each field, greenhouse, building, or other site where hemp will be cultivated. The site information may be verified by the department; and

(e) Maps depicting each site where hemp will be cultivated, with appropriate indications for entrances, field boundaries, and specific locations corresponding to the GPS coordinates provided under subdivision (d) of this subsection.

(3) Before a person may be licensed to cultivate hemp under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, such person shall submit with the application a nonrefundable application fee as set by the department pursuant to section 2-508.

(4) Before a person may be licensed to cultivate hemp under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, such person shall submit a site registration fee as set by the department pursuant to section 2-508. The site registration fee shall be paid for each separate site where the applicant will cultivate hemp. Subsequent modifications to the sites listed in the application shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the department along with a site modification fee and shall only take effect upon written approval of the department. The applicant must certify that all sites where hemp is to be cultivated are under the control of the applicant and that the department shall have unlimited access to all such sites.

(5) After the department receives approval by the United States Secretary of Agriculture for the state plan described in section 2-516, an initial cultivator license application may be submitted at any time, except that the department may set a cutoff date for applications ahead of the growing season. An initial cultivator license issued by the department expires on December 31 in the calendar year for which it was issued.

(6) A renewal application for a license to cultivate hemp shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the department. A renewal application is due by December 31 and shall be accompanied by the cultivator license fee and the site registration fee for all sites listed in the renewal application. The renewal cultivator license is valid from January 1 or when the license is granted, whichever is later, through December 31 next following.

(7) A cultivator license shall lapse automatically upon a change of ownership or location, and a new license must be obtained. The licensee shall promptly provide notice of change in ownership or location to the department.

(8) An application and supporting documents submitted to the department under this section are not public records subject to disclosure pursuant to sections 84-712 to 84-712.09. Such information may be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to the requirements of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or any other federal statute, rule, or regulation, and may be submitted to law enforcement.

(1) Except for handling by an approved testing facility, a USDA-licensed hemp producer, or a cultivator licensed under section 2-505, a person shall not process, handle, or broker hemp plants or plant parts in this state unless the person meets the requirements of section 2-5701 or is in compliance with this section and licensed as a processor-handler or broker under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

(2) Before a person may be licensed to process, handle, or broker hemp in this state, such person shall submit an application on a form prescribed by the department that includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's full name, birthdate, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address;

(b) If the applicant is an entity and not an individual, the name of the applicant, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address, the full name of each officer and director, partner, member, or owner owning in excess of ten percent of equity or stock in such entity, and the birthdate, title, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address of each such person;

(c) The street address, legal description, location ID, and GPS coordinates for the site where hemp will be processed or handled, if applicable; and

(d) Maps depicting the site where hemp will be processed or handled, if applicable, with appropriate indications for entrances and specific locations corresponding to the GPS coordinates provided under subdivision (c) of this subsection.

(3) Before a person may be licensed to process, handle, or broker hemp, such person shall submit with the application a nonrefundable application fee as set by the department pursuant to section 2-508.

(4) Before a person may be licensed to process or handle hemp, such person shall submit a site registration fee as set by the department pursuant to section 2-508. The site registration fee shall be paid for each separate site where hemp is processed or handled. Subsequent modifications to the sites listed in the application shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the department along with the site modification fee and shall only take effect upon written approval of the department. The applicant must certify that all sites where hemp is to be processed or handled are under the control of the applicant and that the department shall have unlimited access to all such sites.

(5) An initial processor-handler or broker license application may be submitted at any time. An initial processor-handler or broker license issued by the department expires on December 31 in the calendar year for which it was issued.

(6) A renewal application for a processor-handler or broker license shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the department. A renewal application is due by December 31 and shall be accompanied by the processor-handler or broker license fee and, if applicable, the site registration fee for all sites listed in the renewal application. The renewal processor-handler or broker license is valid from January 1 or when the license is granted, whichever is later, through December 31 next following.

(7) A processor-handler or broker license shall lapse automatically upon a change of ownership or location, and a new license must be obtained. The licensee shall promptly provide notice of change in ownership or location to the department.

(8) A processor-handler licensee who also brokers hemp shall not be required to also obtain a broker license under this section.

(9) An application and supporting documents submitted to the department under this section are not public records subject to disclosure pursuant to sections 84-712 to 84-712.09. Such information may be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to the requirements of the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or any other federal statute, rule, or regulation, and may be submitted to law enforcement.

(1) The department shall receive and process all completed license applications and issue licenses to all qualified applicants. The department shall deny cultivator, processor-handler, and broker license applications if they are incomplete or deficient or if the applicant does not meet minimum qualifications, including, but not limited to:

(a) The applicant, if an individual, is at least eighteen years of age;

(b) The site registered by the applicant is located in this state;

(c) The applicant has no unpaid fees or fines owed to the state under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act;

(d) The applicant has not had a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker license revoked in the five years preceding the date of application;

(e) The applicant has not been deemed ineligible:

(i) At any time under this section;

(ii) In the five years preceding the date of application under section 2-511; or

(iii) In the ten years preceding the date of application under section 2-512; or

(f) Any individual listed in the application for a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker license has not been convicted of a felony related to a controlled substance under either state or federal law within the preceding ten years.

(2) If an application is incomplete or deficient, the department shall, in a timely manner, notify the applicant in writing describing the reason or reasons and request additional information. If such application is not corrected or supplemented within thirty days after the department's request, the department shall deny the application.

(3) Any person who intentionally and materially falsifies any information contained in an application under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act shall be ineligible to obtain a license to operate as a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker.

(4) A person aggrieved by the denial of a license may request a hearing pursuant to section 2-513.

(1) License fees under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act are due on or before December 31 and shall be in the amount listed in column A of subsection (2) of this section. The fees due on or before December 31, 2019, and by each December 31 thereafter shall be set by the director on or before July 1 of each year. The director may raise or lower such fees each year to meet the criteria in this subsection, but the fee shall not be greater than the amount in column B of subsection (2) of this section. The same percentage shall be applied to each category for all fee increases or decreases. The director shall use the fees in column A of subsection (2) of this section as a base for future fee increases or decreases. The director shall determine the fees based on estimated annual revenue and fiscal year-end cash fund balances as follows:

(a) The estimated annual revenue shall not be greater than one hundred seven percent of program cash fund appropriations allocated for the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act; and

(b) The estimated fiscal year-end cash fund balance shall not be greater than seventeen percent of program cash fund appropriations allocated for the act.

(2) Fees.

Fees	A	B
Cultivator, processor-handler, and
broker license application fee	$100	$150
Cultivator site registration fee	$400 per site	$600 per site
Processor-handler site
registration fee	$800 per site	$1,200 per site
Site modification fee	$50	$75

(3) Any fee remaining unpaid for more than one month shall be considered delinquent and the person owing the fee shall pay an additional administrative fee of twenty-five percent of the delinquent amount for each month it remains unpaid, not to exceed one hundred percent of the original amount due. The department may waive the additional administrative fee based upon the existence and extent of any mitigating circumstances that have resulted in the late payment of such fee. The purpose of the additional administrative fee is to cover the administrative costs associated with collecting fees, and all money collected as an additional administrative fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Nebraska Hemp Program Fund.

The Nebraska Hemp Program Fund is established. The fund shall be administered by the department for the purpose of covering the costs of the department in administering sections 2-504 to 2-516 and 2-5701. The fund may receive appropriations by the Legislature, gifts, grants, federal funds, and any other funds both public and private. All fees collected by the department under sections 2-508 and 2-5701 shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund. Transfers from the Nebraska Hemp Program Fund to the Noxious Weed Cash Fund may be made as provided in section 2-958. Transfers from the Nebraska Hemp Program Fund to the Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners Administrative Fund may be made as provided in section 81-2,162.27. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) A cultivator, processor-handler, or broker consents to all of the following:

(a) A background check for any felony controlled substance charge in the ten years prior to the time of application completed by the department or a law enforcement agency at the direction of the department, at any time, for all of the individuals listed on the cultivator's, processor-handler's, or broker's application at the applicant's expense, which shall be in addition to the application and registration fees;

(b) Entry onto, and inspection of, all registered sites by the department or by persons at the direction of the department, with or without cause, and with reasonable advance notice;

(c) Reimbursement of the department for expenses relating to sampling and testing of any hemp or hemp material;

(d) Destruction of any of the following:

(i) Hemp found to have a measured delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration greater than the acceptable hemp THC level. Only hemp from lots found to have a measured delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration greater than the acceptable hemp THC level shall be subject to destruction;

(ii) Hemp intended for commercial purposes that is present at a location not included in a cultivator's or processor-handler's application; and

(iii) Hemp that is cultivated, processed, handled, or brokered in a manner that violates the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated thereunder; and

(e) Inspections by the department, at least annually, of cultivators and processor-handlers to verify that hemp is not cultivated, processed, or handled in violation of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

(2) A cultivator, processor-handler, or broker acknowledges that all risk of financial loss under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act is borne by such person. No compensation shall be paid by the department or the State of Nebraska for destruction of any hemp under this section.

(1) For purposes of this section, a negligent violation shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) Failure to provide an accurate legal description of land on which a person cultivates hemp;

(b) Failure to obtain a license or other required authorization from the department; or

(c) Production of cannabis with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration exceeding the acceptable hemp THC level. A cultivator does not commit a negligent violation under this subsection if the cultivator has made reasonable efforts to grow hemp and the cannabis does not have a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than 0.5 percent on a dry weight basis.

(2) Upon a determination by the director that any person in the state has negligently violated the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, a state plan as described in section 2-516 approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the act, a corrective action plan issued pursuant to this section, or an order of the director, the director may:

(a) Issue an order specifying the provisions of the act, state plan, rule or regulation, corrective action plan, or order alleged to have been violated and the facts alleged to constitute a violation;

(b) Issue a cease and desist order to the violator; and

(c) Issue an order for a corrective action plan in accordance with this section.

(3) Any person who commits a negligent violation under this section shall not be subject to any additional criminal enforcement by state or local government authorities other than authorized under this section.

(4) Any person who negligently violates the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, a state plan as described in section 2-516 approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the act, a corrective action plan issued pursuant to this section, or an order of the director three times in a five-year period shall be ineligible to obtain a license to cultivate, handle, process, or broker hemp for a period of five years beginning on the date of the third violation.

(5) If the director orders issuance of a corrective action plan, such plan may include:

(a) A reasonable date by which the licensee shall correct the negligent violation;

(b) A requirement that the licensee shall periodically report to the department on the compliance of the licensee with the corrective action plan for a period of not less than the next two calendar years;

(c) An administrative fine of up to five hundred dollars per day; and

(d) Temporary suspension of a license to operate as a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker.

(6) Upon violation of a corrective action plan, the director may issue an amended corrective action plan.

(7) A person aggrieved by an order of the director may request a hearing pursuant to section 2-513.

(8) The director shall advise the Attorney General of the failure of any person to pay an administrative fine imposed under this section. The Attorney General shall bring an action in Lancaster County district court to recover the fine.

(9) Any administrative fine collected under this section shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.

(1) Upon a determination by the director that any person in the state has, with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, violated the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, a state plan approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the act, or an order of the director, the director shall:

(a) Notify the United States Attorney General;

(b) Notify the Attorney General; and

(c) Notify the county attorney for the county in which the violation occurred.

(2) Any person who, with a culpable mental state greater than negligence, violates the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, a state plan as described in section 2-516 approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, any rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the act, a corrective action plan issued pursuant to this section, or an order of the director three times in a five-year period shall be ineligible to obtain a license to cultivate, handle, process, or broker hemp for a period of ten years beginning on the date of the third violation.

(3) A person aggrieved by an order of the director may request a hearing pursuant to section 2-513.

(4) For purposes of this section, culpable mental state greater than negligence means to act intentionally, knowingly, willfully, or recklessly.

(1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the director pursuant to the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act for which a hearing was not held may request a hearing by contacting the department in writing within thirty days after the date the order was issued, and a hearing shall thereafter be held. Hearings shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. At such hearing the department shall receive any relevant evidence and the burden of the proof shall be upon the person aggrieved by the director's order. After such hearing the department shall render a decision in writing and shall issue such order or orders duly certified as deemed necessary.

(2) Appeals of final orders issued after a hearing held pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The district court for Lancaster County shall have exclusive jurisdiction for appeals taken under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.

(1) At the licensee's expense, hemp from each lot grown at each cultivation site registered with the department shall be sampled for compliance with the acceptable hemp THC level prior to harvest and tested by an approved testing facility. After such lot sample is taken, the lot represented by the sample shall be harvested within fifteen days. The results of such tests shall be certified directly to the department by the approved testing facility prior to harvest. The test results shall identify the lot for the hemp represented by the sample.

(2) The department may, at its discretion, conduct sampling and testing of any hemp from any licensee at any time.

(3) The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations governing the sampling and testing of hemp, including, but not limited to, the number of samples required, the procedure for gathering samples, and certification of the test results to the department.

(4) Testing of hemp required under this section shall be conducted pursuant to standards adopted by the department using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods for the testing of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration. The testing methodology shall consider the potential conversion of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid in hemp into THC and the test results shall measure total available THC derived from the sum of the THC and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid content.

(5) Testing of hemp shall be conducted by an approved testing facility.

(6) The department shall create and maintain a list of approved testing facilities.

(7) The entire hemp plant is not required to be submitted for testing.

(8) The test sample shall be obtained in compliance with the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

(9) The requirements of this section shall be sufficient for both dioecious and monoecious cultivars.

(10) The approved testing facility shall provide a report giving the results of the potency analysis of each sample. Measurement of uncertainty shall be estimated and reported with test results. Laboratories shall use appropriate validated methods and procedures for all testing activities and evaluation of measurement of uncertainty. For tests directed by the department, the report shall be provided to the licensee and a copy of the report shall be issued to the department. The report shall be provided before the harvest date, if applicable.

(11) When a test result is adverse, the department may require a licensee to have further tests done and may require harvesting and destruction of any plants in any portions of the site containing noncompliant plants.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, any cultivator transporting hemp cultivated under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act shall carry with the hemp being transported a copy of the cultivator license under which it was cultivated and a copy of the test results pertaining to each lot of hemp being transported.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, any processor-handler transporting hemp processed under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act shall carry with the hemp being transported a copy of the processor-handler license under which the hemp is being transported and a copy of the test results pertaining to such hemp.

(3)(a) A licensee shall maintain a record of shipments of hemp shipped from or received by the licensee. Such record shall, for each shipment of hemp, indicate the date of shipment, identify the point of origin and destination, identify the name of the person sending and receiving the shipment, and include the vehicle identification number of the vehicle transporting the hemp. Each shipment of hemp shall be entered on the record of shipments kept by the licensee by the close of the business day the shipment is shipped from or received by the licensee.

(b) A licensee may give notice to the Nebraska State Patrol up to seven days prior to a shipment of hemp to be shipped from or received by the licensee. Such notification shall be given in a manner and form prescribed by the Nebraska State Patrol and shall not be considered a public record for purposes of sections 84-712 to 84-712.09.

(4) Any licensee transporting hemp cultivated or processed under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act shall not be required to carry a copy of the test results relating to such hemp as provided in subsection (1) or (2) of this section if such licensee carries with the hemp being transported a copy of the applicable license and is transporting:

(a) Hemp between two registered sites listed on the licensee's license application;

(b) Samples of hemp for testing to determine the THC level for private testing purposes prior to testing pursuant to section 2-514; or

(c) Live hemp plants to a registered site listed on the licensee's license application prior to cultivating such hemp plants.

(1) No later than December 31, 2019, the director, in consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, shall submit to the United States Secretary of Agriculture for approval a state plan by which the department shall regulate the cultivation, handling, and processing of hemp. Such state plan shall include, at a minimum:

(a) A practice to maintain relevant information regarding land on which hemp is cultivated, handled, or processed in Nebraska, including a legal description of the land, for a period of not less than three calendar years;

(b) A procedure for testing, using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable methods, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of hemp cultivated in Nebraska;

(c) A procedure for the effective destruction of hemp that is cultivated, processed, or handled in violation of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act;

(d) A procedure to implement enforcement procedures under the act;

(e) A procedure for conducting, at a minimum, annual inspections of a random sample of hemp cultivators and processor-handlers to verify that hemp is not being cultivated, processed, or handled in violation of state or federal law;

(f) A procedure for submitting required information to the United States Department of Agriculture, as required; and

(g) A certification that the state has the resources and personnel needed to carry out the practices and procedures required by the act and federal law.

(2) If the United States Secretary of Agriculture disapproves the plan, the director, in consultation with the Governor and the Attorney General, shall submit an amended state plan to the secretary within ninety days after such disapproval.

(3) The director shall have the authority to alter or amend the state plan as required, consistent with the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act and federal law.

(4) Nothing in the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act shall be construed to be less restrictive than the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.

(1) The Nebraska Hemp Commission is created. The commission shall consist of the following members:

(a) The dean of the University of Nebraska College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources or his or her designee;

(b) One member representing postsecondary institutions other than the University of Nebraska; and

(c) Three members appointed by the Governor representing the following interests:

(i) Two Nebraska farmers with an interest in cultivating hemp; and

(ii) A manufacturer of hemp products.

(2) Members appointed pursuant to subdivisions (1)(b) and (c) of this section shall serve a term of four years and may be reappointed. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. The commission shall annually elect one member from among the remaining members to serve as chairperson. The commission shall meet quarterly and may meet more often upon the call of the chairperson or by request of a majority of the members. The commission shall be appointed no later than sixty days after July 1, 2021, and conduct its first meeting no later than thirty days after appointment of the commission. The members of the commission shall serve without pay but shall receive expenses incurred while on official business as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177.

(3) The commission shall have primary responsibility for promoting the Nebraska hemp industry and shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To appoint and fix the salary of such support staff and employees, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commission, as may be required for the proper discharge of the functions of the commission;

(b) To prepare and approve a budget;

(c) To adopt and promulgate reasonable rules and regulations necessary to carry out this section and section 2-519;

(d) To contract for services and authorize the expenditure of funds which are necessary for the proper operation of this section and section 2-519;

(e) To keep minutes of its meetings and other books and records which will clearly reflect all of the acts and transactions of the commission and to keep such records open to public examination by any person during normal business hours;

(f) To prohibit using any funds collected by the commission to directly or indirectly support or oppose any candidate for public office or to influence state legislation; and

(g) To establish an administrative office at such place in the state as may be suitable for the proper discharge of commission functions.

(4) The commission shall periodically report to the Governor and to the Legislature on hemp policies and practices that will result in the proper and legal growth, management, marketing, and use of the state's hemp industry. Any report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted electronically. Such policies and practices shall, at a minimum, address the following:

(a) Federal laws and regulatory constraints;

(b) The economic and financial feasibility of a hemp market in Nebraska;

(c) Nebraska businesses that may potentially utilize hemp;

(d) Examination of research on hemp production and utilization;

(e) The potential for globally marketing Nebraska hemp;

(f) The feasibility of private funding for a Nebraska hemp research program;

(g) Law enforcement concerns;

(h) Statutory and regulatory schemes for the cultivation of hemp by private producers; and

(i) Technical support and education about hemp.

(5) The commission is authorized to develop and coordinate programs to research and promote hemp, including, but not limited to, cultivating, handling, processing, transporting, marketing, and selling hemp and preserving and developing Nebraska heirloom hemp varieties that possess characteristics of a unique and specialized cannabis sativa L. seed variety that exist as uncultivated, naturalized plants in the environment or historically have been commercially cultivated in Nebraska.

(6) The commission shall establish such programs with the goal of securing at least twenty percent participation by small and emerging businesses in the Nebraska hemp industry, including, but not limited to, cultivating, handling, processing, transporting, marketing, and selling hemp.

The Hemp Promotion Fund is established. The fund shall be administered by the commission for the purposes set forth in section 2-517. The fund may receive appropriations by the Legislature and gifts, grants, federal funds, and any other funds both public and private. All fees collected as set forth in section 2-519 shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) For purposes of this section:

(a) Commercial channels means the sale or delivery of hemp for any use to any commercial buyer, dealer, processor, or cooperative or to any person, public or private, who resells any hemp or hemp product;

(b) Delivered or delivery means receiving hemp for utilization or as a result of its sale in the State of Nebraska but excludes receiving hemp for storage; and

(c) First purchaser means any person, public or private corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity buying, accepting for shipment, or otherwise acquiring hemp from a cultivator.

(2) A fee of one cent per pound is levied upon all hemp seed and a fee of one dollar per ton is levied upon all hemp fiber sold through commercial channels in Nebraska or delivered in Nebraska. Two-thirds of the fee levied under this section shall be paid by the cultivator at the time of sale or delivery and shall be collected by the first purchaser. The first purchaser shall pay the remaining one-third of the fee. Hemp seed and hemp fiber shall not be subject to the fees imposed by this section more than once.

(3) The first purchaser, at the time of settlement with the cultivator, shall deduct the fees imposed by this section. The fees shall be deducted whether the hemp is stored in this state or any other state. The first purchaser shall maintain the necessary records of the fees for each purchase or delivery of hemp on the settlement form or check stub showing payment to the cultivator for each purchase or delivery. Such records maintained by the first purchaser shall be open for inspection during normal business hours and provide the following information:

(a) The name and address of the cultivator and first purchaser;

(b) The date of the purchase or delivery;

(c) The number of pounds of hemp seed or pounds or tons of hemp fiber purchased; and

(d) The amount of fees collected on each purchase or delivery.

(4) The first purchaser shall render and have on file with the department by the last day of January and July of each year, on forms prescribed by the commission, a statement of the number of pounds of hemp seed or pounds or tons of hemp fiber purchased in Nebraska. At the time the statement is filed, such first purchaser shall pay and remit to the commission the fees imposed by this section.

(5) All fees collected by the commission pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Hemp Promotion Fund. The commission shall remit the fees collected to the State Treasurer within ten days after receipt.

(6) Any person intentionally violating this section shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

Sections 2-945.01 to 2-970 shall be known and may be cited as the Noxious Weed Control Act.

The Legislature finds and declares that:

(1) The failure to control noxious weeds on lands in this state is a serious problem which is detrimental to the production of crops and livestock and to the welfare of residents of this state and which may devalue land and reduce tax revenue;

(2) It is the purpose of the Noxious Weed Control Act to establish a workable framework, delineate responsibilities, encourage education of the public concerning noxious weeds, and provide the necessary authority to effectively control noxious weeds;

(3) It is the duty of each person who owns or controls land to effectively control noxious weeds on such land. County boards or control authorities are responsible for administration of noxious weed control laws at the county level;

(4) The Department of Agriculture should have responsibility for (a) establishing basic standards such as designating which plants are to be considered noxious weeds and which control measures are to be used in particular situations and (b) monitoring implementation of the act by the control authorities; and

(5) A state noxious weed advisory committee shall be convened by the director with broad representation to advise the director.

Counties may appropriate and expend funds for the purchase of materials, machinery and equipment to assist the districts organized under this section and section 2-946.02. Cities or villages may appropriate and expend funds for the purchase of materials, machinery and equipment to assist districts organized within their corporate limits.

All cities and villages in this state shall provide for the control of noxious weeds within their jurisdiction and may appropriate money for and make the necessary expenditures for noxious weed control. The director shall advise cities and villages concerning noxious weed control.

It shall be the duty of every person to control the spread of noxious weeds on lands owned or controlled by him or her and to use such methods for that purpose as are specified in rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director.

For purposes of the Noxious Weed Control Act:

(1) Person means any individual, partnership, firm, limited liability company, corporation, company, society, or association, the state or any department, agency, or subdivision thereof, or any other public or private entity;

(2)(a) Control, with respect to land, means the authority to operate, manage, supervise, or exercise jurisdiction over or any similar power. The state or federal government or a political subdivision shall not be deemed to control land on which it has an easement as long as it does not otherwise operate, manage, supervise, or exercise jurisdiction over the land; and

(b) Control, with respect to weeds, means the prevention, suppression, or limitation of the growth, spread, propagation, or development or the eradication of weeds;

(3) County board means the county board of commissioners or supervisors;

(4) Noxious weeds means and includes any weeds designated and listed as noxious in rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director;

(5) Control authority means the county weed district board or the county board if it is designated as the control authority pursuant to section 2-953.01, which board shall represent all rural areas and cities, villages, and townships within the county boundaries;

(6) Director means the Director of Agriculture or his or her designated representative; and

(7) Weed management entity means an entity recognized by the director as being established by and consisting of local stakeholders, including tribal governments, for the purpose of controlling or eradicating harmful, invasive weeds and increasing public knowledge and education concerning the need to control or eradicate harmful, invasive weeds.

The county board may, following an election in which a majority of the votes cast are in favor of such action, function as and exercise the authority and carry out the duties of the county weed district board. To initiate such an election, the county board may, by resolution, require the county clerk of such county to have placed upon the ballot at the election next following such resolution, the question, Shall the county weed district board be dissolved and its duties and authority be exercised by the county board?

Yes .... No ....

If a majority of the votes cast on this question are opposed to dissolution of the county weed district board, the county shall remain subject to the direction and authority of the elected county weed district board. If a majority of the votes cast on this question are in favor of the dissolution of the county weed district board, the county board shall function as and exercise the authority and carry out the duties of the county weed district board. If, at any time following the dissolution of the county weed district board, county residents, representing at least ten percent of the votes cast in the preceding general election in such county, submit a petition to the county clerk for reestablishment of the county weed district board as an independent elected body, the clerk shall place the following question on the next general election ballot: Shall the county weed district board be reestablished and elected independent of other county officials?

Yes .... No ....

If a majority of the ballots favor reestablishment of the independent board, the county board shall appoint an initial county weed district board and thereafter the county weed district board members shall be elected in conformity with section 32-531.

When the county board does not function as the county weed district board, such board shall be composed of five members, three of whom shall be from rural areas and two of whom shall be from cities, villages, or townships.

The members of the county weed district board shall be paid a per diem of not less than twelve dollars for each day actually and necessarily engaged in the performance of their official duties as members of such board and shall be allowed mileage reimbursement on the same basis as provided in section 81-1176. The chairperson of the county board may appoint one additional member from the county board to serve as an ex officio member of the county weed district board to provide coordination between such boards, except that the county board member or commissioner so appointed shall not be entitled to the expense reimbursement allowed county weed district board members. The ex officio member shall possess the same authority as other members, including the right to vote.

(1)(a) The duty of enforcing and carrying out the Noxious Weed Control Act shall be vested in the director and the control authorities as designated in the act. The director shall determine what weeds are noxious for purposes of the act. A list of such noxious weeds shall be included in the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director. The director shall prepare, publish, and revise as necessary a list of noxious weeds. The list shall be distributed to the public by the director, the Cooperative Extension Service, the control authorities, and any other body the director deems appropriate. The director shall, from time to time, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations on methods for control of noxious weeds and adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the act. Whenever special weed control problems exist in a county involving weeds not included in the rules and regulations, the control authority may petition the director to bring such weeds under the county control program. The petition shall contain the approval of the county board. Prior to petitioning the director, the control authority, in cooperation with the county board, shall hold a public hearing and take testimony upon the petition. Such hearing and the notice thereof shall be in the manner prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act. A copy of the transcript of the public hearing shall accompany the petition filed with the director. The director may approve or disapprove the request. If approval is granted, the control authority may proceed under the forced control provisions of sections 2-953 to 2-955 and 2-958.

(b) The director shall (i) investigate the subject of noxious weeds, (ii) require information and reports from any control authority as to the presence of noxious weeds and other information relative to noxious weeds and the control thereof in localities where such control authority has jurisdiction, (iii) cooperate with control authorities in carrying out other laws administered by him or her, (iv) cooperate with agencies of federal and state governments and other persons in carrying out his or her duties under the Noxious Weed Control Act, (v) with the consent of the Governor, conduct investigations outside this state to protect the interest of the agricultural industry of this state from noxious weeds not generally distributed therein, (vi) with the consent of the federal agency involved, control noxious weeds on federal lands within this state, with reimbursement, when deemed by the director to be necessary to an effective weed control program, (vii) advise and confer as to the extent of noxious weed infestations and the methods determined best suited to the control thereof, (viii) call and attend meetings and conferences dealing with the subject of noxious weeds, (ix) disseminate information and conduct educational campaigns with respect to control of noxious weeds, (x) procure materials and equipment and employ personnel necessary to carry out the director's duties and responsibilities, and (xi) perform such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate to the administration of the act.

(c) The director may (i) temporarily designate a weed as a noxious weed for up to eighteen months if the director, in consultation with the advisory committee created under section 2-965.01, has adopted criteria for making temporary designations and (ii) apply for and accept any gift, grant, contract, or other funds or grants-in-aid from the federal government or other public and private sources for noxious weed control purposes and account for such funds as prescribed by the Auditor of Public Accounts.

(d) When the director determines that a control authority has substantively failed to carry out its duties and responsibilities as a control authority or has substantively failed to implement a county weed control program, he or she shall instruct the control authority regarding the measures necessary to fulfill such duties and responsibilities. The director shall establish a reasonable date by which the control authority shall fulfill such duties and responsibilities. If the control authority fails or refuses to comply with instructions by such date, the Attorney General shall file an action as provided by law against the control authority for such failure or refusal.

(2)(a) Each control authority shall carry out the duties and responsibilities vested in it under the act with respect to land under its jurisdiction in accordance with rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director. Such duties shall include the establishment of a coordinated program for control of noxious weeds within the county.

(b) A control authority may cooperate with any person in carrying out its duties and responsibilities under the act.

(3)(a) Each county board shall employ one or more weed control superintendents. Each such superintendent shall, as a condition precedent to employment, be certified in writing by the federal Environmental Protection Agency as a commercial applicator under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. Each superintendent shall be bonded for such sum as the county board shall prescribe. The same person may be a weed control superintendent for more than one county. Such employment may be for such tenure and at such rates of compensation and reimbursement for travel expenses as the county board may prescribe. Such superintendent shall be reimbursed for mileage at a rate equal to or greater than the rate provided in section 81-1176.

(b) Under the direction of the control authority, it shall be the duty of every weed control superintendent to examine all land under the jurisdiction of the control authority for the purpose of determining whether the Noxious Weed Control Act and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director have been complied with. The weed control superintendent shall: (i) Compile such data on infested areas and controlled areas and such other reports as the director or the control authority may require; (ii) consult and advise upon matters pertaining to the best and most practical methods of noxious weed control and render assistance and direction for the most effective control; (iii) investigate or aid in the investigation and prosecution of any violation of the act; and (iv) perform such other duties as required by the control authority in the performance of its duties. Weed control superintendents shall cooperate and assist one another to the extent practicable and shall supervise the carrying out of the coordinated control program within the county.

(c) In cases involving counties in which municipalities have ordinances for weed control, the control authority may enter into agreements with municipal authorities for the enforcement of local weed ordinances and may follow collection procedures established by such ordinances. All money received shall be deposited in the noxious weed control fund or, if no noxious weed control fund exists, in the county general fund.

Beginning January 1, 1988, each county weed control superintendent shall be required to complete twenty hours of annual continuing education. The cost of continuing education shall be included in the annual budget of the weed control authority. Such continuing education shall focus on the use of equipment, drift control, calibration, proper selection of pesticides, legal responsibilities, and duties of office. Any statewide association of county weed control superintendents or of local governments responsible for weed control may sponsor the required continuing education program. All continuing education programs shall be submitted to the director for review and approval. The sponsoring organization shall maintain records of attendance and notify each county board of the hours completed by its weed control superintendent by January 1 of each year. Failure to complete the required number of hours of continuing education shall subject such weed control superintendent to removal from office by the county board.

(1) Notices for control of noxious weeds shall consist of two kinds: General notices, as prescribed by rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director, which notices shall be on a form prescribed by the director; and individual notices, which notices shall be on a form prescribed by this section. Failure to publish general weed notices or to serve individual notices as provided in this section shall not relieve any person from the necessity of full compliance with the Noxious Weed Control Act and rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act.

(a) General notice shall be published by each control authority, in one or more newspapers of general circulation throughout the area over which the control authority has jurisdiction, on or before May 1 of each year and at such other times as the director may require or the control authority may determine.

(b) Whenever any control authority finds it necessary to secure more prompt or definite control of weeds on particular land than is accomplished by the general published notice, it shall cause to be served individual notice upon the owner of record of such land at his or her last-known address, giving specific instructions and methods when and how certain named weeds are to be controlled. Such methods may include definite systems of tillage, cropping, management, and use of livestock.

Each control authority shall use one or both of the following forms for all individual notices: (i)

................. County Weed Control Authority

OFFICIAL NOTICE

Section 2-952, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, places an affirmative duty upon every person to control noxious weeds on land under such person's ownership or control. Information received by the control authority, including an onsite investigation by the county weed control superintendent or a deputy, indicated the existence of an uncontrolled noxious weed infestation on property owned by you at: ................................... .

The noxious weed or weeds are ............ . The method of control recommended by the control authority is as follows: .................................. .

Other appropriate control methods are acceptable if approved by the county weed control superintendent.

Because the stage of growth of the noxious weed infestation on the above-specified property warrants immediate control, if such infestation remains uncontrolled after ten days from the date specified at the bottom of this notice, the control authority may enter upon such property for the purpose of taking the appropriate weed control measures. Costs for the control activities of the control authority shall be at the expense of the owner of the property and shall become a lien on the property as a special assessment levied on the date of control.

......................... Weed Control Superintendent

Dated.............;

or (ii)

............. County Weed Control Authority

OFFICIAL NOTICE

Section 2-952, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, places an affirmative duty upon every person to control noxious weeds on land under such person's ownership or control. Information received by the control authority, including an onsite investigation by the county weed control superintendent or a deputy, indicates the existence of an uncontrolled noxious weed infestation on property owned by you at: .............................. .

The noxious weed or weeds are ............... . The method of control recommended by the control authority is as follows: ................................. .

Other appropriate control methods are acceptable if approved by the county weed control superintendent. If, within fifteen days from the date specified at the bottom of this notice, the noxious weed infestation on such property, as specified above, has not been brought under control, you may, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of $100.00 per day for each day of noncompliance beginning on .............., up to a maximum of fifteen days of noncompliance (maximum $1,500).

Upon request to the control authority, within fifteen days from the date specified at the bottom of this notice, you are entitled to a hearing before the control authority to challenge the existence of a noxious weed infestation on property owned by you at ........................ .

....................... Weed Control Superintendent

Dated............. .

In all counties having a population of four hundred thousand or more inhabitants as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, the control authority may dispense with the individual notices and may publish general notices if published in one or more newspapers of general circulation throughout the area over which such control authority has jurisdiction. Such notice shall be published weekly for four successive weeks prior to May 1 of each year or at such other times as the control authority deems necessary. In no event shall a fine be assessed against a landowner as prescribed in subdivision (3)(a) of this section unless the control authority has caused individual notice to be served upon the landowner as specified in this subdivision.

(2) At the request of any owner served with an individual notice pursuant to subdivision (1)(b)(ii) of this section, the control authority shall hold an informal public hearing to allow such landowner an opportunity to be heard on the question of the existence of an uncontrolled noxious weed infestation on such landowner's property.

(3) Whenever the owner of the land on which noxious weeds are present has neglected or failed to control them as required pursuant to the act and any notice given pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the control authority having jurisdiction shall proceed as follows:

(a) If, within fifteen days from the date specified on the notice required by subdivision (1)(b)(ii) of this section, the owner has not taken action to control the noxious weeds on the specified property and has not requested a hearing pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, the control authority shall notify the county attorney who shall proceed against such owner as prescribed in this subdivision. A person who is responsible for an infestation of noxious weeds on particular land under his or her ownership and who refuses or fails to control the weeds on the infested area within the time designated in the notice delivered by the control authority shall, upon conviction, be guilty of an infraction pursuant to sections 29-431 to 29-438, except that the penalty shall be a fine of one hundred dollars per day for each day of violation up to a total of one thousand five hundred dollars for fifteen days of noncompliance; or

(b) If, within ten days from the date specified in the notice required by subdivision (1)(b)(i) of this section, the owner has not taken action to control the noxious weeds on the specified property and the stage of growth of such noxious weeds warrants immediate control to prevent spread of the infestation to neighboring property, the control authority may cause proper control methods to be used on such infested land, including necessary destruction of growing crops, and shall advise the record owner of the cost incurred in connection with such operation. The cost of any such control shall be at the expense of the owner. In addition the control authority shall immediately cause notice to be filed of possible unpaid weed control assessments against the property upon which the control measures were used in the register of deeds office in the county where the property is located. If unpaid for two months, the control authority shall certify to the county treasurer the amount of such expense and such expense shall become a lien on the property upon which the control measures were taken as a special assessment levied on the date of control. The county treasurer shall add such expense to and it shall become and form a part of the taxes upon such land and shall bear interest at the same rate as taxes.

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit satisfaction of the obligation imposed hereby in whole or in part by tax foreclosure proceedings. The expense may be collected by suit instituted for that purpose as a debt due the county or by any other or additional remedy otherwise available. Amounts collected under subdivision (3)(b) of this section shall be deposited to the noxious weed control fund of the control authority or, if no noxious weed control fund exists, to the county general fund.

The cost of controlling noxious weeds on all land, including highways, roadways, streets, alleys, and rights-of-way, owned or controlled by a state department, agency, commission, or board or a political subdivision shall be paid by the state department, agency, commission, or board in control thereof or the political subdivision out of funds appropriated to the state department, agency, commission, or board or budgeted by the political subdivision for its use.

To prevent the dissemination of noxious weeds through any article, including machinery, equipment, plants, materials, and other things, the director shall, from time to time, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations which shall include a list of noxious weeds which may be disseminated through articles and a list of articles capable of disseminating such weeds and shall designate in such rules and regulations treatment of such articles as, in the director's opinion, would prevent such dissemination. Until any such article is treated in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations, it shall not be moved from such premises except under and in accordance with the written permission of the control authority having jurisdiction of the area in which such article is located, and the control authority may hold or prevent its movement from such premises. The movement of any such article which has not been so decontaminated, except in accordance with such written permission, may be stopped by the control authority having jurisdiction over the place in which such movement is taking place and further movement and disposition shall only be in accordance with such control authority's direction. Any further movement of any such article not in accordance with the control authority's direction shall constitute a Class IV misdemeanor.

(1) A noxious weed control fund may be established for each control authority, which fund shall be available for expenses authorized to be paid from such fund, including necessary expenses of the control authority in carrying out its duties and responsibilities under the Noxious Weed Control Act. The weed control superintendent within the county shall (a) ascertain and tabulate each year the approximate amount of land infested with noxious weeds and its location in the county, (b) ascertain and prepare all information required by the county board in the preparation of the county budget, including actual and expected revenue from all sources, cash balances, expenditures, amounts proposed to be expended during the year, and working capital, and (c) transmit such information tabulated by the control authority to the county board not later than June 1 of each year.

(2) The Noxious Weed Cash Fund is created. The fund shall consist of proceeds raised from fees imposed for the registration of pesticides and earmarked for the fund pursuant to section 2-2634, funds credited or transferred pursuant to sections 81-201 and 81-201.05, any gifts, grants, or donations from any source, and any reimbursement funds for control work done pursuant to subdivision (1)(b)(vi) of section 2-954. An amount from the General Fund may be appropriated annually for the Noxious Weed Control Act. The fund shall be administered and used by the director to maintain the noxious weed control program and for expenses directly related to the program. Until January 1, 2020, the fund may also be used to defray all reasonable and necessary costs related to the implementation of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act. The Department of Agriculture shall document all costs incurred for such purpose. The budget administrator of the budget division of the Department of Administrative Services may transfer a like amount from the Nebraska Hemp Program Fund to the Noxious Weed Cash Fund no later than October 1, 2022.

(3) Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The Noxious Weed and Invasive Plant Species Assistance Fund is created. The fund may be used to carry out the purposes of section 2-958.02. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund any funds transferred or appropriated to the fund by the Legislature and funds received as gifts or grants or other private or public funds obtained for the purposes set forth in section 2-958.02. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) From funds available in the Noxious Weed and Invasive Plant Species Assistance Fund, the director may administer a grant program to assist local control authorities and other weed management entities in the cost of implementing and maintaining noxious weed control programs and in addressing special weed control problems as provided in this section.

(2) The director shall receive applications by local control authorities and weed management entities for assistance under this subsection and, in consultation with the advisory committee created under section 2-965.01, award grants for any of the following eligible purposes:

(a) To conduct applied research to solve locally significant weed management problems;

(b) To demonstrate innovative control methods or land management practices which have the potential to reduce landowner costs to control noxious weeds or improve the effectiveness of noxious weed control;

(c) To encourage the formation of weed management entities;

(d) To respond to introductions or infestations of invasive plants that threaten or potentially threaten the productivity of cropland and rangeland over a wide area;

(e) To respond to introductions and infestations of invasive plant species that threaten or potentially threaten the productivity and biodiversity of wildlife and fishery habitats on public and private lands;

(f) To respond to special weed control problems involving weeds not included in the list of noxious weeds promulgated by rule and regulation of the director if the director has approved a petition to bring such weeds under the county control program;

(g) To conduct monitoring or surveillance activities to detect, map, or determine the distribution of invasive plant species and to determine susceptible locations for the introduction or spread of invasive plant species; and

(h) To conduct educational activities.

(3) The director shall select and prioritize applications for assistance under subsection (2) of this section based on the following considerations:

(a) The seriousness of the noxious weed or invasive plant problem or potential problem addressed by the project;

(b) The ability of the project to provide timely intervention to save current and future costs of control and eradication;

(c) The likelihood that the project will prevent or resolve the problem or increase knowledge about resolving similar problems in the future;

(d) The extent to which the project will leverage federal funds and other nonstate funds;

(e) The extent to which the applicant has made progress in addressing noxious weed or invasive plant problems;

(f) The extent to which the project will provide a comprehensive approach to the control or eradication of noxious weeds or invasive plant species as identified and listed by the Nebraska Invasive Species Council;

(g) The extent to which the project will reduce or prevent the total population or area of infestation of a noxious weed or invasive plant species as identified and listed by the Nebraska Invasive Species Council;

(h) The extent to which the project uses the principles of integrated vegetation management and sound science; and

(i) Such other factors that the director determines to be relevant.

(4) The director shall receive applications for grants under this subsection and shall award grants to recipients and programs eligible under this subsection. Priority shall be given to grant applicants whose proposed programs are consistent with vegetation management goals and priorities and plans and policies of the Riparian Vegetation Management Task Force established under section 2-970. Beginning in fiscal year 2022-23, it is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate three million dollars annually for the management of vegetation within the banks or flood plain of a natural stream. Such funds shall only be used to pay for activities and equipment as part of vegetation management programs that have as their primary objective improving conveyance of streamflow in natural streams. Grants from funds appropriated as provided in this subsection shall be disbursed only to weed management entities, local weed control authorities, and natural resources districts whose territory includes river basins, with priority given to river basins that are the subject of an interstate compact or decree. The Game and Parks Commission shall assist grant recipients in implementing grant projects under this subsection, and interlocal agreements under the Interlocal Cooperation Act or the Joint Public Agency Act shall be utilized whenever possible in carrying out the grant projects.

(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve control authorities of their duties and responsibilities under the Noxious Weed Control Act or the duty of a person to control the spread of noxious weeds on lands owned and controlled by him or her.

(6) The Department of Agriculture may adopt and promulgate necessary rules and regulations to carry out this section.

(7) The director may annually apply for conservation funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Control authorities, independently or in combination, may purchase or provide for needed or necessary equipment for the control of weeds, whether or not declared noxious, on land under their jurisdiction and may make available the use of machinery and other equipment and operators at such cost as may be deemed sufficient to cover the actual cost of operations, including depreciation, of such machinery and equipment. All funds so received shall be deposited to the noxious weed control fund or, if no noxious weed control fund exists, to the county general fund. Each control authority shall keep a record showing the procurement and rental of equipment, which record shall be open to inspection by citizens of this state.

If any person is dissatisfied with the amount of any charge made against him or her by a control authority for control work or for the purchase of materials or use of equipment, he or she may, within fifteen days after being advised of the amount of the charge, file a protest with the county board. The county board shall hold a hearing to determine whether the charges were appropriate, taking into consideration whether the control measures were conducted in a timely fashion. Following the hearing, the county board shall have the power to adjust or affirm such charge. If any person is dissatisfied with the decision of the county board or with charges made by the county board for control work performed, such person may appeal the decision, and the appeal shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

The director, any control authority, any weed control superintendent, or anyone authorized thereby may enter upon all land under his, her, or its respective jurisdiction for the purpose of performing the duties and exercising the powers under the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the director and the Noxious Weed Control Act, including the taking of specimens of weeds or other materials, without the consent of the person owning or controlling such land and without being subject to any action for trespass or damages, including damages for destruction of growing crops, if reasonable care is exercised.

All individual notices, service of which is provided for in the Noxious Weed Control Act, shall be in writing. Service of such notices shall be in the same manner as service of a summons in a civil action in the district court or by certified mail to the last-known address to be ascertained, if necessary, from the last tax list.

(1) Any person who intrudes upon any land under quarantine, who moves or causes to be moved any article covered by section 2-957 except as provided in such section, who prevents or threatens to prevent entry upon land as provided in section 2-961, or who interferes with the carrying out of the Noxious Weed Control Act shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor in addition to any penalty imposed pursuant to section 2-955.

(2) It shall be the duty of the county attorney of the county in which any violation of section 2-955 or this section occurs, when notified of such violation by the county board or control authority, to cause appropriate proceedings to be instituted and pursued in the appropriate court without delay.

Any person or public agency may institute legal action for the failure to comply with the Noxious Weed Control Act.

A control authority may direct and carry out projects of control for one or more specific noxious weeds without individual notice as prescribed in section 2-955 if the control authority has caused publication of notices of such project as provided in this section. The notice shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation throughout the area over which such control authority has jurisdiction and shall be published weekly for four successive weeks prior to the project commencement date specified in the notice for the control project. Such notice shall state the noxious weed or weeds to be controlled by the project, the date the project will commence, and the approximate period of time when the project will be carried out. In no event shall a fine or lien be assessed against a landowner as prescribed in section 2-955 for a project under this section unless the control authority has caused individual notice to be served upon the landowner as specified in section 2-955.

The director shall convene an advisory committee to advise the director concerning his or her responsibilities under the noxious weed control program. Representatives from the Nebraska Weed Control Association, the leafy spurge task force, state or federal agencies actively concerned with the control of noxious weeds, the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and cities and villages of this state, persons actively involved in agriculture, and others in the public and private sector may serve on such committee at the request of the director. If an advisory committee is convened, members shall not receive any reimbursement for expenses.

Title to any real estate standing in the name of any noxious weed control district created under sections 2-910 to 2-951, which district was dissolved by the repeal of such sections by Laws 1965, chapter 7, section 15, is hereby quieted in the county in which such real estate is located. Any such real estate shall be held by the county for the use of the control authority created pursuant to sections 2-952 to 2-963 or may be sold and the proceeds from such sale deposited to the credit of the control authority.

The Riparian Vegetation Management Task Force is created. The Governor shall appoint the members of the task force. The members shall include one surface water project representative from each river basin that has ever been determined to be fully appropriated pursuant to section 46-714 or 46-720 or is designated as overappropriated pursuant to section 46-713 by the Department of Natural Resources; one surface water project representative from a river basin that has not been determined to be fully appropriated pursuant to section 46-714 or 46-720 or is not designated as overappropriated pursuant to section 46-713 by the Department of Natural Resources; one representative from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Environment and Energy, the Department of Natural Resources, the office of the State Forester, the Game and Parks Commission, and the University of Nebraska; three representatives selected from a list of at least ten individuals nominated by the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts; two representatives selected from a list of at least five individuals nominated by the Nebraska Weed Control Association; one riparian landowner from each of the state's congressional districts; and one representative from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. In addition to such members, any member of the Legislature may serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the task force at his or her option. For administrative and budgetary purposes only, the task force shall be housed within the Department of Agriculture.

The Riparian Vegetation Management Task Force, in consultation with appropriate federal agencies, shall develop and prioritize vegetation management goals and objectives, analyze the cost-effectiveness of available vegetation treatment, and develop plans and policies to achieve such goals and objectives. Any plan shall utilize the principles of integrated vegetation management and sound science. The task force shall convene within thirty days after the appointment of the members is complete to elect a chairperson and conduct such other business as deemed necessary. An annual report shall be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature by June 30 each year with the first report due on June 30, 2017. The report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted electronically. It is the intent of the Legislature that expenses of the task force not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars of the total appropriation to the program per fiscal year.

Sections 2-1072 to 2-10,117 shall be known and may be cited as the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act.

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Nebraska and the purpose of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act to protect and foster the health, prosperity, and general welfare of Nebraska residents by preserving and protecting the plant industry and the agricultural interests of the state. Because of the importance of the plant industry and agricultural interests to the welfare and economy of the state and the damage which can result from the uncontrolled proliferation of plant pests, there is a need to impose standards and restrictions on the movement and care of plants and the movement, treatment, control, and eradication of plant pests within the state. The Department of Agriculture shall be charged with administering and enforcing such standards and restrictions through the act.

For purposes of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions found in sections 2-1074.01 to 2-1089 shall be used.

Biological control shall mean:

(1) The use by humans of living organisms to control or suppress undesirable animals, plants, or microorganisms which affect plants or plant pests; or

(2) The action of parasites, predators, pathogens, or competitive organisms on a host or prey population which affect plants or plant pests to produce a lower general equilibrium than would prevail in the absence of the biological control agents.

Biological control agent shall mean a parasite, predator, pathogen, or competitive organism intentionally released by humans for the purposes of biological control with the intent of causing a reduction of a host or prey population.

Certified seed potatoes means seed potatoes which have been certified by a certification entity recognized by the department to certify that the seed potatoes are free of regulated plant pests.

Certification inspection of Nebraska-grown nursery stock shall mean an inspection performed pursuant to section 2-1095.

Collector shall mean any person who only gathers wild plants for the purpose of distribution.

Department shall mean the Department of Agriculture.

Director shall mean the Director of Agriculture or his or her designated employee, representative, or authorized agent.

Distribute shall mean selling, exchanging, bartering, moving, or transporting; offering to sell, exchange, barter, move, or transport; holding nursery stock for sale, exchange, or barter; acting as a broker; or otherwise supplying. Distribute shall not include moving or transporting on contiguous real estate that is owned, leased, or controlled by the same person.

Distribution location shall mean each place nursery stock is offered for sale or sold and shall also include all locations of a vehicle from which nursery stock is offered for sale or sold directly. Distribution location shall not include each location from which an order is made by a purchaser ordering by mail, telephone, or facsimile transmission but shall include the location where such orders are received within the state.

Genetically engineered plant organism shall mean an organism altered or produced through genetic modification from a donor, vector, or recipient organism using recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid techniques.

Grow shall mean to produce a plant or plant product, by propagation or cultivation, including, but not limited to, division, transplant, seed, or cutting, generally over a period of one year or greater. Grow does not include transferring nursery stock from one container to another or potting bare-root nursery stock, if the stock will be distributed within twelve months.

Harmonization plan shall mean any agreement between states, or a state or states and the federal government, designed to limit the spread of a plant pest into or out of a designated area.

Nuisance plant shall mean any plant not economically essential to the welfare of the people of Nebraska, as determined by the department, and which may serve as a favorable host of plant pests or may be detrimental to the agricultural interests of the State of Nebraska.

Nursery shall mean any property where nursery stock is grown, propagated, collected, or distributed and shall include, but not be limited to, private property or any property owned, leased, or managed by any agency of the United States, the State of Nebraska or its political subdivisions, or any other state or its political subdivisions where nursery stock is fumigated, treated, packed, or stored by any person.

Nursery stock shall mean all botanically classified hardy perennial or biennial plants, trees, shrubs, and vines, either domesticated or wild, cuttings, grafts, scions, buds, bulbs, rhizomes, or roots thereof, and such plants and plant parts for, or capable of, propagation, excluding plants grown for indoor use, annual plants, florist stock, cut flowers, sod, turf, onions, potatoes, or seeds of any such plant.

Nursery stock distributor shall mean any person involved in:

(1) The acquisition and further distribution of nursery stock;

(2) The utilization of nursery stock for landscaping or purchase of nursery stock for other persons;

(3) The distribution of nursery stock with a mechanical digger, commonly known as a tree spade, or by other means;

(4) The solicitation of or taking orders for sales of nursery stock in the state; or

(5) The growing and distribution of nursery stock or active involvement in the management or supervision of a nursery.

Person shall mean any body politic or corporate, society, community, the public generally, any individual, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, or association, or any agent of any such entity.

Place of origin shall mean the county and state where nursery stock was most recently grown for a period of not less than one cycle of active growth.

Plant shall mean any plant, plant product, plant part, or reproductive or propagative part of a plant, plant product, or plant part including, but not limited to, trees, shrubs, vines, forage and cereal plants, fruit, seeds, grain, wood, or lumber. This shall include all growing media, packing material, or containers associated with the plants, plant parts, or plant products named in this section.

Plant pest shall mean any insect, arthropod, nematode, mollusk, fungus, bacteria, virus, mycoplasma, parasitic plant, physiological disorder, or other infectious agent which can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage or a pathological condition to plants.

Property shall mean any real estate or personal property, including any vessel, automobile, aircraft, rail car, other vehicle, machinery, building, dock, nursery, orchard, or other place where plants are grown or maintained or the contents of such place.

Rules and regulations shall mean rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the department pursuant to the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act.

Wild plants shall mean nursery stock from any place other than a nursery.

There is hereby created in the department and under the direction of the Director of Agriculture the position of State Entomologist. Such person shall be a graduate of a recognized university with a major, or its equivalent, in entomology, plant pathology, or an equivalent biological science and have not less than two years of experience in such field and administrative work. It shall be the duty of the State Entomologist through the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act to protect the interest of Nebraska as stated in section 2-1073, to regulate the distribution of plants, and to assist exporters of plants in meeting the requirements imposed by other states or countries.

For the purpose of implementation or enforcement of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act or any rule or regulation, the department may:

(1) Enter at reasonable times and in a reasonable manner without being subject to any action for trespass or damages, if reasonable care is exercised, all property where plants are grown, packed, held prior to distribution, or distributed for the purpose of inspecting all plants, structures, vehicles, equipment, packing materials, containers, records, and labels on such property or otherwise implementing or enforcing the act. The department may inspect and examine all records and property relating to compliance with the act. Such records and property shall be made available to the department for review at all reasonable times;

(2) In a reasonable manner, hold for inspection and take samples of any plants and associated materials which may not be in compliance with the act;

(3) Inspect or reinspect at any time or place any plants that are in the state or being shipped into or through the state and treat, seize, destroy, require treatment or destruction of, or return to the state of origin any plants in order to inhibit or prevent the movement of plant pests throughout the state;

(4) Obtain an inspection warrant in the manner prescribed in sections 29-830 to 29-835 from a court of record if any person refuses to allow the department to inspect pursuant to this section;

(5) Issue a written or printed withdrawal-from-distribution order and post signs to delineate sections not marked pursuant to subsection (3) of section 2-1095 or sections of distribution locations and to notify persons of any withdrawal-from-distribution order when the department has reasonable cause to believe any lot of nursery stock is being distributed in violation of the act or any rule or regulation;

(6) Apply for a restraining order, a temporary or permanent injunction, or a mandatory injunction against any person violating or threatening to violate the act or the rules and regulations. The district court of the county where the violation is occurring or is about to occur shall have jurisdiction to grant such relief upon good cause shown. Relief may be granted notwithstanding the existence of any other remedy at law and shall be granted without bond;

(7) Issue a quarantine or establish a quarantine area;

(8) Cooperate and enter into agreements, including harmonization plans, with any person in order to carry out the purpose of the act;

(9) Establish a restricted plant pest list to prohibit the movement into the state of plant pests not known to occur in Nebraska and to prohibit the movement of those plant pests present in the state but known to be destructive to the plant industry;

(10) Issue European corn borer quarantine certificates, phytosanitary certificates, and export certificates on plants for individual shipment to other states or foreign countries if those plants comply with the requirements or regulations of such state or foreign country or issue quarantine compliance agreements or European corn borer quarantine certification licenses;

(11) Inspect plants that any person desires to ship into another state or country when such person has made an application to the department for such inspection. The inspection shall determine the presence of plant pests to determine the acceptance of the plants into other states or countries. The department may accept the inspections of laboratories authorized by the department or field inspectors of the department;

(12) Certify plants or property to meet the requirements of specific quarantines imposed on Nebraska or Nebraska plants. The quarantine certification requirements shall be set forth in the rules and regulations;

(13) Until increased or decreased by rules or regulations, assess and collect fees set forth in section 2-1091.02 for inspections, services, or work performed in carrying out subdivisions (8) and (10) through (12) of this section. Inspection time shall include the driving to and from the location of the inspection in addition to the time spent conducting the inspection, and the mileage charge shall be for the purpose of inspection. Any fee charged to the department relating to such subdivisions shall be paid by the person requesting the inspection, services, or work. The department may, for purposes of administering such subdivisions, establish in rules and regulations inspection requirements, standards, and issuance, renewal, or revocation of licenses, certificates, or agreements necessitated by such subdivisions;

(14) Conduct continuing survey and detection programs on plant pests to monitor the population or spread of plant pests;

(15) Implement programs or plans to eradicate, manage, treat, or control plant pests;

(16) Issue, place on probation, suspend, or revoke licenses issued or agreements entered into pursuant to the act or deny applications for such licenses or agreements pursuant to the act; and

(17) Issue orders imposing administrative fines or cease and desist orders pursuant to the act.

(1) A person shall not operate as a nursery stock distributor without a valid license issued by the department. Any person validly licensed as a grower, a dealer, or a broker under the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act as it existed on the day before September 6, 2013, shall remain validly licensed until December 31, 2013.

(2) Each nursery stock distributor shall apply for a license required by subsection (1) of this section on forms furnished by the department due on January 1 for the current license year. Such application shall include the full name and mailing address of the applicant, the names and addresses of any partners, limited liability company members, or corporate officers, the name and address of the person authorized by the applicant to receive notices and orders of the department as provided in the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, whether the applicant is an individual, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other legal entity, the location of the operation, and the signature of the applicant. A person distributing greenhouse plants grown for indoor use, annual plants, florist stock, cut flowers, sod, turf, onions, or potatoes, or seeds of any such plant, shall not be required to obtain a license but may do so pursuant to section 2-10,105.

(3) A nursery stock distributor license shall expire on December 31 of each year unless previously lapsed or revoked.

(4) All applications shall be accompanied by a license fee for the first acre on which nursery stock is located. If the nursery stock distributor does not have physical possession of nursery stock, the nursery stock distributor shall pay a license fee based on one acre. Additionally the applicant shall pay an acreage fee for each additional acre on which nursery stock is located. The license fees are set forth in section 2-1091.02. If the applicant has distributed nursery stock prior to applying for a license, the applicant shall pay an additional administrative fee as set forth in section 2-1091.02.

(5) All nursery stock distributed by a nursery stock distributor shall be only sound, healthy nursery stock that is reasonably capable of growth, labeled correctly, free from injurious plant pests, and stored or displayed under conditions which maintain its vigor as provided in the rules and regulations. Any fee charged to the department for diagnostic services or shipping costs shall be paid by the nursery stock distributor.

(6) A valid copy of the nursery stock distributor's license shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the distribution location.

(7) A nursery stock distributor shall obtain a license for each distribution location.

(8) Each applicant for a nursery stock distributor license shall furnish a signed written statement that such person will acquire and distribute only nursery stock which has been distributed by a person who is duly licensed pursuant to the act or approved by an authorizing agency within the state of origin recognized by the department.

(9) Every nursery stock distributor shall continually maintain a complete and accurate list with the department of all sources from which nursery stock is received.

(10) Each nursery stock distributor shall keep and make available for examination by the department for a period of three years an accurate record of all transactions conducted in the ordinary course of business. Records pertaining to such business shall at a minimum include the names of the persons from which nursery stock was received, the receiving date, the amount received, and the variety and place of origin of the nursery stock received and all documents accompanying each shipment indicating compliance with state or federal requirements and quarantines.

(11) A nursery stock distributor license shall lapse automatically upon a change of ownership, and the subsequent owner must obtain a new license. The nursery stock distributor license shall lapse automatically upon a change of location, and such licensee must obtain a new license. A licensee shall notify the department in writing at least thirty days prior to any change in ownership, name, or address. A nursery stock distributor shall notify the department in writing before there is a change of the name or address of the person authorized to receive notices and orders of the department. When a nursery stock distributor permanently ceases operating, he or she shall return the license to the department.

(1) License fees for the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act due on January 1, 2014, shall be the amount in column A of subsection (3) of this section.

(2) The license fees due January 1, 2015, and each January 1 thereafter shall be set by the director on or before July 1 of each year. The director may raise or lower such fees each year to meet the criteria in this subsection, but the fee shall not be greater than the amount in column B of subsection (3) of this section. The same percentage shall be applied to each category for all fee increases or decreases. The director shall use the fees in column A of subsection (3) of this section as a base for future fee increases or decreases. The director shall determine the fees based on estimated annual revenue and fiscal year-end cash fund balances as follows:

(a) The estimated annual revenue shall not be greater than one hundred seven percent of program cash fund appropriations allocated for the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act; and

(b) The estimated fiscal year-end cash fund balance shall not be greater than seventeen percent of program cash fund appropriations allocated for the act.

(3) License Fees.

License Fees	A	B
Nursery stock
distributor license
as set forth in
section 2-1091.01
for the first acre	$115	$140
Fee for additional acres	$5.00 per acre	$6.00 per acre
Distributing without	25% of the fee
obtaining a nursery	per month up to
stock distributor	100% of the
license fee	license fee

(4) Other fees for the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act under subsection (5) of this section in effect on January 1, 2014, shall be the amount in column A of such subsection. The department may increase or decrease such fees by rules or regulations adopted and promulgated by the department. Such increases shall not result in fees greater than the amount in column B of subsection (5) of this section.

(5) Other Fees.

Other Fees	A	B
Certification fee for
nursery stock growing
acres as set forth in	Included in
section 2-1095	license fee
Late applications for
certification of nursery	$24 per hour	$27 per hour
stock growing acres	$0.42 per mile	$0.50 per mile
Reinspections or
requested inspections	$24 per hour	$27 per hour
for nursery stock	$0.42 per mile	$0.50 per mile
Phytosanitary or	$30 per certificate	$40 per
export certificates	and $7 for taking	certificate and
set forth in	an application	$10 for taking
section 2-1091	by telephone	an application
		by telephone
Phytosanitary or
export certificate
inspections and	$24 per hour	$27 per hour
reinspections	$0.42 per mile	$0.50 per mile
European corn borer
quarantine certification
license set forth in	$50 per license,	$65 per license,
section 2-1091	annually	annually
European corn borer	$6.25 for	$10.00 for
certificate	packet of 25	packet of 25
Quarantine compliance
agreements as set	$50 per agreement	$65 per agreement
forth in section 2-1091	annually	annually
Quarantine compliance
agreement inspections	$24 per hour	$27 per hour
and reinspections	$0.42 per mile	$0.50 per mile

(6) Any fee remaining unpaid for more than one month shall be considered delinquent and the person owing the fee shall pay an additional administrative fee of twenty-five percent of the delinquent amount for each month it remains unpaid, not to exceed one hundred percent of the original amount due. The department may waive the additional administrative fee based upon the existence and extent of any mitigating circumstances that have resulted in the late payment of such fee. The purpose of the additional administrative fee is to cover the administrative costs associated with collecting fees, and all money collected as an additional administrative fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Cash Fund.

(1) All nursery stock distributors that distribute any nursery stock that they grow shall apply for an additional inspection for the certification of the Nebraska-grown nursery stock as provided in this section. The nursery stock distributor shall apply for such certification inspection of the Nebraska-grown nursery stock as part of the application for the nursery stock distributor license described in section 2-1091.01.

(2)(a) Applications for certification inspection of Nebraska-grown nursery stock that are due on January 1 pursuant to section 2-1091.01 and are not received prior to February 1 and initial applications not received prior to beginning of distribution shall be considered delinquent. Such applications shall have an inspection fee as set forth in section 2-1091.02.

(b) Inspection time shall include the driving time to and from the location of the inspection in addition to the time spent conducting the inspection, and the mileage charge shall be for the purpose of inspection.

(3) Each nursery stock distributor shall post signs delineating sections of all growing areas. A section shall be not larger than five acres.

(4) All growing areas within the state shall be inspected by the department at least once per year for certification and compliance with the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act.

(5) Following the certification inspection of Nebraska-grown nursery stock, the department shall provide a copy of the plant inspection report to the nursery stock distributor specifying any area of the nursery from which nursery stock cannot be distributed or any plants which may not be distributed as nursery stock. When deemed necessary to maintain compliance with the purposes of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, the department shall require the nursery stock distributor to withdraw from distribution any variety or amount of nursery stock. A reinspection may be conducted by the department at the nursery stock distributor's request and cost. The department may also reinspect to determine compliance with the act. To determine the cost of any reinspection, the department shall use fees as outlined in subsection (2) of this section. The nursery stock distributor shall comply with the recommendations of the department as to the treatment or destruction of nursery stock.

(6) The department may require the treatment or destruction of any nursery stock that is infested or infected with plant pests, nonviable, damaged, or desiccated to the point of not being reasonably capable of growth.

(7) Any nursery stock on which a withdrawal-from-distribution order has been issued shall be released for distribution only by authorized department employees or after written permission has been obtained from the department. Each nursery stock distributor shall promptly report to the department, in writing, the amount and type of plants treated or destroyed under requirements on withdrawal-from-distribution orders. The department may withhold a license or certification of Nebraska-grown nursery stock until conditions have been met by the nursery stock distributor as specified in the plant inspection report or any other order issued by the department. A certification of Nebraska-grown stock may be issued covering portions of the nursery which are not infested or infected if the nursery stock distributor agrees to treat, destroy, or remove as specified by the department those plants found to be infested or infected.

Collectors shall be required to obtain a nursery stock distributor's license and shall be required to apply for an additional inspection for the certification of the collected nursery stock as provided in section 2-1095. All collected nursery stock shall be labeled as such.

A nursery stock distributor shall:

(1) Comply with the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act and the rules and regulations:

(a) In the care of nursery stock;

(b) In the distribution of nursery stock including nursery stock that has been withdrawn from distribution;

(c) Regarding treatment or destruction of nursery stock as required by a withdrawal-from-distribution order;

(d) In maintaining the nursery stock in a manner accessible to the department; and

(e) In the payment of license fees;

(2) Comply with any order of the director issued pursuant to the act;

(3) Not distribute nursery stock obtained from an unlicensed nursery stock distributor;

(4) Not allow the license to be used by any person other than the person to whom it was issued; and

(5) Not interfere with the department in the performance of its duties.

(1) A nursery stock distributor may be placed on probation requiring such person to comply with the conditions set out in an order of probation issued by the director or be ordered to cease and desist from failing to comply or be ordered to pay an administrative fine pursuant to section 2-10,103.02 after:

(a) The director determines the nursery stock distributor has not complied with section 2-10,103;

(b) The nursery stock distributor is given written notice to comply and written notice of the right to a hearing to show cause why the specified order should not be issued; and

(c) The director finds that issuing the specified order is appropriate based on the hearing record or the available information if the hearing is waived by the nursery stock distributor.

(2) A nursery stock distributor may be suspended after:

(a) The director determines the nursery stock distributor has not complied with section 2-10,103;

(b) The nursery stock distributor is given written notice to comply and written notice of the right to a hearing to show cause why the license should not be suspended; and

(c) The director finds that issuing an order suspending the license is appropriate based on the hearing record or the available information if the hearing is waived by the nursery stock distributor.

(3) A license may be immediately suspended and the director may order the nursery stock distributor's operation to cease prior to hearing when:

(a) The director determines an immediate danger to the public health, safety, or welfare exists; and

(b) The nursery stock distributor receives written notice to comply and written notice of the right to a hearing to show cause why the suspension should not be sustained. Within fifteen days after the suspension, the nursery stock distributor may request in writing a date for a hearing and the director shall consider the interests of the nursery stock distributor when the director establishes the date and time of the hearing, except that no hearing shall be held sooner than is reasonable under the circumstances. When a nursery stock distributor does not request a hearing date within such fifteen-day period, the director shall establish a hearing date and notify the nursery stock distributor of the date and time of such hearing.

(4) A license may be revoked after:

(a) The director determines the nursery stock distributor has committed serious, repeated, or multiple violations of any of the requirements of section 2-10,103;

(b) The nursery stock distributor is given written notice to comply and written notice of the right to a hearing to show cause why the license should not be revoked; and

(c) The director finds that issuing an order revoking the license is appropriate based on the hearing record or on the available information if the hearing is waived by the nursery stock distributor.

(5) Any nursery stock distributor whose license has been suspended shall cease operations until the license is reinstated. Any nursery stock distributor whose license is revoked shall cease operating until a new license is issued.

(6) The director may terminate a proceeding to suspend or revoke a license or subject a nursery stock distributor to an order of the director described in subsection (1) of this section at any time if the reasons for such proceeding no longer exist. A license which has been suspended may be reinstated, a person with a revoked license may be issued a new license, or a nursery stock distributor may no longer be subject to the director's order if the director determines that the conditions which prompted the suspension, revocation, or order of the director no longer exist.

(7) Proceedings to suspend or revoke a license or subject a nursery stock distributor to an order of the director described in subsection (1) of this section shall not preclude the department from pursuing other civil or criminal actions.

(1) The director may issue an order imposing an administrative fine on any person who has violated any provision, requirement, condition, limitation, or duty imposed by the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act or rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act in an amount which shall not exceed one thousand dollars for each violation. A violation means each action which violates any separate or distinct provision, requirement, condition, limitation, or duty imposed by the act or such rules and regulations. In determining whether to impose an administrative fine and, if a fine is imposed, the amount of the fine, the director shall take into consideration (a) the seriousness of the violation, (b) the extent to which the person derived financial gain as a result of his or her failure to comply, (c) the extent of intent, willfulness, or negligence by the person in the violation, (d) the likelihood of the violation reoccurring, (e) the history of the person's failure to comply, (f) the person's attempts to prevent or limit his or her failure to comply, (g) the person's willingness to correct violations, (h) the nature of the person's disclosure of violations, (i) the person's cooperation with investigations of his or her failure to comply, and (j) any factors which may be established by the rules and regulations.

(2) The department shall remit administrative fines collected under the act to the State Treasurer on a monthly basis for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.

(3) Any administrative fine imposed under the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act and unpaid shall constitute a debt to the State of Nebraska which may be collected by lien foreclosure or sued for and recovered in any proper form of action in the name of the State of Nebraska in the district court of the county in which the violator resides or owns property. The lien shall attach to the real estate of the violator when notice of such lien is filed and indexed against the real estate in the office of the register of deeds or county clerk in the county where the real estate is located.

Whenever the director has reason to believe that any person has violated any provision of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act or any rule or regulation, an order may be entered requiring the person to appear before the director to show cause why an order should not be entered requiring such person to cease and desist from the violation charged. Such order shall set forth notice of such hearing. Hearings shall be conducted as provided in section 2-10,103.04. After such hearing, if the director finds such person to be in violation, he or she shall enter an order requiring the person to cease and desist from the specific act, practice, or omission which violated the act.

(1) Any notice or order provided for in the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act shall be personally served on the person holding the nursery stock distributor license, the person named in the notice, or the person authorized by the person holding the nursery stock distributor license to receive notices and orders of the department or shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last-known address of the person holding the nursery stock distributor license, the person named in the notice, or the person authorized to receive such notices and orders. A copy of the notice and the order shall be filed in the records of the department.

(2) Any notice to comply provided for in the act shall set forth the acts or omissions with which the person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice is charged.

(3) A notice of the right of the person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice to a hearing provided for in the act shall set forth the time and place of the hearing except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) of section 2-10,103.01. A notice of the right of the person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice to such hearing shall include notice that the right of the person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice to a hearing may be waived pursuant to subsection (5) of this section. A notice of such right to a hearing shall include notice of the potential actions that may be taken against the person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice.

(4) The hearings provided for in the act shall be conducted by the director at a time and place he or she designates. The director shall make a final finding based upon the complete hearing record and issue an order. If the director has suspended a license pursuant to subsection (3) of section 2-10,103.01, the director shall sustain, modify, or rescind the order. All hearings shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

(5) The person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice shall be deemed to waive the right to a hearing if such person does not come to the hearing at the time and place set forth in the notice described in subsection (3) of this section without requesting the director at least two days before the designated time to change the time and place for the hearing, except that before an order of the director becomes final, the director may designate a different time and place for the hearing if the person shows the director that the person had a justifiable reason for not coming to the hearing and not timely requesting a change in the time and place for such hearing. If the person holding the nursery stock distributor license or the person named in the notice waives the right to a hearing, the director shall make a final finding based upon the available information and issue an order. If the director has suspended a license pursuant to subsection (3) of section 2-10,103.01, the director shall sustain, modify, or rescind the order.

(6) Any person aggrieved by the finding of the director shall have ten days from the entry of the director's order to request a new hearing if such person can show that a mistake of fact has been made which affected the director's determination. Any order of the director shall become final upon the expiration of ten days after its entry if no request for a new hearing is made.

(1) Any person residing outside the state and desiring to solicit orders or distribute nursery stock in Nebraska may do so if:

(a) Such person is duly licensed under the nursery laws of the state where the nursery stock originates and the laws of that state are essentially equivalent to the laws of Nebraska as determined by the department; and

(b) Such person complies with the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act and the rules and regulations on all nursery stock distributed in Nebraska.

(2) The department may cooperate with and enter into reciprocal agreements with other states regarding licensing and movement of nursery stock. Reciprocal agreements with other states shall not prevent the department from prohibiting the distribution in Nebraska of nursery stock which fails to meet the minimum criteria for nursery stock of Nebraska-licensed nursery stock distributors.

(1) Optional inspections of plants may be conducted by the department upon request by any persons desiring such inspection. A fee as set forth in subsection (2) of section 2-1095 shall be charged for such an inspection.

(2) Any person who desires a nursery stock distributor's license for any greenhouse plants grown for indoor use, annual plants, florist stock, cut flowers, sod, turf, onions, or potatoes, or seeds of any such plant, may apply for such license to the department. The inspection of such plants shall conform to the same requirements that apply to the inspection of nursery stock as set forth in section 2-1095. For persons who grow or distribute both nursery stock and greenhouse plants grown for indoor use, annual plants, florist stock, cut flowers, sod, turf, onions, or potatoes, or seeds of any such plant, one license shall be issued if the annual inspection of such plants is conducted concurrently with the nursery stock inspection and the other requirements of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act are met. If a reinspection trip is required, the applicant shall be assessed a reinspection fee as outlined in subsection (2) of section 2-1095.

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, including any carrier transporting nursery stock, to bring into or cause to be brought into Nebraska any nursery stock unless such shipment is plainly and legibly marked with a label showing the name and address of the consignor and consignee, the nature and quantity of the contents, the place of origin, and the license or its equivalent issued by the recognized authorizing agency stating that the nursery from which the nursery stock originates has been inspected.

(2) It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute in Nebraska nursery stock for the purpose of resale in Nebraska without meeting the labeling criteria stated in this section.

(3) The requirements of this section shall not apply to nursery stock distributed to the final consumer at a distribution location where a valid nursery stock distributor's license has been conspicuously posted.

(4) The department may cause to be held for inspection any plants, regardless of proper labeling according to the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, if there is reason to believe they are infested or infected with plant pests. Such plants shall be held only for a period of time reasonable for proper inspection and any treatment deemed necessary by the department. The department shall not be held responsible for costs incurred by treatment or delay.

(5) In carrying out this section, the department may intercept or detain any person or property including vehicles or vessels reasonably believed to be carrying any plants or any other articles capable of carrying plant pests. The department may hold for treatment, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any plants, if found infested or infected with plant pests, at the owner's cost.

Any person owning or controlling property shall keep such property free from all species of plants declared by the department to be nuisance plants. If the department determines that any species or variety of plant is a nuisance plant and that such plant should be eradicated in order to safeguard the agricultural interests of the state, the department shall give public notice of proposed eradication by publication in one or more newspapers of general circulation throughout the area over which such nuisance plant exists, designating the species or variety in question, the proposed eradication area, and the reasons for the eradication. Such notice shall designate a place and time for a public hearing at which all interested parties may be heard. After such hearing has been held, the department may cause to be served by first-class mail individual notices upon the owner of record of such land at that person's last-known address stating (1) that the species or variety of plant is a nuisance plant and (2) that the department is authorized to destroy or order the destruction of such plant. It shall be the duty of every person affected by the notice to use measures of arrest and control required of such person by the instructions of the department.

(1) Whenever the department finds that there exists, in any other state, territory, country, or part thereof, any plant pests detrimental to the agricultural interests of the state and that the control, eradication, retarding, or prevention of such pests is necessary to protect the plant industry of the state, the department may impose and enforce a quarantine prohibiting the transportation into, within, or through Nebraska of such pests. Quarantine enforcement shall apply to any plants or any other property capable of carrying such plant pests regardless of whether the plants are distributed by a person holding a valid license or its equivalent issued by an authorizing agency within the state of origin recognized by the department. Nursery stock and all other plants shall be subject to any quarantine measures deemed necessary by the department.

(2) When it has been determined that an area of the state is infected or infested with plant pests which may be detrimental to the agricultural interests of the state, such area may be quarantined by the department. Under such quarantine the department may restrict or prevent the movement or transportation of any plants or any other property capable of carrying such plant pests originating in or having been maintained in any area infested or infected with such plant pests. Public notice of any quarantine shall be given by the department by publication in one or more newspapers in circulation within the area of the state affected by such order.

(3) Any plants or other property moved or transported in violation of a quarantine imposed pursuant to this section may be seized, treated, destroyed, or returned to the state of origin without compensation by the department.

If the department finds that plants are distributed in violation of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, the department may issue a written or printed withdrawal-from-distribution order to the person in charge of such plants for the protection of the public health, safety, or welfare and may enforce such order. Such an order shall specify the nature of each violation and the precise action required to bring the plants into compliance with the applicable provisions of the act. Such an order shall advise the person that he or she may request an immediate hearing before the department on the specified violation.

The department may issue a withdrawal-from-distribution order on plants that are perishable, even if the result of such order will bring about the involuntary disposal of such items, when, in the opinion of the person issuing such order, no alternative course of action would sufficiently protect the public health, safety, or welfare under the circumstances.

The department may receive grants-in-aid or receive and disperse pass-through funds or otherwise cooperate and enter into agreements with the United States Department of Agriculture or any other person in the department's implementation or enforcement of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act or federal programs related to plant protection or plant pests in the state.

(1) All costs associated with treating, seizing, or destroying any plant or issuing and enforcing any withdrawal-from-distribution order for any plant, which plant is in violation of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act, shall be the responsibility of the person in possession of the plant. The department shall be reimbursed by the person in possession of the plant for the actual cost incurred by the department in enforcing the act or such rules and regulations.

(2) All costs related to enforcement of the act and such rules and regulations shall be the responsibility of the person violating the act. The department shall be reimbursed by persons violating the act or such rules and regulations for the actual cost incurred by the department in enforcing the act.

(3) The department shall not be liable for any costs incurred by any person due to any departmental actions relating to the enforcement of the act or such rules and regulations.

If the department determines that any fee has been erroneously collected or computed, the department shall credit the excess amount collected or paid to any fees then due and owing from the person under the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act. Any remaining balance may be refunded to the person by whom it was paid.

(1) Any person receiving any shipment of nursery stock from any foreign country that has not been inspected and released by the United States Department of Agriculture at the port of entry shall notify the department of the arrival of such shipment, its contents, and the name of the consignor. Such person shall hold the shipment unopened until inspected or released by the department.

(2) No person shall import or cause to be brought into Nebraska any soils or plant pests or distribute within the state any nonindigenous plant pests to be used in the open environment for research purposes or other educational uses without permission from the department.

(3) No person shall import or cause to be brought into Nebraska or distribute within the state any nonindigenous biological control agent or genetically engineered plant organism to be used in the open environment without a permit as set forth in rules and regulations. Such rules and regulations may provide for reasonable exemptions from permit requirements. A permit shall not be required under this section if a permit has been issued under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq., or any regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to such act.

An application for a permit shall include information regarding where the biological control agent or genetically engineered plant organism will be released and any other information required by the department. An application for a permit to import or distribute an arthropod to be used as a biological control agent shall be accompanied by a voucher specimen. Permits may be issued only after the department determines that the proposed shipment or use will not create sufficient hazard to warrant the refusal of a permit. Sufficient hazard shall include, but not be limited to, a substantial hazard to the environment or to plant or animal life not intended to be affected by the agent or organism. The department may rely upon the findings of interested federal agencies or any experts that the department may deem appropriate in making a determination about the threat posed by such agents or organisms. The department may also request confidential business information.

(4) An applicant submitting information required by this section may mark clearly portions of data which in his or her opinion are trade secrets and submit the marked material separately from other material required to be submitted under this section. The department shall keep such material confidential and in a manner that makes it not accessible to anyone who does not need to have access to it in order to adequately protect the public health, safety, or welfare.

In construing and enforcing the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, omission or failure of any individual acting for or employed by any other person or other principal within the scope of his or her employment or office shall in every case be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such person or other principal as well as that of the individual.

(1) Any person shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor for the first violation and a Class II misdemeanor for any subsequent violation of the same nature and in violation of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act if that person:

(a) Distributes nursery stock without a nursery stock distributor license issued under the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act;

(b) Receives nursery stock for further distribution from any person who has not been duly licensed or approved under the act;

(c) Uses any license issued by the department after it has been revoked or has expired, while the licensee was under suspension, or for purposes other than those authorized by the act;

(d) Offers any hindrance or resistance to the department in the carrying out of the act, including, but not limited to, denying or concealing information or denying access to any property relevant to the proper enforcement of the act;

(e) Allows any plant declared a nuisance plant as outlined in section 2-10,107 to exist on such person's property or distributes any such plants or materials capable of harboring plant pests;

(f) Acts as a nursery stock distributor and:

(i) Fails to comply with provisions for treatment or destruction of nursery stock as required by withdrawal-from-distribution orders;

(ii) Distributes any quarantined nursery stock or nursery stock for which a withdrawal-from-distribution order has been issued;

(iii) Distributes nursery stock for the purpose of further distribution to any person in Nebraska not licensed as a nursery stock distributor; or

(iv) Fails to pay all fees required by the act and the rules and regulations;

(g) Distributes nursery stock which is not sound, healthy, reasonably capable of growth, labeled correctly, and free from injurious plant pests;

(h) Distributes plants which have been quarantined or are in a quarantined area;

(i) Violates any item set forth as unlawful in section 2-10,106;

(j) Distributes biological control agents or genetically engineered plant organisms without a permit if a permit is required by the act;

(k) Fails to keep and make available for examination by the department all books, papers, and other information necessary for the enforcement of the act;

(l) Violates any order of the director after such order has become final or upon termination of any review proceeding when the order has been sustained by a court of law; or

(m) Violates any other provision of the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act.

(2) Any lot or shipment of plants not in compliance with the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act, the rules and regulations, or both shall be subject to seizure on complaint of the department to a court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which such plants are located. If the court finds the plants to be in violation of the act, the rules and regulations, or both and orders the condemnation of the plants, such plants shall be disposed of in any manner deemed necessary by the department. In no instance shall the disposition of the plants be ordered by the court without first giving the claimant an opportunity to apply to the court for release of such plants or for permission to treat or relabel the plants to bring such plants into compliance with the act, the rules and regulations, or both.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Attorney General or the county attorney of the county in which any violation occurs or is about to occur, when notified by the department of a violation or threatened violation, to pursue appropriate proceedings without delay pursuant to this section, subdivision (6) of section 2-1091, or subsection (3) of section 2-10,103.02 or any combination thereof.

(4) Any person adversely affected by an order made by the department pursuant to the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act may appeal such order, and the appeal shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

A political subdivision shall not enact an ordinance or resolution which is in conflict with the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act.

The department shall have authority to adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to the effective discharge of its duties under the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act. The rules and regulations may include, but shall not be limited to, provisions governing:

(1) The issuance and revocation of licenses as authorized by the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act;

(2) The assessment and collection of license, inspection, reinspection, and delinquent fees;

(3) The withdrawal from distribution of nursery stock;

(4) The care, viability, and standards for nursery stock;

(5) The labeling and shipment of nursery stock;

(6) The issuance and release of plant pest quarantines and withdrawal-from-distribution orders;

(7) The establishment of a restricted plant pest list;

(8) The preparation, maintenance, handling, and filing of reports by persons subject to the act;

(9) The adoption of the American Association of Nurserymen's American Standard for Nursery Stock insofar as it does not conflict with any provision of the act;

(10) Factors to be considered when the director issues an order imposing an administrative fine;

(11) The planting of certified seed potatoes in the state; and

(12) The implementation of programs or plans involving the movement, treatment, control, and eradication of plant pests in the state.

All money received from any source pursuant to the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Act shall be remitted by the department to the State Treasurer and by the State Treasurer credited to the Plant Protection and Plant Pest Cash Fund which is hereby created. The fund also shall include funds transferred pursuant to section 81-201.05. The fund shall be used by the department to aid in defraying the expenses of administering the act. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) There hereby is created a State Racing and Gaming Commission. For purposes of sections 2-1201 to 2-1229, commission means the State Racing and Gaming Commission.

(2) The commission shall consist of seven members who shall be appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by a majority of the members elected to the Legislature and may be for cause removed by the Governor. A violation by a member of the commission of section 2-1219 shall be considered cause for removal. One member of the commission shall be appointed from each congressional district, as such districts existed on January 1, 2010, and four members of the commission shall be appointed at large for terms as follows:

(a) The member representing the second congressional district who is appointed on or after April 1, 2010, shall serve until March 31, 2014, and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Thereafter the term of the member representing such district shall be four years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified;

(b) The member representing the third congressional district who is appointed on or after April 1, 2011, shall serve until March 31, 2015, and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Thereafter the term of the member representing such district shall be four years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified;

(c) The member representing the first congressional district who is appointed on or after April 1, 2012, shall serve until March 31, 2016, and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Thereafter the term of the member representing such district shall be four years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified;

(d) Not later than sixty days after July 15, 2010, the Governor shall appoint one at-large member who shall serve until March 31, 2013, and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Thereafter the term of such member shall be four years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified;

(e) Not later than sixty days after July 15, 2010, the Governor shall appoint one at-large member who shall serve until March 31, 2014, and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified. Thereafter the term of such member shall be four years and until his or her successor is appointed and qualified; and

(f) Not later than sixty days after May 26, 2021, the Governor shall appoint two additional at-large members who shall serve until March 31, 2025, and until their successors are appointed and qualified. One of such members shall have experience in the Nebraska gaming industry, and one shall have experience in the Nebraska horseracing industry. Thereafter the terms of such at-large members shall be four years and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

(3) Not more than four members of the commission shall belong to the same political party. No more than three of the members shall reside, when appointed, in the same congressional district. No more than two of the members shall reside in any one county. Any vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the Governor for the unexpired term. The compensation of the members of the commission shall be one thousand dollars per month, which may be adjusted every two years in an amount not to exceed the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers for the period between June 30 of the first year to June 30 of the year of adjustment. The members shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177. The members of the commission shall be bonded or insured as required by section 11-201.

(4) No member shall have any personal financial interest in any licensed racetrack enclosure or authorized gaming operator as defined in the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act for the duration of the member's term.

The purpose of the commission is to provide statewide regulation of horseracing and games of chance as defined in the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act in order to prevent and eliminate corrupt practices and fraudulent behavior, and thereby maintain a high level of integrity and honesty in the horseracing industry of Nebraska and the operation of games of chance in Nebraska, and to insure that all funds received by the commission are properly distributed.

(1) The commission shall elect one of its members to be chairperson thereof, and it shall be authorized to employ an executive director and such other assistants and employees as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218, the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act, and sections 9-1201 to 9-1209. Such executive director shall have no other official duties. The executive director shall keep a record of the proceedings of the commission, preserve the books, records, and documents entrusted to the executive director, and perform such other duties as the commission shall prescribe; and the commission shall require the executive director to give bond in such sum as it may fix, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the executive director. The commission shall be authorized to fix the compensation of the executive director, and also the compensation of its other employees, subject to the approval of the Governor. The commission shall have an office at such place within the state as it may determine and shall meet at least eight times per year.

(2) The commission shall appoint or employ deputies, investigators, inspectors, agents, security personnel, and other persons as deemed necessary to administer and effectively enforce the regulation of horseracing, the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act, and sections 9-1201 to 9-1209. Any appointed or employed personnel shall perform the duties assigned by the commission.

(3) All personnel appointed or employed by the commission shall be bonded or insured as required by section 11-201. As specified by the commission, certain personnel shall be vested with the authority and power of a law enforcement officer to carry out the laws of this state administered by the commission.

The commission shall have power to prescribe and enforce rules and regulations governing horseraces and race meetings licensed as provided in sections 2-1201 to 2-1229 and games of chance as provided in the Nebraska Racetrack Gaming Act. Such rules and regulations shall contain criteria to be used by the commission for decisions on approving and revoking track licenses and setting racing dates.

The commission may revoke or suspend licenses issued to racing industry participants and may, in lieu of or in addition to such suspension or revocation, impose a fine in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars upon a finding that a rule or regulation has been violated by a licensed racing industry participant. The exact amount of the fine shall be proportional to the seriousness of the violation and the extent to which the licensee derived financial gain as a result of the violation.

The commission may delegate to a board of stewards such of the commission's powers and duties as may be necessary to carry out and effectuate the purposes of sections 2-1201 to 2-1229.

Any decision or action of such board of stewards may be appealed to the commission or may be reviewed by the commission on its own initiative. The board of stewards may impose a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars upon a finding that a rule or regulation has been violated.

The commission shall remit administrative fines collected under this section to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.

The commission shall:

(1) Enforce all state laws covering horseracing as required by sections 2-1201 to 2-1229 and enforce rules and regulations covering horseracing adopted and promulgated by the commission under the authority of section 2-1203;

(2) License racing industry participants, race officials, mutuel employees, concessionaires, and such other persons as deemed necessary by the commission if the license applicants meet eligibility standards established by the commission;

(3) Prescribe and enforce security provisions, including, but not limited to, the restricted access to areas within track enclosures and backstretch areas, and prohibitions against misconduct or corrupt practices;

(4) Determine or cause to be determined by chemical testing and analysis of body fluids whether or not any prohibited substance has been administered to the winning horse of each race and any other horse selected by the board of stewards;

(5) Verify the certification of horses registered as being Nebraska-bred under section 2-1213; and

(6) Collect and verify the amount of revenue received by the commission under section 2-1208.

(1) Any person between sixteen and seventy-five years of age applying for or holding a license to participate in or be employed at a horserace meeting licensed by the commission shall be subject to fingerprinting and a check of his or her criminal history record information maintained by the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of determining whether the commission has a basis to deny the license application or to suspend, cancel, or revoke the person's license, except that the commission shall not require a person to be fingerprinted if such person has been previously fingerprinted in connection with a license application in this state within the last five years prior to the application for such license. Any person between sixteen and seventy-five years of age involved in the administration or management of a racetrack, including the governing body, shall be subject to fingerprinting and a check of his or her criminal history record information maintained by the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The applicant, licensee, or person involved in the administration or management of a racetrack shall pay the actual cost of any fingerprinting or check of his or her criminal history record information. The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to employees of concessions who do not work in restricted-access areas, admissions employees whose duties involve only admissions ticket sales and verification or parking receipts sales and verification, and medical or emergency services personnel authorized to provide such services at the racetrack.

(2) If the applicant is an individual who is applying for a license to participate in or be employed at a horserace meeting, the application shall include the applicant's social security number.

The Nebraska State Fair Board, a county fair board, a county agricultural society for the improvement of agriculture organized under the County Agricultural Society Act, or a corporation or association of persons organized and carried on for civic purposes or which conducts a livestock exposition for the promotion of the livestock or horse-breeding industries of the state and which does not permit its members to derive personal profit from its activities by way of dividends or otherwise may apply to the commission for a license to conduct horseracing at a designated place within the state. Such application shall be filed with the executive director of the commission at least sixty days before the first day of the horserace meeting which such corporation or association proposes to hold or conduct, shall specify the day or days when and the exact location where it is proposed to conduct such racing, and shall be in such form and contain such information as the commission shall prescribe.

(1) If the commission is satisfied that its rules and regulations and all provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 have been and will be complied with, it may issue a license for a period of not more than five years. The license shall set forth the name of the licensee, the place where the races or race meetings are to be held, and the time and number of days during which racing may be conducted by such licensee. Any such license issued shall not be transferable or assignable. The commission shall have the power to revoke any license issued at any time for good cause upon reasonable notice and hearing. No license shall be granted to any corporation or association except upon the express condition that it shall not, by any lease, contract, understanding, or arrangement of whatever kind or nature, grant, assign, or turn over to any person, corporation, or association the operation or management of any racing or race meeting licensed under such sections or of the parimutuel system of wagering described in section 2-1207 or in any manner permit any person, corporation, or association other than the licensee to have any share, percentage, or proportion of the money received for admissions to the racing or race meeting or from the operation of the parimutuel system; and any violation of such conditions shall authorize and require the commission immediately to revoke such license. No licensee shall be considered in violation of this section with respect to an agreement with an authorized gaming operator regarding employees and the acceptance of any parimutuel wager or sports wager pursuant to section 9-1110.

(2)(a) Any racetrack for which a licensee is issued a license to conduct a race or race meeting under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 which is in existence and operational as of April 20, 2022, shall:

(i) Hold a minimum of five live racing meet days and fifty live horseraces annually beginning January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030; and

(ii) Beginning January 1, 2031, hold a minimum of fifteen live racing meet days and one hundred twenty live horseraces annually.

(b) Any racetrack for which a licensee is issued a license to conduct a race or race meeting under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 which is not in existence and operational until after April 20, 2022, shall:

(i) Hold a minimum of one live racing meet day annually for the first three years of operation;

(ii) Hold a minimum of five live racing meet days and fifty live horseraces annually for the fourth year of operation through the seventh year of operation; and

(iii) Beginning with the eighth year of operation, hold a minimum of fifteen live racing meet days and one hundred twenty live horseraces annually.

(c) A racetrack that fails to meet the minimum requirements under this subsection is subject to discipline by the commission, including revocation of the license issued under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218.

(3) A racetrack for which a licensee is issued a license to conduct a race or race meeting under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 in existence on November 1, 2020, which is located in the counties of Adams, Dakota, Douglas, Hall, Lancaster, and Platte, may move such racetrack location to another county in Nebraska that does not have a racetrack one time only, subject to approval by the commission as provided in subdivision (27) of section 9-1106, subsequent to the initial issuance of the market analysis and socioeconomic-impact studies conducted pursuant to section 9-1106.

Every corporation or association licensed under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 shall, before said license is issued, give a bond to the State of Nebraska in such reasonable sum as the commission shall fix, with a surety or sureties to be approved by the commission, conditioned to faithfully make the payments prescribed by said sections, to keep its books and records and make reports as herein provided, and to conduct its racing in conformity with the provisions of said sections and the rules and regulations prescribed by the commission.

(1) Within the enclosure of any racetrack where a race or race meeting licensed and conducted under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 is held or at a racetrack licensed to simulcast races or conduct interstate simulcasting, the parimutuel method or system of wagering on the results of the respective races may be used and conducted by the licensee. Under such system, the licensee may receive wagers of money from any person present at such race or racetrack receiving the simulcast race or conducting interstate simulcasting on any horse in a race selected by such person to run first in such race, and the person so wagering shall acquire an interest in the total money so wagered on all horses in such race as first winners in proportion to the amount of money wagered by him or her. Such licensee shall issue to each person so wagering a certificate on which shall be shown the number of the race, the amount wagered, and the number or name of the horse selected by such person as first winner. As each race is run, at the option of the licensee, the licensee may deduct from the total sum wagered on all horses as first winners not less than fifteen percent or more than eighteen percent from such total sum, plus the odd cents of the redistribution over the next lower multiple of ten. At the option of the licensee, the licensee may deduct up to and including twenty-five percent from the total sum wagered by exotic wagers as defined in section 2-1208.03. The commission may authorize other levels of deduction on wagers conducted by means of interstate simulcasting. The licensee shall notify the commission in writing of the percentages the licensee intends to deduct during the live race meet conducted by the licensee and shall notify the commission at least one week in advance of any changes to such percentages the licensee intends to make. The licensee shall also deduct from the total sum wagered by exotic wagers, if any, the tax plus the odd cents of the redistribution over the next multiple of ten as provided in subsection (1) of section 2-1208.04. The balance remaining on hand shall be paid out to the holders of certificates on the winning horse in the proportion that the amount wagered by each certificate holder bears to the total amount wagered on all horses in such race to run first. The licensee may likewise receive such wagers on horses selected to run second, third, or both, or in such combinations as the commission may authorize, the method, procedure, and authority and right of the licensee, as well as the deduction allowed to the licensee, to be as specified with respect to wagers upon horses selected to run first.

(2) At all race meets held pursuant to this section, the licensee shall deduct from the total sum wagered one-third of the amount over fifteen percent deducted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section on wagers on horses selected to run first, second, or third and one percent of all exotic wagers to be used to promote agriculture and horse breeding in Nebraska and for the support and preservation of horseracing pursuant to section 2-1207.01.

(3) No person under twenty-one years of age shall be permitted to make any parimutuel wager, and there shall be no wagering on horseracing except under the parimutuel method outlined in this section. Any person, association, or corporation who knowingly aids or abets a person under twenty-one years of age in making a parimutuel wager shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.

The amount deducted from wagers pursuant to subsection (2) of section 2-1207 may be used to promote agriculture and horsebreeding in Nebraska and shall be distributed as purse supplements and breeder and stallion awards for Nebraska-bred horses, as defined and registered pursuant to section 2-1213, at the racetrack where the funds were generated, except that if a racetrack does not continue to conduct live race meets, amounts deducted may be distributed as purse supplements and breeder and stallion awards at racetracks that conduct live race meets and amounts deducted pursuant to a contract with the organization representing the majority of the licensed owners and trainers at the racetrack's most recent live race meet shall be used by that organization to promote live thoroughbred horseracing in the state or as purse supplements at racetracks that conduct live race meets in the state. Any costs incurred by the commission pursuant to this section and subsection (2) of section 2-1207 shall be separately accounted for and be deducted from such funds.

(1)(a) For all race meetings, every corporation or association licensed under the provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 relating to horseracing shall pay the tax imposed by section 2-1208.01 and shall also pay to the commission:

(i) Beginning on April 20, 2022, through June 30, 2023, the sum of sixty-four one hundredths of one percent of the gross sum wagered by the parimutuel method at each licensed racetrack enclosure during the calendar year;

(ii) Beginning July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, the sum of one percent of the gross sum wagered by the parimutuel method at the licensed racetrack enclosure during the previous calendar year; and

(iii) Beginning July 1, 2024, and each year thereafter, the sum of two percent of the gross sum wagered by the parimutuel method at the licensed racetrack enclosure during the previous calendar year.

(b) For race meetings devoted principally to running live races, the licensee shall pay to the commission the sum of one hundred dollars for each live racing day that the licensee serves as the host track for intrastate simulcasting and fifty dollars for any other live racing day.

(2) No other license tax, permit tax, occupation tax, or excise tax or racing fee, except as provided in this section and in sections 2-1203 and 2-1208.01, relating to horseracing shall be levied, assessed, or collected from any such licensee by the state or by any county, township, district, city, village, or other governmental subdivision or body having power to levy, assess, or collect any such tax or fee.

(1) There is hereby imposed a tax on the gross sum wagered by the parimutuel method at each race enclosure during a calendar year as follows:

(a) The first ten million dollars shall not be taxed;

(b) Any amount over ten million dollars but less than or equal to seventy-three million dollars shall be taxed at the rate of two and one-half percent; and

(c) Any amount in excess of seventy-three million dollars shall be taxed at the rate of four percent.

(2)(a) Except as provided in subdivision (2)(b) of this section, an amount equal to two percent of the first taxable seventy million dollars at each race meeting shall be retained by the licensee for capital improvements and for maintenance of the premises within the licensed racetrack enclosure and shall be a credit against the tax levied in subsection (1) of this section. This subdivision includes each race meeting held after January 1, 2010, within the licensed racetrack enclosure located in Lancaster County where the Nebraska State Fair was held prior to 2010.

(b) For race meetings conducted at the location where the Nebraska State Fair is held, an amount equal to two and one-half percent of the first taxable seventy million dollars at each race meeting shall be retained by the licensee for the purpose of maintenance of the premises within the licensed racetrack enclosure and maintenance of other buildings, streets, utilities, and existing improvements at the location where the Nebraska State Fair is held. Such amount shall be a credit against the tax levied in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) A return as required by the Tax Commissioner shall be filed for a racetrack enclosure for each month during which wagers are accepted at the enclosure. The return shall be filed with and the net tax due pursuant to this section shall be paid to the Department of Revenue on the tenth day of the following month.

(1) The Department of Revenue shall audit and verify the amount of the tax that is due the state as provided by sections 2-1208 to 2-1208.02.

(2) The pertinent provisions of sections 77-2708 to 77-2713, 77-27,125 to 77-27,131, and 77-27,133 to 77-27,135, shall be applicable to the administration and collection of the tax imposed by section 2-1208.01, except that the information obtained by the Department of Revenue in its audit and enforcement activities shall continue to be public records as defined in section 84-712.01.

For purposes of sections 2-1208.03 and 2-1208.04, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Exotic wagers shall mean daily double, exacta, quinella, trifecta, pick six, and other similar types of bets which are approved by the commission;

(2) Gross exotic daily receipts shall mean the total sum of all money wagered, on a daily basis, by means of exotic wagers at race meets;

(3) Race meet shall mean any exhibition of racing of horses at which the parimutuel or certificate method of wagering is used;

(4) Racetrack shall mean any racetrack licensed by the commission to conduct race meets; and

(5) Recipient track shall mean a racetrack with a total annual parimutuel handle, based on the previous racing year, of twelve million dollars or less.

(1) Racetracks shall separately account for their gross exotic daily receipts. For all meets commencing after July 16, 1994, any racetrack that had for its previous race meet a total parimutuel handle of less than fifty million dollars shall withhold an amount equal to one-half of one percent of such receipts and any racetrack that had for its previous race meet a total parimutuel handle of fifty million dollars or more shall withhold an amount equal to one percent of such receipts, except that for all meets commencing on or after January 1, 1995, each racetrack shall withhold an amount equal to one-fourth of one percent of such receipts, which amount shall be deducted from purses at the withholding track. Such amount withheld shall be paid to the commission on the last day of each month during each race meeting for deposit in the Track Distribution Fund, which fund is hereby created.

(2) The fund shall be distributed monthly to recipient racetracks which conduct wagering by the parimutuel method on thoroughbred horseracing. Such racetracks shall receive the percentage which the total number of days of horseraces run at such racetrack in the year of distribution bears to the total number of days of horseraces run at all such racetracks in the year of distribution. Before January 1, 1995, one-half of the amount received under this subsection by a racetrack shall be used to supplement purses at the track, and on and after January 1, 1995, the entire amount received by a racetrack shall be used to supplement purses at the track.

(3) Any money in the Track Distribution Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act. Any money in the fund which is not distributed at the end of the calendar year shall be available for expenditure by the commission to defray its expenses pursuant to section 2-1209.

(4) The assessment required by this section shall be in addition to the assessments, taxes, and fees required by Chapter 2, article 12.

Out of the funds received pursuant to section 2-1208, the expenses of the commissioners, the compensation and reasonable expenses of the executive director, assistants, and employees, and the other reasonable expenses of the commission related to the regulation of horseracing, including suitable furniture, equipment, supplies, and office expenses, shall first be paid. Sums paid out by the commission shall be subject to the general policy for disbursement of funds by agencies of the state, including regular audit.

Every corporation or association licensed under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 shall so keep its books and records as to clearly show the total number of admissions to races conducted by it on each racing day and the amount received daily from admission fees and the total amount of money wagered during the race meeting, including wagers at locations to which its races were simulcast and at races which it received via simulcast from other racetracks, and shall furnish to the commission such reports and information as it may require with respect thereto. The licensee shall furnish annually by March 30 to the commission and the Governor a complete audit by a certified public accountant detailing all expenses and disbursements of the previous calendar year. Such audit shall be in the form specified by the commission.

(1)(a) No license shall be granted for racing on more than one racetrack in any one county, except that the commission may, in its discretion, grant a license to any county agricultural society to conduct racing during its county fair notwithstanding a license may have been issued for racing on another track in such county.

(b) Since the purpose of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 is to encourage agriculture and horse breeding in Nebraska, every licensee shall hold at least one race on each racing day limited to Nebraska-bred horses, including thoroughbreds or quarterhorses. Three percent of the first money of every purse won by a Nebraska-bred horse shall be paid to the breeder of such horse.

(2) For purposes of this section, Nebraska-bred horse shall mean a horse registered with the Nebraska Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse Registry and meeting the following requirements: (a) It shall have been foaled in Nebraska; (b) its dam shall have been registered, prior to foaling, with the Nebraska Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse Registry; and (c) its dam shall have been continuously in Nebraska for ninety days immediately prior to foaling, except that such ninety-day period may be reduced to thirty days in the case of a mare in foal which is purchased at a nationally recognized thoroughbred or quarterhorse blood stock sale, the name and pedigree of the mare being listed in the sale catalog, and which is brought into this state and remains in this state for thirty days immediately prior to foaling.

The requirement that a dam shall be continuously in Nebraska for either ninety days or thirty days, as specified in subdivision (2)(c) of this section, shall not apply to a dam which is taken outside of Nebraska to be placed for sale at a nationally recognized thoroughbred or quarterhorse blood stock sale, the name and pedigree of the mare being listed in the sale catalog, or for the treatment of an extreme sickness or injury, if written notice of such proposed sale or treatment is provided to the secretary of the commission within three days of the date such horse is taken out of the state.

The commission may designate official registrars for the purpose of registration and to certify the eligibility of Nebraska-bred horses. An official registrar shall perform such duties in accordance with policies and procedures adopted and promulgated by the commission in the current rules and regulations of the commission. The commission may authorize the official registrar to collect specific fees as would reasonably compensate the registrar for expenses incurred in connection with registration of Nebraska-bred horses. The amount of such fee or fees shall be established by the commission and shall not be changed without commission approval. Fees shall not exceed one hundred dollars per horse.

Any decision or action taken by the official registrar shall be subject to review by the commission or may be taken up by the commission on its own initiative.

No part of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 shall be construed to apply to horseracing or horserace meetings at any state or county fair or elsewhere unless the parimutuel system of wagering hereinbefore described is used or intended to be used in connection therewith; but no person, association or corporation shall hold, conduct or operate any such race or meeting in connection with which said parimutuel system is used or intended to be used without a license as hereinbefore provided.

Any person, corporation, or association holding or conducting any horserace or horserace meeting in connection with which the parimutuel system of wagering is used or to be used, without a license duly issued by the commission; or any person, corporation, or association holding or conducting horseraces or horserace meetings in connection with which any wagering is permitted otherwise than in the manner specified in sections 2-1201 to 2-1218; or any person, corporation, or association violating any of the provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 or any of the rules and regulations prescribed by the commission, shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.

The parimutuel system of wagering on the results of horseraces, when conducted within the racetrack enclosure at licensed horserace meetings, shall not under any circumstances be held or construed to be unlawful, any other statutes of the State of Nebraska to the contrary notwithstanding. The money inuring to the commission under sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 relating to horseracing from permit fees or from other sources shall never be considered as license money. It is the intention of the Legislature that the funds arising under such sections be construed as general revenue to be appropriated and allocated exclusively for the specific purposes set forth in such sections.

It shall be unlawful for any person to use or permit to be used a narcotic of any kind to stimulate or retard any horse that is to run in a race in this state to which the provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1218 apply, or for a person having the control of such horse and knowledge of such stimulation or retardation to allow it to run in any such race. The owners of such horse and their agents or employees shall permit any member of the commission or any person appointed by the commission for that purpose to make such tests as the commission deems proper in order to determine whether any such animal has been so stimulated or retarded. The findings of the commission that a horse has been stimulated or retarded by a narcotic or narcotics shall be prima facie evidence of such fact.

Any person who shall violate any provisions of section 2-1217 shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.

(1) When any matter comes before the commission that may cause financial benefit or detriment to a member of the commission, a member of his or her immediate family, or a business with which the member is associated, which is distinguishable from the effects of such matter on the public generally or a broad segment of the public, such member shall take the following actions as soon as he or she is aware of such potential conflict or should reasonably be aware of such potential conflict, whichever is sooner:

(a) Prepare a written statement describing the matter requiring action or decision and the nature of the potential conflict;

(b) Deliver a copy of the statement to the executive director of the commission; and

(c) Recuse himself or herself from taking any action or making any decision relating to such matter in the discharge of his or her official duties as a member of the commission.

(2) No horse in which any member or employee of the commission has any interest shall be raced at any meet under the jurisdiction of the commission.

(3) No member or employee of the commission shall have a pecuniary interest or engage in any private employment in a profession or business which is regulated by or interferes or conflicts with the performance or proper discharge of the duties of the commission.

(4) No member or employee of the commission shall wager or cause a wager to be placed on the outcome of any race at a race meeting which is under the jurisdiction and supervision of the commission.

(5) No member or employee of the commission shall have a pecuniary interest or engage in any private employment in a business which does business with any racing association licensed by the commission or in any business issued a concession operator license by the commission.

(6) Any commission employee violating this section shall forfeit his or her employment. Any violation of this section by a member of the commission shall be considered cause for removal by the Governor in accordance with subsection (2) of section 2-1201.

(7) The commission shall include in its rules and regulations prohibitions against actual or potential specific conflicts of interest on the part of racing officials and other individuals licensed by the commission.

It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly and willfully to falsify, conceal, or cover up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or make any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or representations, or make or use any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry regarding the prior racing record, pedigree, identity, or ownership of a registered animal in any matter related to the breeding, buying, selling, or racing of such animal. Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a Class III felony.

Except as provided in section 2-1207, whoever directly or indirectly accepts anything of value to be wagered or to be transmitted or delivered for wager in any parimutuel system of wagering on horseraces or delivers anything of value which has been received outside of the enclosure of a racetrack holding a race meet licensed under sections 2-1201 to 2-1247 to be placed as wagers in the parimutuel pool within such enclosure shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor.

There is hereby created the Racing and Gaming Commission's Racing Cash Fund from which shall be appropriated such amounts as are available therefrom and as shall be considered incident to the administration of horseracing by the State Racing and Gaming Commission's office. The fund shall contain all license fees and gross receipt taxes collected by the commission as provided under sections 2-1203, 2-1203.01, and 2-1208 relating to horseracing but shall not include taxes collected pursuant to section 2-1208.01, and such fees and taxes collected shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Racing and Gaming Commission's Racing Cash Fund. Money in the fund may be transferred to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature. Any money in the Racing and Gaming Commission's Racing Cash Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

Those corporations or associations eligible for licenses to conduct horseracing by the parimutuel method as defined in section 2-1204, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.

(1) The Legislature finds that:

(a) The horseracing, horse breeding, and parimutuel wagering industry is an important sector of the agricultural economy of the state, provides substantial revenue for state and local governments, and employs many residents of the state;

(b) The simultaneous telecast of live audio and visual signals of horseraces conducted within the state on which parimutuel betting is permitted holds the potential to strengthen and further these economic contributions and it is in the best interest of the state to permit such live telecasts;

(c) Permitting parimutuel wagering on the results of horseracing conducted at racetracks outside the state also holds the potential to strengthen and further these economic contributions and it is in the best interest of the state to permit such wagering; and

(d) No simulcast or interstate simulcast shall be authorized which would jeopardize present live racing, horse breeding, or employment opportunities or which would infringe on current operations or markets of the racetracks which generate significant revenue for local governments in the state.

(2) The Legislature hereby authorizes the telecasts of horseraces conducted within the state on which parimutuel wagering shall be permitted and interstate simulcasting under rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the commission in the manner and subject to the conditions provided in sections 2-1207 and 2-1224 to 2-1229.

For purposes of sections 2-1207 and 2-1224 to 2-1229, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Commission shall mean the State Racing and Gaming Commission;

(2) Interstate simulcast shall mean parimutuel wagering at any licensed racetrack within the state on the results of any horserace conducted outside the state;

(3) Licensed horserace meeting shall include, but not be limited to, licensed racetracks at which simulcasts or interstate simulcasts are conducted;

(4) Operator shall mean any licensee issued a license under sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 operating a simulcast facility in accordance with sections 2-1224 to 2-1229;

(5) Receiving track shall mean any track which displays a simulcast which originates from another track or which conducts interstate simulcasts;

(6) Sending track shall mean any track from which a simulcast or interstate simulcast originates;

(7) Simulcast shall mean the telecast of live audio and visual signals of any horserace conducted in the state for the purpose of parimutuel wagering;

(8) Simulcast facility shall mean a facility within the state which is authorized to display simulcasts for parimutuel wagering purposes under sections 2-1224 to 2-1227 or to conduct interstate simulcasts under sections 2-1228 and 2-1229; and

(9) Track shall mean the grounds or enclosures within which horseraces are conducted by licensees authorized to conduct such races in accordance with sections 2-1201 to 2-1223.

Any racetrack issued a license under sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 which operates at least one live race meet during each calendar year except as provided in section 2-1228 may apply to the commission for a simulcast facility license. An application for such license shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the commission and shall contain such information, material, or evidence as the commission may require. Any racetrack issued a simulcast facility license may display the simulcast of a horserace on which parimutuel wagering shall be allowed.

(1) The commission may authorize and approve one or more applications by any racetrack issued a license under sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 for a license to provide the simulcast of horseraces for wagering purposes from a track operated by the applicant which is conducting a race to a receiving track which is also licensed pursuant to sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 and has applied for a simulcast facility license. No application shall be approved by the commission without a written agreement between the receiving track and the sending track relating to the simulcast. The written agreement between the receiving track and the sending track shall have the consent of the organization representing a majority of the licensed owners and trainers at both the sending and the receiving track.

(2) Every licensee authorized to accept wagers on simulcast racing events pursuant to sections 2-1224 to 2-1227 shall be deemed to be conducting a licensed horserace meeting and shall be subject to all appropriate provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 relating to the conduct of horserace meetings.

(3) The sums retained by any receiving track from the total deposits in pools wagered on simulcast racing events conducted pursuant to sections 2-1201 to 2-1227 shall be equal to the retained percentages applicable to the sending track. Of the sums retained by the receiving track from simulcast pools, the parimutuel tax shall be levied in accordance with sections 2-1201 to 2-1223. Of the sums retained by the receiving track, an amount as determined by agreement between the sending track and receiving track shall be distributed to the sending track.

(4) Any simulcast between a sending track located in the state and receiving track located in the state as provided in this section shall result in the combination of all wagers placed at the receiving track located in the state with the wagers placed at the sending track located in the state so as to produce common parimutuel betting pools for the calculation of odds and the determination of payouts from such pools, which payout shall be the same for all winning tickets, irrespective of whether the wager is placed at a sending track located in the state or receiving track located in the state.

Any racetrack issued a license under sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 (1) conducting primarily quarterhorse races in the year immediately preceding the year for which application is made, regardless of the total number of days of live racing conducted in such year, or (2) conducting primarily thoroughbred horseraces in the year immediately preceding the year for which application is made which conducted live racing on at least seventy percent of the days for which it was authorized to conduct live racing in 1988 unless the commission determines that such racetrack was unable to conduct live racing on the required number of days due to factors beyond its control, including, but not limited to, fire, earthquake, tornado, or other natural disaster, may apply to the commission for an interstate simulcast facility license. An application for such license shall be in a form prescribed by the commission and shall contain such information, material, or evidence as the commission may require. Any racetrack issued an interstate simulcast facility license may conduct the interstate simulcast of any horserace permitted under its license, and parimutuel wagering shall be allowed on such horserace. The commission shall not authorize interstate simulcasting for any racetrack pursuant to sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 unless all of the thoroughbred racetracks together applied for and received authority to conduct at least one hundred eighty live racing days in the calendar year in which the application is made. If any racetrack conducts live racing for less than seventy percent of the days assigned such racetrack in 1988, (a) such racetrack shall be precluded from conducting interstate simulcasts and (b) the number of live racing days conducted by such racetrack shall be subtracted from an amount equal to seventy percent of all the days assigned such racetrack in 1988 and the amount remaining shall be deducted from the one-hundred-eighty-day total required by this section. If any racetrack ceases to conduct live racing, seventy percent of the days assigned such racetrack in 1988 shall be deducted from the one-hundred-eighty-day total required by this section.

(1) The commission may authorize and approve an application for an interstate simulcast facility license by a receiving track within the state to receive the interstate simulcast of horseraces for parimutuel wagering purposes from any track located outside of the state. In determining whether such application should be approved, the commission shall consider whether such interstate simulcast would have a significant effect upon either live racing or the simulcasting of live racing of the same type and at the same time conducted in this state and whether it would expand the access to or availability of simulcasting to areas of the state or markets which are not at the time of the application fully served. Prior to approving any such application, the commission shall confer with and receive any recommendations of the organization which represents the majority of the thoroughbred breeders in Nebraska as to what effect an interstate simulcast would have upon horse breeding and horseracing in this state. No application submitted under section 2-1228 shall be approved by the commission without:

(a) The prior written approval of any other racetrack issued a license under sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 and conducting live racing of the same type on the same day at the same time as the proposed interstate simulcast race or races and of the organization which represented a majority of the licensed owners and trainers at the racetrack's immediately preceding live thoroughbred race meeting;

(b) The prior written approval of any other racetrack issued a license under sections 2-1224 to 2-1227 which is simulcasting the racing program of any licensee conducting live racing in this state of the same type on the same day at the same time as the proposed interstate simulcast race or races and of the organization which represented a majority of the licensed owners and trainers at the racetrack's immediately preceding live thoroughbred race meeting; and

(c) A written agreement between the receiving track and the sending track located outside of the state in any other state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico setting forth the division of all proceeds between the sending and receiving tracks and all other conditions under which such interstate simulcast will be conducted. Such written agreement shall have the consent of the group representing the majority of horsepersons racing at the sending track and of the organization which represented a majority of the licensed owners and trainers at the receiving track's immediately preceding live thoroughbred race meeting.

(2) Every licensee authorized to accept wagers on interstate simulcast events pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be conducting a licensed horserace meeting and shall also be subject to all appropriate provisions of sections 2-1201 to 2-1223 relating to the conduct of horserace meetings.

The Legislature finds that the horseracing industry is an important facet of economic and recreational development in Nebraska. Breeders, owners, and trainers are an important and integral part of the live horseracing industry in Nebraska.

For purposes of sections 2-1243 to 2-1246, horseracing industry participant shall mean an individual who currently holds a valid license for purposes of conducting horseracing from the State Racing and Gaming Commission and who owns, trains, cares for, or rides horses stabled at a Nebraska-licensed racetrack for the purpose of horseracing at the live race meeting at such racetrack.

(1) A horseracing industry participant shall be entitled to reasonable treatment from those licensed to conduct thoroughbred race meets.

(2) Private property belonging to a horseracing industry participant at a racetrack facility shall not unlawfully be converted, seized, damaged, or destroyed by racetrack employees or agents without compensation.

(3) A horseracing industry participant shall not be deemed to forfeit or waive any right to privacy without reasonable cause guaranteed by law by virtue of being licensed by the state, by entry upon licensed horseracing facilities, or by engaging in the sport of horseracing in this state.

(4) A horseracing industry participant may not be excluded from the grounds of any licensed racetrack by track management without a hearing by the stewards at such racetrack unless there are reasonable grounds to believe such participant has committed a felony or is posing a physical danger to himself or herself, to others, or to animals in his or her care or his or her physical presence will bring immediate harm to horseracing. Such hearing shall be held as soon as practicable and shall be given first priority and precedence by the stewards. This subsection shall not apply to the allocation of stalls pursuant to an agreement between the horseracing industry participant and the licensed racetrack.

(5) A horseracing industry participant shall be free from unreasonable searches and seizures of his or her person without probable cause and shall be free from unreasonable searches and seizures of his or her housing, vehicle, papers, and effects.

(6) If a horseracing industry participant has been charged with a violation of a rule of racing which involves a substantial risk of loss or suspension of his or her license or which involves a criminal penalty, he or she shall be entitled to the following protections as a matter of right:

(a) To remain silent;

(b) To the benefit of counsel, including the opportunity to confer with counsel in preparation of a defense;

(c) To a speedy and public hearing;

(d) To present evidence and to testify in person at his or her hearing;

(e) To cross-examine the witnesses who testify against him or her; and

(f) To have prospective witnesses excluded from the hearing room during the hearing.

Nothing in this section shall prevent a horseracing industry participant from knowingly waiving any rights afforded under this subsection.

(7) A horseracing industry participant shall not be required to waive his or her constitutional rights nor the rights granted pursuant to sections 2-1243 to 2-1246 as a condition of pursuing a livelihood in this state or at any licensed thoroughbred horseracing facility.

(1) The State Racing and Gaming Commission shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations which provide for dismissal, license revocation or suspension, fines, or other suitable penalties necessary to enforce sections 2-1243 to 2-1245.

(2) Nothing in such sections shall affect in any way the right of any horseracing industry participant to bring any action in any appropriate forum for the violation of any law of this state or any rule of racing.

The Interstate Compact on Licensure of Participants in Horse Racing with Pari-Mutuel Wagering is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein, in the form substantially as follows:

ARTICLE I. PURPOSES

Section 1. Purposes.

The purposes of this compact are to:

1. Establish uniform requirements among the party states for the licensing of participants in live horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering, and ensure that all such participants who are licensed pursuant to this compact meet a uniform minimum standard of honesty and integrity.

2. Facilitate the growth of the horse racing industry in each party state and nationwide by simplifying the process for licensing participants in live racing, and reduce the duplicative and costly process of separate licensing by the regulatory agency in each state that conducts live horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering.

3. Authorize the Nebraska State Racing and Gaming Commission to participate in this compact.

4. Provide for participation in this compact by officials of the party states, and permit those officials, through the compact committee established by this compact, to enter into contracts with governmental agencies and nongovernmental persons to carry out the purposes of this compact.

5. Establish the compact committee created by this compact as an interstate governmental entity duly authorized to request and receive criminal history record information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other state and local law enforcement agencies.

ARTICLE II. DEFINITIONS

Section 2. Definitions.

"Compact committee" means the organization of officials from the party states that is authorized and empowered by this compact to carry out the purposes of this compact.

"Official" means the appointed, elected, designated or otherwise duly selected member of a racing commission or the equivalent thereof in a party state who represents that party state as a member of the compact committee.

"Participants in live racing" means participants in live horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering in the party states.

"Party state" means each state that has enacted this compact.

"State" means each of the several states of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and each territory or possession of the United States.

ARTICLE III. ENTRY INTO FORCE, ELIGIBLE PARTIES AND WITHDRAWAL

Section 3. Entry into force.

This compact shall come into force when enacted by any four (4) states. Thereafter, this compact shall become effective as to any other state upon both (i) that state's enactment of this compact and (ii) the affirmative vote of a majority of the officials on the compact committee as provided in Section 8.

Section 4. States eligible to join compact.

Any state that has adopted or authorized horse racing with pari-mutuel wagering shall be eligible to become party to this compact.

Section 5. Withdrawal from compact and impact thereof on force and effect of compact.

Any party state may withdraw from this compact by enacting a statute repealing this compact, but no such withdrawal shall become effective until the head of the executive branch of the withdrawing state has given notice in writing of such withdrawal to the head of the executive branch of all other party states. If as a result of withdrawals participation in this compact decreases to less than three (3) party states, this compact no longer shall be in force and effect unless and until there are at least three (3) or more party states again participating in this compact.

ARTICLE IV. COMPACT COMMITTEE

Section 6. Compact committee established.

There is hereby created an interstate governmental entity to be known as the "compact committee," which shall be comprised of one (1) official from the racing commission or its equivalent in each party state. The Nebraska State Racing and Gaming Commission shall designate one of its members to represent the State of Nebraska as the compact committee official. A compact committee official shall be appointed, serve and be subject to removal in accordance with the laws of the party state he represents. Pursuant to the laws of his party state, each official shall have the assistance of his state's racing commission or the equivalent thereof in considering issues related to licensing of participants in live racing and in fulfilling his responsibilities as the representative from his state to the compact committee. If an official representing the State of Nebraska is unable to perform any duty in connection with the powers and duties of the compact committee, the Nebraska State Racing and Gaming Commission shall designate another of its members or its executive director as an alternate who shall serve and represent the State of Nebraska as its official on the compact committee until the commission determines that the original representative official is able once again to perform the duties as that party state's representative official on the compact committee. The designation of an alternate shall be communicated by the Nebraska State Racing and Gaming Commission to the compact committee as the committee's bylaws may provide.

Section 7. Powers and duties of compact committee.

In order to carry out the purposes of this compact, the compact committee is hereby granted the power and duty to:

1. Determine which categories of participants in live racing, including but not limited to owners, trainers, jockeys, grooms, mutuel clerks, racing officials, veterinarians, and farriers, should be licensed by the committee, and establish the requirements for the initial licensure of applicants in each such category, the term of the license for each category, and the requirements for renewal of licenses in each category. Provided, however, that with regard to requests for criminal history record information on each applicant for a license, and with regard to the effect of a criminal record on the issuance or renewal of a license, the compact committee shall determine for each category of participants in live racing which licensure requirements for that category are, in its judgment, the most restrictive licensure requirements of any party state for that category and shall adopt licensure requirements for that category that are, in its judgment, comparable to those most restrictive requirements.

2. Investigate applicants for a license from the compact committee and, as permitted by federal and state law, gather information on such applicants, including criminal history record information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and relevant state and local law enforcement agencies, and, where appropriate, from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and law enforcement agencies of other countries, necessary to determine whether a license should be issued under the licensure requirements established by the committee as provided in paragraph 1 above. Only officials on, and employees of, the compact committee may receive and review such criminal history record information, and those officials and employees may use that information only for the purposes of this compact. No such official or employee may disclose or disseminate such information to any person or entity other than another official on or employee of the compact committee. The fingerprints of each applicant for a license from the compact committee shall be taken by the compact committee, its employees, or its designee and, pursuant to Public Law 92-544 or Public Law 100-413, shall be forwarded to a state identification bureau, or to the Association of Racing Commissioners, International, an association of state officials regulating pari-mutuel wagering designated by the Attorney General of the United States, for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a criminal history record check. Such fingerprints may be submitted on a fingerprint card or by electronic or other means authorized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or other receiving law enforcement agency.

3. Issue licenses to, and renew the licenses of, participants in live racing listed in paragraph 1 of this section who are found by the committee to have met the licensure and renewal requirements established by the committee. The compact committee shall not have the power or authority to deny a license. If it determines that an applicant will not be eligible for the issuance or renewal of a compact committee license, the compact committee shall notify the applicant that it will not be able to process his application further. Such notification does not constitute and shall not be considered to be the denial of a license. Any such applicant shall have the right to present additional evidence to, and to be heard by, the compact committee, but the final decision on issuance or renewal of the license shall be made by the compact committee using the requirements established pursuant to paragraph 1 of this section.

4. Enter into contracts or agreements with governmental agencies and with nongovernmental persons to provide personal services for its activities and such other services as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this compact.

5. Create, appoint, and abolish those offices, employments, and positions, including an executive director, as it deems necessary for the purposes of this compact, prescribe their powers, duties and qualifications, hire persons to fill those offices, employments and positions, and provide for the removal, term, tenure, compensation, fringe benefits, retirement benefits and other conditions of employment of its officers, employees and other positions.

6. Borrow, accept, or contract for the services of personnel from any state, the United States, or any other governmental agency, or from any person, firm, association, corporation or other entity.

7. Acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property by gift, purchase, lease, license, or in other similar manner, in furtherance of the purposes of this compact.

8. Charge a fee to each applicant for an initial license or renewal of a license.

9. Receive other funds through gifts, grants and appropriations.

Section 8. Voting requirements.

A. Each official shall be entitled to one (1) vote on the compact committee.

B. All action taken by the compact committee with regard to the addition of party states as provided in Section 3, the licensure of participants in live racing, and the receipt and disbursement of funds shall require a majority vote of the total number of officials (or their alternates) on the committee. All other action by the compact committee shall require a majority vote of those officials (or their alternates) present and voting.

C. No action of the compact committee may be taken unless a quorum is present. A majority of the officials (or their alternates) on the compact committee shall constitute a quorum.

Section 9. Administration and management.

A. The compact committee shall elect annually from among its members a chairman, a vice-chairman, and a secretary/treasurer.

B. The compact committee shall adopt bylaws for the conduct of its business by a two-thirds vote of the total number of officials (or their alternates) on the committee at that time and shall have the power by the same vote to amend and rescind these bylaws. The committee shall publish its bylaws in convenient form and shall file a copy thereof and a copy of any amendments thereto with the secretary of state or equivalent agency of each of the party states.

C. The compact committee may delegate the day-to-day management and administration of its duties and responsibilities to an executive director and his support staff.

D. Employees of the compact committee shall be considered governmental employees.

Section 10. Immunity from liability for performance of official responsibilities and duties.

No official of a party state or employee of the compact committee shall be held personally liable for any good faith act or omission that occurs during the performance and within the scope of his responsibilities and duties under this compact.

ARTICLE V. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EACH PARTY STATE

Section 11. Rights and responsibilities of each party state.

A. By enacting this compact, each party state:

1. Agrees (i) to accept the decisions of the compact committee regarding the issuance of compact committee licenses to participants in live racing pursuant to the committee's licensure requirements, and (ii) to reimburse or otherwise pay the expenses of its official representative on the compact committee or his alternate.

2. Agrees not to treat a notification to an applicant by the compact committee under paragraph 3 of Section 7 that the compact committee will not be able to process his application further as the denial of a license, or to penalize such applicant in any other way based solely on such a decision by the compact committee.

3. Reserves the right (i) to charge a fee for the use of a compact committee license in that state, (ii) to apply its own standards in determining whether, on the facts of a particular case, a compact committee license should be suspended or revoked, (iii) to apply its own standards in determining licensure eligibility, under the laws of that party state, for categories of participants in live racing that the compact committee determines not to license and for individual participants in live racing who do not meet the licensure requirements of the compact committee, and (iv) to establish its own licensure standards for the licensure of non-racing employees at horse racetracks and employees at separate satellite wagering facilities. Any party state that suspends or revokes a compact committee license shall, through its racing commission or the equivalent thereof or otherwise, promptly notify the compact committee of that suspension or revocation.

B. No party state shall be held liable for the debts or other financial obligations incurred by the compact committee.

ARTICLE VI. CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY

Section 12. Construction and severability.

This compact shall be liberally construed so as to effectuate its purposes. The provisions of this compact shall be severable, and, if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the Constitution of the United States or of any party state, or the applicability of this compact to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If all or some portion of this compact is held to be contrary to the constitution of any party state, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining party states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.

Any corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Nebraska if created not for private gain or profit and under legal restrictions which preclude it from being organized for private gain or profit, and if organized and existing for the purpose of promoting and advancing the interests of agriculture and farm husbandry in the State of Nebraska, having outstanding any bonds or debentures matured or about to mature, may refund such bond indebtedness or debentures in an amount not exceeding the existing unpaid principal and interest due on such bonds or debentures, by issuing new bonds or new debentures in exchange for bonds or debentures maturing or about to mature, or to be sold for the purpose of securing funds to redeem principal and interest of the bonds or debentures maturing or about to mature. Such new bonds or debentures shall not be issued in excess of the amount required to refund the existing indebtedness, shall not be sold or exchanged at less than par and shall not draw interest at a rate in excess of three percent per annum, which interest may be made payable annually or semiannually. No authority is hereby granted nor shall this section be construed to grant authority to any such corporation to increase its indebtedness, the sole object and purpose of this section being to authorize refunding of existing indebtedness.

Said refunding debentures shall be in substantially the form as provided in section 2-111, Compiled Statutes of Nebraska, 1929.

As used in sections 2-1501 to 2-15,123, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Commission means the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission;

(2) State means the State of Nebraska;

(3) Agency of this state means the government of this state and any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the government of this state;

(4) United States or agencies of the United States means the United States of America, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and any other agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America;

(5) Government or governmental means the government of this state, the government of the United States, and any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of either of them;

(6) Lands, easements, and rights-of-way means lands and rights or interests in lands whereon channel improvements, channel rectifications, or water-retarding or gully-stabilization structures are located, including those areas for flooding and flowage purposes, spoil areas, borrow pits, access roads, and similar purposes;

(7) Local organization means any natural resources district, drainage district, irrigation district, or other public district, county, city, or state agency;

(8) Subwatershed means a portion of a watershed project as divided by the department on a complete hydrologic unit;

(9) Rechanneling means the channeling of water from one watercourse to another watercourse by means of open ditches;

(10) Watercourse means any depression two feet or more below the surrounding land serving to give direction to a current of water at least nine months of the year, having a bed and well-defined banks and, upon order of the commission, also includes any particular depression which would not otherwise be within the definition of watercourse;

(11) Director means the Director of Natural Resources;

(12) Department means the Department of Natural Resources; and

(13) Combined sewer overflow project means a municipal project to reduce overflows from a combined sewer system pursuant to a long-term control plan approved by the Department of Environment and Energy.

(1) The purpose of the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund is to assist local organizations by paying all or part of the cost of purchase of needed lands, easements, and rights-of-way for soil and water conservation and flood control needs when the following conditions have been met:

(a) The local organizations have agreed on a program of work;

(b) Such a program of work has been found to be feasible, practicable, and will promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of the state;

(c) The department has either participated in the planning or reviewed the plans and has approved the program of work;

(d) Local organizations have obtained a minimum of seventy-five percent of the needed number of easements and rights-of-way in the project or a subwatershed prior to the use of state funds for this purpose;

(e) Local organizations have made a formal request or application to the department for state funds for the purpose of purchasing lands, easements, and rights-of-way;

(f) Local organizations and the department have entered into an agreement on the administration and expenditure of these state funds;

(g) The purchase price of the land, easement, or right-of-way has been established either by the courts or by one credentialed real property appraiser approved by the department, which appraisal costs shall be a nonstate cost; and

(h) Local organizations have given assurance to the department that they have obtained any water rights or other permits required under state or federal law and complied with all other applicable state laws.

(2) State funds to be used for lands, easements, and rights-of-way shall be granted to the local organizations in whose name the land, easement, or right-of-way shall be recorded. Rental or lease revenue from these lands may be used subject to the approval of the department by the local organization in the proper management of these lands, such management to include, but not be limited to, weed control, construction, and maintenance of conservation measures, seeding of grass, planting of trees, and construction and maintenance of fences. Within ten years from the purchase date of lands and rights-of-way, and if the lands and rights-of-way are not granted or retained for public purposes as otherwise provided by this section, it shall be the duty of the local organization to sell the property purchased wholly or partially from state funds and to remit to the department a pro rata share of the proceeds of such sale equal to the percentage of the total cost of the acquisition of such real property made from any state allocation made hereunder and all such remittances shall be deposited in the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund. The local organization shall retain any easement or right-of-way needed to assure the continued operation, maintenance, inspection, and repair of the works of improvement constructed on the land to be sold. The commission and local organization may grant for public purposes title to lands and rights-of-way acquired in whole or in part with funds from the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund to any public district, city, county, political subdivision of the state, or agency of the state or federal government, or the local organization, with approval of the commission, may retain for public purposes the title to such lands and rights-of-way. Whenever any such grant or retention is approved, the department shall be reimbursed in the amount of the pro rata share of the appraised fair market value that is equal to the percentage of the total cost of acquisition paid from the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund. All such proceeds to the department shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund.

The Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund is created. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund such money as is specifically appropriated during any session of the Legislature. The State Treasurer shall also credit such fund with money contributed to or remitted by local organizations which was obtained through the sale or lease of property procured through the use of state funds as authorized in sections 2-1502 to 2-1503.03. In addition, funds, services, and properties made available by the United States or one of its departments or agencies may be credited to the fund. The money in the fund shall not be subject to fiscal year or biennium limitations. Transfers may be made from the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature. Any money in the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The commission shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund. The commission may allocate to any local organization in this state, from the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund, such sum or sums as in the judgment of the commission may be necessary to enable such local organization to acquire real property or easements needed to permit the local organizations to install upstream flood control or watershed protection and flood prevention structures on rivers, tributaries, streams, or watersheds thereof, including cooperative projects between the local organization and the United States. When any property or easement has been acquired by the use of any funds allocated under this section and the property is thereafter sold or leased, it shall be the duty of the local organization to remit to the department a pro rata share of the proceeds of such sale or lease equal to the percentage of total state funds involved.

The commission shall have sole power and authority to specify the date and all other terms for the sale of any lands or rights-of-way acquired wholly or in part with funds from the Small Watersheds Flood Control Fund and to require the execution of all necessary documents to complete such sales. The department shall, upon acquisition by the local organization of any such lands or rights-of-way, prepare and file with the register of deeds in the county where such lands or rights-of-way are located an affidavit stating that state funds were utilized for the acquisition of such lands or rights-of-way by the organization receiving such funds and that such lands or rights-of-way cannot be sold, conveyed, granted, or in any way transferred by such organization except at the direction of the commission and in compliance with its rules and regulations.

(1) The Nebraska Natural Resources Commission is established. The commission shall advise the department as requested by the director and shall perform such other functions as are specifically conferred on the commission by law. The commission shall have no jurisdiction over matters pertaining to water rights.

(2) Each member of the commission shall be a resident of the State of Nebraska and shall have attained the age of majority. The voting members of the commission shall be:

(a) One resident of each of the following river basins, with delineations being those on the Nebraska river basin map officially adopted by the commission and on file with the department: (i) The Niobrara River, White River, and Hat Creek basin, (ii) the North Platte River basin, (iii) the South Platte River basin, (iv) the middle Platte River basin, (v) the lower Platte River basin, (vi) the Loup River basin, (vii) the Elkhorn River basin, (viii) the Missouri tributaries basin, (ix) the Republican River basin, (x) the Little Blue River basin, (xi) the Big Blue River basin, and (xii) the Nemaha River basin;

(b) One additional resident of each river basin which encompasses one or more cities of the metropolitan class; and

(c) Fourteen members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Legislature. Of the members appointed by the Governor, one shall represent each of the following categories: Agribusiness interests; agricultural interests; ground water irrigators; irrigation districts; manufacturing interests; metropolitan utilities districts; municipal users of water from a city of the primary class; municipal users of water from a city of the first or second class or a village; outdoor recreation users; public power districts; public power and irrigation districts; range livestock owners; surface water irrigators; and wildlife conservation interests.

(3) Members of the commission described in subdivision (2)(a) of this section shall be selected for four-year terms at individual caucuses of the natural resources district directors residing in the river basin from which the member is selected. Such caucuses shall be held for each basin within ten days following the first Thursday after the first Tuesday of the year the term of office of the member from that basin expires. The dates and locations for such caucuses shall be established by the commission, and the commission shall provide notice to the public by issuing press releases for publication in a newspaper of general circulation in each county that comprises the river basin for which a caucus election will be held. Terms of office of such members shall follow the sequence originally determined by the river basin representatives to the commission at their first meeting on the third Thursday after the first Tuesday in January 1975. All river basin members shall take office on the third Thursday after the first Tuesday in January following their selection and any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by a caucus held within thirty days following the date such vacancy is created. Each member of the commission representing a river basin shall qualify by filing with the other members of the commission an acceptance in writing of his or her selection.

(4) Members of the commission described in subdivision (2)(b) of this section shall be residents of natural resources districts which encompass one or more cities of the metropolitan class and shall be selected in the same manner, at the same time, and for a four-year term having the same term sequence as provided for the other members from such basin under subsection (3) of this section.

(5) For members of the commission described in subdivision (2)(c) of this section:

(a) The Governor shall appoint the eleven additional members added by Laws 2014, LB1098, within thirty days after April 17, 2014. The eleven additional appointments shall be for staggered four-year terms, as determined by the Governor. The Governor shall also set the terms of the current members of the commission appointed under such subdivision and serving on April 17, 2014, to staggered four-year terms. Future appointments shall be for four-year terms. Members whose terms have expired shall continue to serve until their successors have been appointed. In the case of a vacancy, the Governor shall appoint a successor for the unexpired term. Members may be removed for cause. Initial appointees shall begin serving immediately following notice of appointment, except that the member appointed representing municipal users of water from the class of city or a village that is being represented by the current member representing municipal users of water and the members representing surface water irrigators and ground water irrigators shall not begin serving until the term of the current member representative of the category expires or such member resigns or is otherwise removed; and

(b) In appointing such members, the Governor shall:

(i) Create a broad-based commission which has knowledge of, has experience with, and is representative of Nebraska's water use and economy;

(ii) Give recognition to the importance of both water quantity and water quality; and

(iii) Appoint members who represent diverse geographic regions of the state, including urban and rural areas, and represent, to the extent possible, the racial and ethnic diversity of the state.

(6) After the members have been appointed as required under this section, the commission shall revise or adopt and promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to administer the Water Sustainability Fund pursuant to sections 2-1506 to 2-1513.

The commission shall designate a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and such other officers as it may desire and may, from time to time, change such designation. A majority of the commission shall constitute a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority in any matter within their duties shall be required for its determination. Each of the members of the commission shall receive a per diem of fifty dollars per day for each day in the performance of his or her duties on the commission, but no member shall receive more than two thousand dollars in any one year, and in addition shall be entitled to expenses, including traveling expenses, necessarily incurred in the discharge of his or her duties on the commission, as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177.

(1) The goals of the Water Sustainability Fund are to: (a) Provide financial assistance to programs, projects, or activities that increase aquifer recharge, reduce aquifer depletion, and increase streamflow; (b) remediate or mitigate threats to drinking water; (c) promote the goals and objectives of approved integrated management plans or ground water management plans; (d) contribute to multiple water supply management goals including flood control, reducing threats to property damage, agricultural uses, municipal and industrial uses, recreational benefits, wildlife habitat, conservation, and preservation of water resources; (e) assist municipalities with the cost of constructing, upgrading, developing, and replacing sewer infrastructure facilities as part of a combined sewer overflow project; (f) provide increased water productivity and enhance water quality; (g) use the most cost-effective solutions available; and (h) comply with interstate compacts, decrees, other state contracts and agreements and federal law.

(2) The Legislature finds that the goals of the Water Sustainability Fund can be met by equally considering programs, projects, or activities in the following categories: (a) Research, data, and modeling; (b) rehabilitation or restoration of water supply infrastructure, new water supply infrastructure, or water supply infrastructure maintenance or flood prevention for protection of critical infrastructure; (c) conjunctive management, storage, and integrated management of ground water and surface water; and (d) compliance with interstate compacts or agreements or other formal state contracts or agreements or federal law.

(1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Water Sustainability Fund be equitably distributed statewide to the greatest extent possible for the long term and give priority funding status to projects which are the result of federal mandates.

(2) Distributions to assist municipalities with the cost of constructing, upgrading, developing, and replacing sewer infrastructure facilities as part of a combined sewer overflow project shall be based on a demonstration of need and shall equal ten percent of the total annual appropriation to the Water Sustainability Fund if (a) applicants have applied for such funding as required under section 2-1509 and (b) any such application has been recommended for further consideration by the director and is subsequently approved for allocation by the commission pursuant to subsection (1) of section 2-1511. If more than one municipality demonstrates a need for funds pursuant to this subsection, funds shall be distributed proportionally based on population.

(3) Any money in the Water Sustainability Fund may be allocated by the commission to applicants in accordance with sections 2-1506 to 2-1513. Such money may be allocated in the form of grants or loans for water sustainability programs, projects, or activities undertaken within the state. The allocation of funds to a program, project, or activity in one form shall not of itself preclude additional allocations in the same or any other form to the same program, project, or activity.

(4) When the commission has approved an allocation of funds to a program, project, or activity, the Department of Natural Resources shall establish a subaccount in the Water Sustainability Fund and credit the entire amount of the allocation to the subaccount. Individual subaccounts shall be established for each program, project, or activity approved by the commission. The commission may approve a partial allocation to a program, project, or activity based upon available unallocated funds in the Water Sustainability Fund, but the amount of unfunded allocations shall not exceed eleven million dollars. Additional allocations to a program, project, or activity shall be credited to the same subaccount as the original allocation. Subaccounts shall not be subject to transfer out of the Water Sustainability Fund, except that the commission may authorize the transfer of excess or unused funds from a subaccount and into the unreserved balance of the fund.

(5) A natural resources district is eligible for funding from the Water Sustainability Fund only if the district has adopted or is currently participating in the development of an integrated management plan pursuant to subdivision (1)(a) or (b) of section 46-715.

(6) The commission shall utilize the resources and expertise of and collaborate with the Department of Natural Resources, the University of Nebraska, the Department of Environment and Energy, the Nebraska Environmental Trust Board, and the Game and Parks Commission on funding and planning for water programs, projects, or activities.

(7) A biennial report shall be made to the Clerk of the Legislature describing the work accomplished by the use of funds towards the goals of the Water Sustainability Fund beginning on December 31, 2015. The report submitted to the Clerk of the Legislature shall be submitted electronically.

The commission shall rank and score applications for funding based on criteria that demonstrate the extent to which a program, project, or activity:

(1) Remediates or mitigates threats to drinking water;

(2) Meets the goals and objectives of an approved integrated management plan or ground water management plan;

(3) Contributes to water sustainability goals by increasing aquifer recharge, reducing aquifer depletion, or increasing streamflow;

(4) Contributes to multiple water supply management goals, including, but not limited to, flood control, agricultural use, municipal and industrial uses, recreational benefits, wildlife habitat, conservation of water resources, and preservation of water resources;

(5) Maximizes the beneficial use of Nebraska's water resources for the benefit of the state's residents;

(6) Is cost-effective;

(7) Helps the state meet its obligations under interstate compacts, decrees, or other state contracts or agreements or federal law;

(8) Reduces threats to property damage or protects critical infrastructure that consists of the physical assets, systems, and networks vital to the state or the United States such that their incapacitation would have a debilitating effect on public security or public health and safety;

(9) Improves water quality;

(10) Has utilized all available funding resources of the local jurisdiction to support the program, project, or activity;

(11) Has a local jurisdiction with plans in place that support sustainable water use;

(12) Addresses a statewide problem or issue;

(13) Contributes to the state's ability to leverage state dollars with local or federal government partners or other partners to maximize the use of its resources;

(14) Contributes to watershed health and function; and

(15) Uses objectives described in the annual report and plan of work for the state water planning and review process issued by the department.

(1) Applicants for funds may file an application with the department for a grant or loan from the Water Sustainability Fund. Applications for grants to the department itself shall be filed by the department. Each application shall be filed in such manner and form and be accompanied by such information as may be prescribed by the director and the commission.

(2) Any such application shall:

(a) Describe the nature and purpose of the proposed program, project, or activity;

(b) Set forth or be accompanied by a plan for development of the proposed program, project, or activity, together with engineering, economic, and financial feasibility data and information, and such estimated costs of construction or implementation as may be required by the director and the commission;

(c) State whether money other than that for which the application is made will be used to help in meeting program, project, or activity costs and whether such money is available or has been sought for this purpose;

(d) When appropriate, state that the applicant holds or can acquire title to all lands or has the necessary easements and rights-of-way for the program, project, or activity and related lands and has or may acquire all water rights necessary for the proposed program, project, or activity;

(e) Show that the applicant possesses all necessary authority to undertake or participate in the proposed program, project, or activity; and

(f) Demonstrate the probable environmental and ecological consequences that may result from such proposed program, project, or activity.

(3) Upon receipt of an application, the director shall evaluate and investigate all aspects of the proposed program, project, or activity and the proposed schedule for development and completion of such program, project, or activity, determine eligibility for funding, and make appropriate recommendations to the commission pursuant to sections 2-1506 to 2-1513. As a part of his or her investigation, the director shall consider whether the plan for development of the program, project, or activity is satisfactory. If the director determines that the plan is unsatisfactory or that the application does not contain adequate information upon which to make determinations, the director shall return the application to the applicant and may make such recommendations to the applicant as are considered necessary to make the plan or the application satisfactory.

(4) Requests for utilization of the Water Sustainability Fund for state participation in any water and related land-water resources projects shall also be filed with the department for the director's evaluation, investigation, and recommendations. Such requests shall be filed in the manner and form and be accompanied by such information as shall be prescribed by the department and the commission.

(1) Each program, project, or activity for which funding is requested, whether such request has as its origin an application or the action of the department itself, shall be reviewed as provided in sections 2-1506 to 2-1513 by the director prior to the approval of any allocation for such program, project, or activity by the commission.

(2) The director may recommend approval of and the commission may approve grants or loans, including the appropriate repayment period and the rate of interest, for program, project, or activity costs or acquisition of interests in programs, projects, or activities if after investigation and evaluation the director finds that:

(a) The plan does not conflict with any existing Nebraska state land plan;

(b) The proposed program, project, or activity is economically and financially feasible based upon standards adopted by the commission pursuant to sections 2-1506 to 2-1513;

(c) The plan for development of the proposed program, project, or activity is satisfactory;

(d) The plan of development minimizes any adverse impacts on the natural environment;

(e) The applicant is qualified, responsible, and legally capable of carrying out the program, project, or activity;

(f) In the case of a loan, the borrower has demonstrated the ability to repay the loan and there is assurance of adequate operation, maintenance, and replacement during the repayment life of the program, project, or activity;

(g) The plan considers other plans and programs of the state and resources development plans of the political subdivisions of the state; and

(h) The money required from the Water Sustainability Fund is available.

(3) The director and staff of the department shall carry out their powers and duties under sections 2-1506 to 2-1513 independently of and without prejudice to their powers and duties under other provisions of law.

(4) No member of the commission shall be eligible to participate in the action of the commission concerning an application for funding to any entity in which such commission member has any interest. The director may be delegated additional responsibilities consistent with the purposes of sections 2-1506 to 2-1513. It shall be the sole responsibility of the commission to determine the priority in which funds are allocated for eligible programs, projects, or activities under section 2-1508.

(1) The director shall make recommendations based upon his or her review of the criteria set forth in section 2-1510 of whether an application should be considered further or rejected and the form of allocation he or she deems appropriate. The commission shall act in accordance with such recommendations according to the application procedures adopted and promulgated in rules and regulations.

(2) If, after review of the recommendation by the director, the commission determines that an application for a grant, loan, acquisition of an interest, or combination thereof pursuant to sections 2-1506 to 2-1513 is satisfactory and qualified to be approved, before the final approval of such application may be given and the funds allocated, the department shall enter into an agreement in the name of the state with the applicant agency or organization and with any other organizations it deems to be involved in the program, project, or activity to which funds shall be applied. The department shall also enter into such agreements as are appropriate before allocation of any funds for the acquisition of an interest in any qualified program, project, or activity when such acquisition is initiated by the department itself pursuant to section 2-1512. All agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, a specification of the amount of funds involved, whether the funds are considered as a grant or loan or for the acquisition of an interest in the name of the state, and, if a combination of these is involved, the amount of funds allocated to each category, the specific purpose for which the allocation is made, the terms of administration of the allocated funds, and any penalties to be imposed upon the applicant organization should it fail to apply or repay the funds in accordance with the agreement.

(3) If the allocation to be approved is a loan, the department and the applicant or applicants shall include in the agreement provisions for repayment to the Water Sustainability Fund of money loaned together with any interest at reasonable rates as established by the commission. The agreement shall further provide that repayment of the loan together with any interest thereon shall commence no later than one full year after construction of the project or implementation of the program or activity is completed and that repayment shall be completed within the time period specified by the commission. The repayment period shall not exceed fifty years, except that the commission may extend the time for making repayment in the event of extreme emergency or hardship. Such agreement shall also provide for such assurances of and security for repayment of the loan as shall be considered necessary by the department.

(4) With the express approval of the commission, an applicant may convey its interest in a program, project, or activity to a successor. The department shall contract with the qualified successor in interest of the original obligor for repayment of the loan together with any interest thereon and for succession to its rights and obligations in any contract with the department.

(5) The state shall have a lien upon a program, project, or activity constructed, improved, or renovated with money from the Water Sustainability Fund for the amount of the loan together with any interest thereon. This lien shall attach to all program, project, or activity facilities, equipment, easements, real property, and property of any kind or nature in which the loan recipient has an interest and which is associated with the program, project, or activity. The department shall file a statement of the lien, its amount, terms, and a description of the program, project, or activity with the register of deeds of each county in which the program, project, or activity or any part thereof is located. The register of deeds shall record the lien, and it shall be indexed as other liens are required by law to be indexed. The lien shall be valid until paid in full or otherwise discharged. The lien shall be foreclosed in accordance with applicable state law governing foreclosure of mortgages and liens. Any lien provided for by this section may be subordinate to that which secures federal assistance or other secured assistance received on the same program, project, or activity.

In order to develop Nebraska's water resources, the department, using the process provided for in subsection (4) of section 2-1509, and with the approval of the commission, may acquire interests in water and related land resources projects in the name of the state utilizing the Water Sustainability Fund. Such use of the fund shall be made when the public benefits obtained from the projects or a part thereof are statewide in nature and when associated costs are determined to be more appropriately financed by other than a local organization. Such use of the fund may be made upon the determination by the department and the commission that such acquisition is appropriate under sections 2-1506 to 2-1513. The department, with the approval of the commission, may also acquire interests in water resource projects in the name of the state to meet future demands for usable water. Such water resource projects may include, but not be limited to, the construction of dams and reservoirs to provide surplus water storage capacity for municipal and industrial water demands and for other projects to assure an adequate quantity of usable water. In furtherance of these goals, the department may contract with the federal government or any of its agencies or departments for the inclusion of additional water supply storage space behind existing or proposed structures.

The Appropriations Committee of the Legislature shall, beginning with the FY2023-25 biennial budget review process, conduct a biennial analysis of the financial status of the Water Sustainability Fund, including a review of the committed and uncommitted balance of the fund and the financial impact of pending programs, projects, or activities. The committee shall base its recommendation for transfers to the Water Sustainability Fund upon information provided in the review process.

The department shall maintain and administer a data bank in the field of soil and water resources in the State of Nebraska. The collection of basic data and necessary interpretations of these data in the area of soil and water resources by agencies, departments, and political subdivisions of the State of Nebraska shall not be affected by this section. Such data and necessary interpretations of them shall be made available to the department for inclusion in the data bank when published or earlier if deemed by the originator to be suitable for inclusion. The source of data shall be identified in the data bank and when appropriate shall be associated with subsequent publication or other use. Processing and interpretation of the basic data shall be carried out by the department, except that this section does not preclude the independent processing and interpretation of such data by the collecting agency or other agencies. The resources of the data bank shall be made available to all interested agencies and persons.

For purposes of section 2-1568, basic data means recorded observations, calculations, or other information concerning: (1) Climatological, meteorological, hydrologic, hydraulic, topographic, and geologic conditions and phenomena, including soils and land use, as these relate to or affect surface and ground water resources, developed water supplies, water demands, and hydraulic structures; (2) occurrence, quantity, and quality of surface water resources, including variations with time, both short term and long range; (3) occurrence, quantity, and quality of ground water resources, including variations with time, natural and artificial recharge, natural and artificial disposal, and information as to the hydraulic characteristics of underground aquifers and reservoirs; (4) sediment production, transport, and disposition; (5) biologic data for streams, lakes, and reservoirs; (6) water rights; (7) occurrence, types, locations, and amounts of consumptive and nonconsumptive uses and demands for water, including diversions and extractions therefor, and variations over time; (8) occurrence, quantity, and quality of waste discharges and return flows, and variations thereof over time; (9) locations, characteristics, and operational criteria of works constructed to store, replenish, regulate, divert, extract, transport, distribute, protect, and improve surface and ground water resources; (10) project and facility operation data; (11) demographic data; and (12) economic and fiscal information.

Sections 2-1575 to 2-1585 shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Act.

The Legislature recognizes and hereby declares that it is the public policy of this state to properly conserve, protect, and utilize the water and related land resources of the state, to better utilize surface waters and available precipitation, to encourage ground water recharge to protect the state's dwindling ground water supply, to protect the quality of surface water and ground water resources, and to reduce soil erosion and sediment damages. The Legislature further declares that it is in the public interest of this state to financially assist in encouraging water and related land resource conservation and protection measures on privately owned land and that this will produce long-term benefits for the general public.

(1) There is hereby created the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund to be administered by the department. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund such money as is (a) appropriated to the fund by the Legislature, (b) paid to the state as fees, deposits, payments, and repayments relating to the fund, both principal and interest, and (c) donated as gifts, bequests, or other contributions to such fund from public or private entities. Funds made available by any agency of the United States may also be credited to such fund if so directed by such agency.

(2) The money in the fund shall not be subject to any fiscal-year limitation or lapse provision of unexpended balance at the end of any such fiscal year or biennium. Transfers may be made from the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature.

(3) Any money in the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The commission shall adopt and promulgate appropriate rules and regulations necessary for the administration of the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, expenditures may be made from the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund as grants to individual landowners of not to exceed seventy-five percent of the actual cost of eligible projects and practices for soil and water conservation or water quality protection, with priority given to those projects and practices providing the greatest number of public benefits.

(2) The department shall reserve at least two percent of the funds credited to the fund for grants to landowners ordered by a natural resources district pursuant to the Erosion and Sediment Control Act to install permanent soil and water conservation practices. Such funds shall be made available for ninety percent of the actual cost of the required practices and shall be granted on a first-come, first-served basis until exhausted. Applications not served shall receive priority in ensuing fiscal years.

(3) The commission shall determine which specific projects and practices are eligible for the funding assistance authorized by this section and shall adopt, by reference or otherwise, appropriate standards and specifications for carrying out such projects and practices. A natural resources district assisting the department in the administration of the program may, with commission approval, further limit the types of projects and practices eligible for funding assistance in that district.

(4) As a condition for receiving any cost-share funds pursuant to this section, the landowner shall be required to enter into an agreement that if a conservation practice is terminated or a project is removed, altered, or modified so as to lessen its effectiveness, without prior approval of the department or its delegated agent, for a period of ten years after the date of receiving payment, the landowner shall refund to the fund any public funds used for the practice or project. When deemed necessary by the department or its delegated agent, the landowner may as a further condition for receiving such funds be required to grant a right of access for the operation and maintenance of any eligible project constructed with such assistance. Acceptance of money from the fund shall not in any other manner be construed as affecting land ownership rights unless the landowner voluntarily surrenders such rights.

(5) To the extent feasible, the department and the commission shall administer the fund so that federal funds available within the state for the same general purposes are supplemented and not replaced with state funds.

Payments may be made from the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund to owners of private land which is being converted to urban use for the purpose of controlling erosion and sediment loss from construction and development. As a condition for receiving any funds pursuant to this section, the landowner shall agree in writing that the erosion and sediment control practices will be installed prior to the land-disturbing activity, when possible, and that the practices will be adequately maintained or replaced at the landowner's expense until ninety-five percent of the site is permanently stabilized. Payments made pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with and conditional upon such terms as are established by the commission. Such terms may be different from those established by section 2-1579 for payments relating to other types of projects and practices.

Payments may be made from the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund to the owners of private land for the purpose of adopting or implementing practices or measures to reduce the consumptive use of water in river basins in which an interstate agreement, compact, or decree could require reduction in water usage.

Payments made pursuant to this section may be made as part of research, cost-sharing, or other programs implemented by natural resources districts, irrigation districts, or other entities to develop incentive-based practices or measures to reduce the consumptive use of water.

Payments made pursuant to this section shall be in accordance with terms and conditions established by the commission. The commission may establish terms and conditions for receipt of payments under this section which are different than those established for receipt of payments pursuant to section 2-1579.

Expenditures may be made from the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund to individual landowners as land diversion payments for the purpose of encouraging alternate cropping patterns which, when implemented, will assure a longer conservation practice construction period. No such payments shall be made until the intended projects or practices have been completed.

The department may request and utilize assistance in the administration of the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund from natural resources districts, from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, and from any other appropriate local, state, or federal agencies. Such assistance may include accepting and approving applications for funds and designing, laying out, and certifying the proper completion of projects and practices.

If the commission determines that more effective soil and water conservation or water quality protection could be achieved if financial assistance from the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Fund were available for multiyear implementation of comprehensive conservation plans, the department may enter into long-term agreements with landowners for such purposes. Such long-term agreements shall be for a term not to exceed ten years and shall specify the eligible projects and practices to be installed and applied, the year of intended installation, and the estimated cost of each such project or practice. Such agreements shall also provide that financial assistance in any year of the agreement be subject to the appropriation of adequate funds by the Legislature and may provide that priority shall be given to funding such projects and practices over those not identified in other long-term agreements and over those identified in more recently executed long-term agreements. The department shall not in any biennium approve any long-term agreements which would cause the total of then existing state obligations under all such agreements to exceed the amount of new funds appropriated for that biennium.

The Legislature finds that it is a public purpose of the state to properly develop the water and related land resources of the state and that it is in the public interest (1) to provide financial assistance to programs and projects essential to the development, preservation, and maintenance of the state's water and related land resources, including programs and projects for the (a) abatement of pollution, (b) reduction of potential flood damages, (c) reservation of lands for resource development projects, (d) provision of public irrigation facilities, (e) preservation and development of fish and wildlife resources, (f) protection and improvement of public lands, (g) provision of public outdoor recreation lands and facilities, (h) provision and preservation of the waters of the state for all beneficial uses, including domestic, agricultural, and manufacturing uses, (i) conservation of land resources, and (j) protection of the health, safety, and general welfare of the people, and (2) to provide financial assistance to natural resources districts in the preparation of management plans pursuant to section 46-709.

(1) There is hereby created the Nebraska Resources Development Fund to be administered by the department. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund, to carry out sections 2-1586 to 2-1595, such money as is (a) appropriated to or transferred into the fund by the Legislature, (b) paid to the state as fees, deposits, payments, and repayments relating to the fund, both principal and interest, and (c) donated as gifts, bequests, or other contributions to such fund from public or private entities. Funds made available by any department or agency of the United States may also be credited to this fund if so directed by such department or agency. The money in the fund shall not be subject to any fiscal year or biennium limitation requiring reappropriation of the unexpended balance at the end of the fiscal year or biennium. Transfers may be made from the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature.

(2) To aid in the funding of projects and to prevent excessive fluctuations in appropriation requirements for the Nebraska Resources Development Fund, the department shall create a reserve fund to be used only for projects requiring total expenditures from the Nebraska Resources Development Fund in excess of five million dollars. Unless disapproved by the Governor, the department may credit to such reserve fund that portion of any appropriation to the Nebraska Resources Development Fund which exceeds five million dollars. The department may also credit to the reserve fund such other funds as it determines are available.

(3) Any money in the Nebraska Resources Development Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) No money in the Nebraska Resources Development Fund may be reallocated by the commission in accordance with sections 2-1586 to 2-1595 for utilization by the department, by any state office, agency, board, or commission, or by any political subdivision of the state which has the authority to develop the state's water and related land resources after March 30, 2014. The commission may commit appropriated funds to projects approved as of March 30, 2014, not to exceed amounts specifically allocated to such projects prior to March 30, 2014, unless specific appropriations or transfers to exceed the March 30, 2014, allocation amounts are approved by the Legislature. If such specific appropriations or transfers are made, the commission shall develop procedures to allocate the additional funding to projects approved as of March 30, 2014. Allocations shall not exceed funds appropriated for such purpose. Any of such funds remaining after all such project costs have been completely funded shall be transferred to the Water Sustainability Fund by the State Treasurer. Prior to March 30, 2014, the Nebraska Resources Development Fund may be allocated in the form of grants or loans or for acquiring state interests in water and related land resources programs and projects undertaken within the state. The allocation of funds to a program or project in one form shall not of itself preclude additional allocations in the same or any other form to the same program or project. Funds may also be allocated to assist natural resources districts in the preparation of management plans as provided in section 46-709. Funds so allocated shall not be subject to sections 2-1589 to 2-1595.

(2) No project, including all related phases, segments, parts, or divisions, shall receive more than ten million dollars from the fund. On July 1 of each year after 1993, the director shall adjust the project cost and payment limitation of this subsection by an amount equal to the average percentage change in a readily available construction cost index for the prior three years.

(3) Prior to September 1 of each even-numbered year, a biennial report shall be made to the Governor and the Clerk of the Legislature describing the work accomplished by the use of such development fund during the immediately preceding two-year period. The report submitted to the Clerk of the Legislature shall be submitted electronically. The report shall include a complete financial statement. Each member of the Legislature shall receive an electronic copy of such report upon making a request to the director.

(1) The commission shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations governing the administration of the Nebraska Resources Development Fund. The commission may make an allocation from the fund as a grant to an agency or political subdivision if the commission determines that such an allocation will not be reimbursed from revenue or receipts and when the program or project appears to be of general public benefit, thereby making reimbursement of such money from local tax funds inappropriate or impossible, or when the funds are intended for a state or local contribution to a program or project requiring such contribution to meet the requirements for a matching federal grant.

(2) The commission may make an allocation from the fund as a loan to an agency or political subdivision for any program or project or any part thereof consistent with the purposes of the fund which will directly generate revenue or receipts, which can be anticipated to culminate in a program or project which will generate revenue or receipts, or which would not generate revenue or receipts but would be of general public benefit to the applicant making repayment from local tax funds appropriate.

In order to develop Nebraska's land and water resources, the department, with the approval of the commission, may acquire interests in water and related land resources projects in the name of the state utilizing the Nebraska Resources Development Fund. Such use of the fund shall be made when the public benefits obtained from the project or a part thereof are statewide in nature and when associated costs are determined to be more appropriately financed by other than a local organization. Such use of the fund may be made upon the determination by the department and the commission that such acquisition is appropriate under sections 2-1586 to 2-1595 and may be initiated upon a request filed in accordance with section 2-1593 or by the department itself without such a request. The department, with the approval of the commission, may also acquire interests in water resource projects in the name of the state to meet future demands for usable water. Such resource projects may include, but not be limited to, the construction of dams and reservoirs to provide surplus water storage capacity for municipal and industrial water demands and for other projects to assure an adequate quantity of usable water. In furtherance of these goals the department may contract with the federal government or any of its agencies or departments for the inclusion of additional water supply storage space behind existing or proposed structures.

(1) Any organization qualified to apply for and receive funds from the Nebraska Resources Development Fund may file an application with the department for a grant or loan from such fund. Applications for grants to the department itself shall be filed by the department. Each application shall be filed in such manner and form and be accompanied by such information as may be prescribed by the director and the commission. No applications may be made to receive funds by grant or loan from the Nebraska Resources Development Fund after March 30, 2014.

(2) Any such application shall:

(a) Describe the nature and purpose of the proposed program or project;

(b) Set forth or be accompanied by a plan for development of the proposed program or project, together with engineering, economic, and financial feasibility data and information, and such estimated costs of construction or implementation as may be required by the director and the commission;

(c) State whether money other than that for which the application is made will be used to help in meeting program or project costs and whether such money is available or has been sought for this purpose;

(d) When appropriate, state that the applicant holds or can acquire title to all lands or has the necessary easements and rights-of-way for the project and related lands and has or may acquire all water rights necessary for the proposed project;

(e) Show that the applicant possesses all necessary authority to undertake or participate in the proposed program or project; and

(f) Demonstrate the probable environmental and ecological consequences that may result from such proposed program or project.

(3) Upon receipt of an application, the director shall evaluate and investigate all aspects of the proposed program or project and the proposed schedule for development and completion of such program or project, determine the eligibility of the program or project for funding, and make appropriate recommendations to the commission pursuant to sections 2-1586 to 2-1595. As a part of his or her investigation, the director shall consider whether the plan for development of the program or project is satisfactory. If the director determines that the plan is unsatisfactory or that the application does not contain adequate information upon which to make determinations, the director shall return the application to the applicant and may make such recommendations to the applicant as are considered necessary to make the plan or the application satisfactory.

(4) Requests for utilization of the Nebraska Resources Development Fund for state participation in any water and related land-water resources projects through acquisition of a state interest therein shall also be filed with the department for the director's evaluation, investigation, and recommendations. Such requests shall be filed in the manner and form and be accompanied by such information as shall be prescribed by the department and the commission.

Each program or project for which funding is requested, whether such request has as its origin an application or the action of the department itself, shall be reviewed as provided in sections 2-1586 to 2-1595 by the director prior to the approval of any allocation for such program or project by the commission. The director shall within a reasonable time, not to exceed six months, after receipt of such request report to the commission the results of his or her review and shall recommend approval or rejection of funding for the program or project. The director shall indicate what form of allocation he or she deems to be appropriate. In the case of an approved application recommended for a loan, the commission shall indicate the appropriate repayment period and the rate of interest. The commission shall act in accordance with such recommendations unless action to the contrary is approved by each commission member eligible to vote on the specific recommendation under consideration. No member of the commission shall be eligible to participate in the action of the commission concerning an application for funding to any entity in which such commission member has any interest. The director may be delegated additional responsibilities consistent with the purposes of sections 2-1586 to 2-1595. It shall be the sole responsibility of the commission to determine the priority in which funds are allocated for eligible programs and projects under sections 2-1586 to 2-1595.

The director may recommend approval of and the commission may approve grants or loans for program or project costs or acquisition of interests in projects if after investigation and evaluation the director finds that:

(1) The plan does not conflict with any existing Nebraska state land plan;

(2) The proposed program or project is economically and financially feasible based upon standards adopted by the commission pursuant to sections 2-1586 to 2-1595;

(3) The plan for development of the proposed program or project is satisfactory;

(4) The plan of development minimizes any adverse impacts on the natural environment;

(5) The applicant is qualified, responsible, and legally capable of carrying out the program or project;

(6) In the case of a loan, the borrower has demonstrated the ability to repay the loan and there is assurance of adequate operation, maintenance, and replacement during the repayment life of the project;

(7) The plan considers other plans and programs of the state in accordance with section 84-135 and resources development plans of the political subdivisions of the state; and

(8) The money required from the Nebraska Resources Development Fund is available.

The director and staff of the department shall carry out their powers and duties under sections 2-1586 to 2-1595 independently of and without prejudice to their powers and duties under other provisions of law.

(1) If after review of the recommendation by the director the commission determines that an application for a grant, loan, acquisition of an interest, or combination thereof pursuant to sections 2-1586 to 2-1595 is satisfactory and qualified to be approved, before the final approval of such application may be given and the funds allocated, the department shall enter into an agreement in the name of the state with the applicant agency or organization and with any other organizations it deems to be involved in the program or project to which funds shall be applied. The department shall also enter into such agreements as are appropriate before allocation of any funds for the acquisition of interest in any qualified project when such acquisition is initiated by the department itself pursuant to section 2-1590. All agreements entered into pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, a specification of the amount of funds involved, whether the funds are considered as a grant, loan, or for the acquisition of an interest in the name of the state, and, if a combination of these is involved, the amount of funds allocated to each category, the specific purpose for which the allocation is made, the terms of administration of the allocated funds, and any penalties to be imposed upon the applicant organization should it fail to apply or repay the funds in accordance with the agreement.

(2) If the allocation to be approved is a loan, the department and the applicant or applicants shall include in the agreement provisions for repayment to the Nebraska Resources Development Fund of money loaned together with any interest at reasonable rates as established by the commission. The agreement shall further provide that repayment of the loan together with any interest thereon shall commence no later than one full year after construction of the project is completed and that repayment shall be completed within the time period specified by the commission. The repayment period shall not exceed fifty years, except that the commission may extend the time for making repayment in the event of extreme emergency or hardship. Such agreement shall also provide for such assurances of and security for repayment of the loan as shall be considered necessary by the department.

(3) With the express approval of the commission, an applicant may convey its interest in a project to a successor. The department shall contract with the qualified successor in interest of the original obligor for repayment of the loan together with any interest thereon and for succession to its rights and obligations in any contract with the department.

(4) The state shall have a lien upon a project constructed, improved, or renovated with money from the fund for the amount of the loan together with any interest thereon. This lien shall attach to all project facilities, equipment, easements, real property, and property of any kind or nature in which the loan recipient has an interest and which is associated with the project. The department shall file a statement of the lien, its amount, terms, and a description of the project with the county register of deeds of each county in which the project or any part thereof is located. The county register of deeds shall record the lien and it shall be indexed as other liens are required by law to be indexed. The lien shall be valid until paid in full or otherwise discharged. The lien shall be foreclosed in accordance with applicable state law governing foreclosure of mortgages and liens. Any lien provided for by this section may be subordinate to that which secures federal assistance or other secured assistance received on the same project.

The Legislature finds that an accelerated completion of modern soil surveys will be an asset to the State of Nebraska and good for the general welfare of the citizens of the state. The Legislature further finds that the completion of modern soil surveys can be most appropriately accomplished by accelerating, in a manner deemed appropriate by the department, state financial input into the combined state and federal effort currently being conducted cooperatively by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture and the Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska. It is therefor the intent of this Legislature to embark upon an accelerated program for the completion of Nebraska's modern soil surveys and to recommend that the State of Nebraska and the Legislature appropriate the funds necessary to carry out this accelerated program during the years required for its completion.

The Nebraska Soil Survey Fund is created. The State Treasurer shall credit to such fund for the uses and purposes of sections 2-1596 to 2-1598 such money as is specifically appropriated, and such funds, fees, donations, gifts, services, devises, or bequests of real or personal property received by the department from any source, federal, state, public or private, to be used by the department for the purposes of accelerating the completion of modern soil surveys. The department shall allocate money from the fund for the purposes of sections 2-1596 to 2-1598. The Director of Administrative Services, upon receipt of proper vouchers approved by the department, shall issue warrants on such fund, and the State Treasurer shall countersign and pay from, but not in excess of, the amounts to the credit of such fund.

The Nebraska Soil Survey Fund shall be expended by contractual agreement with the Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska for the purposes of accelerating the program of modern soil survey throughout the state in such manner as the department deems proper and necessary.

In order to provide for the effective conservation and management of Nebraska's water resources, the Legislature hereby endorses the concept of a state water planning and review process. The purpose of this planning process shall be to coordinate and direct the planning efforts of the state agencies and university divisions with responsibilities and interest in the water resources field. This interagency planning process shall be designed to: (1) Provide the Legislature and the citizens of Nebraska with information and alternative methods of addressing important water policy issues and areawide or statewide water resources problems; (2) provide coordinated interagency reviews of proposed local, state, and federal water resources programs and projects; (3) develop and maintain the data, information, and analysis capabilities necessary to provide state agencies and other water interests with a support base for water planning and management activities; (4) provide the state with the capacity to plan and design water resources projects; and (5) conduct any other planning activities necessary to protect and promote the interests of the state and its citizens in the water resources of Nebraska.

The state water planning and review process shall be conducted under the guidance and general supervision of the director. The director shall be assisted in the state water planning and review process by the Game and Parks Commission, the Department of Agriculture, the Governor's Policy Research Office, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Environment and Energy, the Water Center of the University of Nebraska, and the Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska. In addition, the director may obtain assistance from any private individual, organization, political subdivision, or agency of the state or federal government.

Appropriations may be made to the department for all or part of the costs incurred by agencies other than the department in conducting the state water planning and review process. The state budget administrator shall create a separate budget program within each agency that is to receive a portion of such appropriations. To properly account for such funds, recipients shall submit to the department, in the form prescribed by the department, documentation of all costs incurred in rendering services determined by the department to be eligible for reimbursement.

The commission shall provide the director and the Legislature upon request with the opinion of the general public and various water interests in the state. It is the intent of the Legislature that the commission consider the different opinions of the individual members but, as a body, it shall provide the director with input and comments on state water planning and review process activities as they relate to the overall use of Nebraska's water resources. The functions of the commission shall include providing upon request advice and assistance in the planning process by: (1) Identifying legislative and administrative policy issues; (2) developing and reviewing alternative solutions for legislative and administrative policy problems, including impact assessment; (3) recommending the types of problems needing analysis and where such problems are located or likely to be located; (4) disseminating information and materials generated by the planning process to the public; (5) determining the conditions under which and the methods by which additional public input is to be obtained; and (6) reviewing and commenting on reports produced through the planning process.

It is the intent of the Legislature that the public have maximum input into the formulation of state water policy. The director shall conduct one or more public hearings prior to the completion of any recommendations to the Legislature on methods of addressing water policy issues. All materials produced as part of the state water planning and review process shall be available to interested persons and groups upon request. The department or other agency providing such material may make a charge therefor which does not exceed the actual cost of providing the same.

On or before September 15 for each odd-numbered year and on or before the date provided in subsection (1) of section 81-132 for each even-numbered year, the director shall submit an annual report and plan of work for the state water planning and review process to the Legislature and Governor. The report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted electronically. The report shall include a listing of expenditures for the past fiscal year, a summary and analysis of work completed in the past fiscal year, funding requirements for the next fiscal year, and a projection and analysis of work to be completed and estimated funding requirements for such work for the next succeeding four years. The explanation of future funding requirements shall include an explanation of the proposed use of such funds and the anticipated results of the expenditure of such funds. The report shall, to the extent possible, identify such information as it affects each agency or other recipient of program funds. The explanation of future funding requirements shall be in a form suitable for providing an explanation of that portion of the budget request pertaining to the state water planning and review process.

There is hereby created the Natural Resources Water Quality Fund. The State Treasurer shall credit to the fund for the uses and purposes of section 2-15,123 such money as is specifically appropriated, such funds, fees, donations, gifts, services, or devises or bequests of real or personal property received by the department from any source, federal, state, public, or private, to be used by the department for the purpose of funding programs listed in subsection (2) of section 2-15,123, and such money credited under sections 2-2634, 2-2638, and 2-2641. The department shall allocate money from the fund pursuant to section 2-15,123. The fund shall be exempt from provisions relating to lapsing of appropriations, and the unexpended and unencumbered balance existing in the fund on June 30 each year shall be reappropriated, except that transfers may be made from the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature. Any money in the Natural Resources Water Quality Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) The Natural Resources Water Quality Fund shall be allocated by contractual agreement with natural resources districts for the purpose of funding programs listed in subsection (2) of this section. A natural resources district receiving an allocation shall provide a one hundred fifty percent match of district funds. The initial allocations each fiscal year shall be made by the department, based on needs of individual natural resources districts relative to needs of other districts, to districts which have qualifying programs. The director shall have sole discretion to decide whether a district's program qualifies for funding pursuant to this section. The unused allocations may be reallocated to another district if the director determines that one or more districts cannot reasonably be expected to use their full allocation for that fiscal year. The commission shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to administer the Natural Resources Water Quality Fund.

(2) The fund shall be allocated to natural resources districts for programs related to water quality, including, but not limited to:

(a) Natural resources districts' water quality programs;

(b) Natural resources districts' illegal water wells decommissioning programs;

(c) Inspections by natural resources districts conducted pursuant to the Nebraska Chemigation Act;

(d) Source water protection programs undertaken by natural resources districts;

(e) Purchases of special equipment required by natural resources districts in management areas and control areas formed pursuant to the Nebraska Ground Water Management and Protection Act; and

(f) Application of soil and water conservation practices.

In order to aid in diffusing among the people of Nebraska useful and practical information on subjects relating to agriculture, home economics, and rural life and to encourage the application of the same, there may be inaugurated, in each of the several counties of the State of Nebraska, extension work which shall be carried on in cooperation with the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the United States Department of Agriculture as provided in the Act of Congress of May 8, 1914.

Cooperative extension work shall consist of the giving of practical demonstrations in agriculture and home economics and imparting information on such subjects through field and home demonstrations, 4-H clubs, public meetings, publications, and otherwise. The work shall be carried on in each county under the direction of the executive board of the extension organization in the county in such manner as may be mutually agreed upon by the executive board of such county provided for in section 2-1603 and the Regents of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, through their duly appointed extension representatives.

For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 2-1601 to 2-1608, there may be created in each county or combination of counties within the State of Nebraska an organization to be created in the following manner: Whenever a number of farm operators of a county or counties effect an organization for doing extension work in agriculture and home economics, adopt a constitution and bylaws as are not inconsistent with the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Nebraska, and are recognized by the extension service as the official body within the county or counties for carrying on extension work in agriculture and home economics within the county or counties, such organization may make such regulations and bylaws for its government and the carrying on of its work as are not inconsistent with the provisions of such sections, except that for the purposes of such sections only one such organization shall be recognized in any one county or counties so affiliated. Any farm operator or spouse of a farm operator who is a legal voter in the county may at any time petition the county board to appropriate a sum of money from the general fund of the county, as provided by section 2-1604, for the purpose of employing and maintaining a county agricultural agent and for carrying out generally the purposes as expressed in sections 2-1601 and 2-1602. It shall be understood that for each family operating a farm, there shall be only one person whose name shall be counted in judging the sufficiency of such petition. When any farm operator or spouse of a farm operator has so petitioned the county board, both spouses shall be deemed members of the county extension organization provided for in sections 2-1601 to 2-1603 and shall be entitled to all voting and participating rights thereto.

If on or before September 1 of any even-numbered year a petition is filed with the county clerk containing the names of twenty percent or more of the farm operators of any county, as determined by the last available federal census, asking the submission to the voters of the question of whether county funds should be appropriated for the continuance or support of county agricultural extension work in the county on January 1 after the filing of the petition, the clerk of the county shall place upon the ballot at the election following the filing of the petition the question, Shall an appropriation be made annually from the general fund of the county for the support of agricultural extension work? Yes ... No ...

If a majority of the votes cast on this question are opposed to such appropriation, the county board shall deny the appropriation. If a majority of the votes cast on this question are in favor of the appropriation, the county board may annually set aside in the general fund of the county an amount equal to the county extension budget established under section 2-1606 or 2-1607. Such amount shall not exceed thirty thousand dollars or an amount equal to a levy of two and one-tenth cents on each one hundred dollars upon the taxable value of all the taxable property in such county, whichever is the greater. As claims are approved by the board of directors or by a joint board established pursuant to section 2-1607 and filed with the county clerk, the county board may order warrants to be drawn upon the general fund of the county in payment of such claims. In counties where extension work is being conducted in accordance with sections 2-1110 to 2-1117, C.S.Supp., 1937, which sections have been repealed, the county board may continue to appropriate funds for the continuance of extension work until such support is denied by vote as provided for in this section. If any county has an organization recognized as the sponsoring organization for extension work by the director of extension service within a county not then receiving a county appropriation and can show on August 1 of any odd-numbered year that it has a membership of not less than twenty-five percent of the farm operators of the county included within the organization as petitioners and members, the county board of commissioners or supervisors may appropriate funds for extension work within that county for one year and the county clerk shall submit the question of continued support at the next general election.

In sections 2-1601 to 2-1608 the term farm operator shall mean any person who actually manages, and either by his or her own or other's labor, operates a tract of agricultural land of not less than three acres, and whose name appears on the tax rolls of the county as owning property or equipment such as might be used in operating such tract of agricultural land. The number of farmers in a county shall be determined by the report of the last federal census.

The president and secretary of the organization shall on or before January 1 of each year file with the county clerk (1) a report of their work during the preceding year; (2) a sworn itemized statement of expenditures under sections 2-1601 to 2-1608 during the preceding year; and (3) a budget or estimate of the funds necessary for the carrying on of such work in the county during the ensuing year.

(1) Whenever two or more counties which have complied with the provisions of sections 2-1601 to 2-1608 desire to unite for the purpose of continuance, support, and management of extension work, they may do so. The participating county organizations shall form a joint board to direct combined extension work in the participating counties and annually select a president and a secretary. The joint board shall each year establish a combined annual budget for such extension work, and each participating county shall pay its proportionate share of expenses under each combined annual budget as such share of expenses shall be determined by the joint board, except that the share of annual expenses to be paid by a participating county shall not exceed the maximum annual extension budget authorized for it under section 2-1604. The participating counties shall be recognized as but one organization for state and federal aid.

(2) The president and secretary of the joint board shall on or before January 1 of each year file with the county clerk of each participating county (a) a report of the combined extension work of the participating counties for the preceding year, (b) a sworn statement of itemized expenditures under sections 2-1601 to 2-1608 during the preceding year, and (c) the extension budget for each participating county which shall be the amount to be set aside in the general fund of each participating county to pay its proportionate share of the expenses of the combined extension work during the ensuing year.

Whenever two or more county extension organizations have united as provided in section 2-1607 for the purpose of support and management of extension work, county extension employees jointly employed by the participating extension organizations shall be considered persons employed by a county for the purpose of subdivision (10) of section 23-2301 and shall participate in the Retirement System for Nebraska Counties under the County Employees Retirement Act. To accomplish such participation, the participating county extension organizations shall (1) pick up employee contributions as salary deductions on behalf of such county extension employees in the manner required for a county in section 23-2307 and (2) pay to the Public Employees Retirement Board or an entity designated by the board an amount in accordance with the provisions of section 23-2308. In all other respects the participation of such county extension employees in the retirement system shall be in accordance with the act.

Sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 may be cited as the Nebraska Potato Development Act.

There is hereby established a Division of Potato Development in the Department of Agriculture. The Director of Agriculture shall appoint the division head and any assistants as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the Nebraska Potato Development Act.

With the exception of the ex officio member, the Governor shall appoint an advisory committee to be known as the Nebraska Potato Development Committee. The committee shall be composed of three shippers and four growers from the industry and the vice chancellor of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources who shall be an ex officio member. The Director of Agriculture shall be the chairperson. The committee shall adopt and provide rules and regulations for the conduct of the affairs of the Division of Potato Development and advise the director regarding the appointment of the division head and any assistants as may be appointed. The members of the committee shall serve without pay but shall receive expenses incurred while on official business as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177. As the terms of office of such appointees expire, successors shall be appointed by the Governor for a period of two years and until their successors are appointed and qualified.

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Nebraska to protect and foster the health, prosperity, and general welfare of its people by conserving, developing, and promoting the state's potato industry. The Department of Agriculture shall be the agency of the State of Nebraska for such purpose. In connection therewith and in furtherance thereof, such department shall have the power, among other things, to: (1) Adopt and devise a program of education to promote better practices and methods in the production, storage, grading, and transportation of potatoes grown within the state; (2) disseminate information to landowners and to producers and shippers of potatoes that will enable them to increase the yield and improve the quality of potatoes; (3) undertake, at such times and in such manner as the department shall determine, an active advertising campaign to acquaint the general public with the high quality and the desirability of the use of potatoes grown in the State of Nebraska; (4) encourage and foster research designed to determine new and better methods of improving the yield and quality of Nebraska potatoes and of converting potatoes to various commercial and industrial uses; (5) enter into such contracts as may be necessary in carrying out the purposes of the Nebraska Potato Development Act and the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act; (6) pay inspection and grading fees prescribed by the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act; and (7) conduct, in addition to the things enumerated, any other work for the improvement of Nebraska potatoes.

After sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 shall have been in effect thirty days, it shall be unlawful for any person to act as or conduct the business of a potato shipper without having obtained and being the holder of a license from the Department of Agriculture as hereinafter provided.

Every person desiring to engage in business as a potato shipper shall file with the Department of Agriculture an application for a license in such form and detail as the department may prescribe. If it is found that there has been compliance with the provisions of sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 and the rules and regulations of the department issued in conformance therewith, a license shall forthwith be issued to the applicant. Every person who engages in business as a potato shipper without having a license shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor. Each licensed potato shipper shall display conspicuously in his place of business the license granted to him. Should the licensed potato shipper change his place of business he shall immediately notify the department. Each licensed potato shipper shall keep such records with respect to shipments of potatoes by him as the department may by regulation require. Such records shall be preserved for a period of not less than two years and be, at all times during business hours, subject to inspection by authorized agents of the department. In the event that a licensed potato shipper shall violate any of the provisions of sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 or the regulations of the department issued in conformance therewith, the department may, upon due notice and after full hearing, cancel and annul his license.

(1) Beginning July 1, 1997, every potato shipper shall render and have on file with the Department of Agriculture by the last day of July an annual statement under oath, on forms prescribed by the department, which shall set forth the number of pounds of potatoes grown in Nebraska which were sold or shipped by him or her during the preceding fiscal year beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30. For every potato shipper who was required to file an annual statement for calendar year 1996, a short period statement covering January 1, 1997, through June 30, 1997, shall be filed and the excise taxes paid by July 31, 1997, as required by this section. For every potato shipper who was required to file a quarterly statement for the period of January 1, 1997, through March 31, 1997, a final quarterly statement covering April 1, 1997, through June 30, 1997, shall be filed and the excise taxes paid by July 31, 1997, as required by this section. At the time the sworn statement is filed and in connection therewith, each such potato shipper shall pay and remit to the department an excise tax of not to exceed two cents per one hundred pounds upon the potatoes shown in such statement to have been sold, which tax is hereby levied and imposed. The tax shall be set in the manner prescribed in subsection (3) of this section. The department shall transmit to the State Treasurer all money, checks, drafts, or other mediums of exchange thus received. The department shall have authority to adjust all errors in making payment. Any such potato shipper who shall neglect or refuse to file such statement, or to pay the tax herein imposed, within the time prescribed, shall be guilty of a Class IV misdemeanor. No potatoes shall be subject to tax more than once under the Nebraska Potato Development Act.

(2) All excise taxes imposed by this section are delinquent on August 1 of the year due. The department shall impose an additional administrative fee of five percent per month of the excise taxes for each month or portion thereof such taxes are delinquent not to exceed one hundred percent of such taxes. The purpose of the additional administrative fee is to cover the administrative costs associated with collecting the excise taxes. All money collected as an additional administrative fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Nebraska Potato Development Fund.

(3) The department shall, upon the recommendation of the committee, have the power to set the excise tax prescribed in subsection (1) of this section. The tax shall be one cent per one hundred pounds from July 19, 1980, until adjusted by the department. Adjusted rates shall be effective for periods of not less than one year. The applicable rate of the excise tax shall be prescribed in rules and regulations adopted by the department in the manner prescribed by law.

The State Treasurer is hereby directed to establish and set up in the treasury of the State of Nebraska a fund to be known as the Nebraska Potato Development Fund, to which fund shall be credited, for the uses and purposes of the Nebraska Potato Development Act and its enforcement, all taxes and fees collected by the Department of Agriculture. After appropriation, the Director of Administrative Services, upon receipt of proper vouchers approved by the director of the department, shall issue his or her warrants on such funds and the State Treasurer shall pay the same out of the money credited to the fund. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

The Department of Agriculture shall have authority to promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to promptly and effectively enforce the provisions of sections 2-1801 to 2-1811. The department may call upon the Attorney General of Nebraska for legal assistance. All criminal actions for the violation of any provisions of sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 shall be prosecuted by the Attorney General. It shall be the duty of the department to immediately report to the Attorney General any information coming into its possession concerning any violation of sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 or the failure or refusal of any person to comply therewith.

As used in the Nebraska Potato Development Act:

(1) Person shall mean and include any natural person, firm, partnership, limited liability company, association, or corporation;

(2) Potato shipper shall mean and include any person engaged in the business of shipping potatoes who, in any calendar year, sells one hundred eighty thousand pounds of potatoes grown in Nebraska, including potato growers who sell one hundred eighty thousand pounds of potatoes not through licensed shippers and any person who utilizes for any purpose in any calendar year one hundred eighty thousand pounds of potatoes grown in Nebraska not purchased from licensed shippers;

(3) Potato grower shall mean the actual grower within the State of Nebraska of at least three acres of potatoes during the crop year; and

(4) Department shall mean the Department of Agriculture.

Any person violating any of the provisions of sections 2-1801 to 2-1811 shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor.

Section 2-1807 and subdivision (2) of section 2-1810 shall not apply to the shipping or utilizing of seed potatoes grown in Nebraska and planted in the state by the grower or shipper.

Sections 2-1813 to 2-1825 may be cited as the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act.

As used in sections 2-1813 to 2-1825, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Department shall mean the Department of Agriculture;

(2) Director shall mean the Director of Agriculture;

(3) Nebraska Potato Development Committee shall mean the advisory committee established by section 2-1803;

(4) Commercial potato growing area shall mean a geographic area in which potatoes are produced and offered for sale in commercial quantities;

(5) Commercial shipment shall mean any potatoes shipped in commerce or processed and destined for human consumption, and noncertified seed potatoes shipped out of the state;

(6) Commercial potato acreage shall mean a potato field of three acres or more; and

(7) Preceding crop year shall mean the last calendar year for which official acreage statistics have been compiled by the state-federal division of agricultural statistics.

The provisions of sections 2-1813 to 2-1825 shall not include seed potatoes officially designated by law as Nebraska Certified.

Any person, for the purpose of obtaining information relative to the cost of potato inspection and grading services for a designated area, may request in writing that an estimate be prepared by the director of the costs of such a service. The director may consult with the Nebraska Potato Development Committee to establish an estimated inspection fee based upon the inspector's salary, mileage and other travel expenses, cost of inspection certificates, and other necessary expenses to cover the inspection service and the administration thereof.

To establish compulsory inspection of commercial shipments of potatoes in a designated area, a petition, signed by potato growers representing fifty-one percent or more of the commercial potato acreage of the last preceding crop year, with an estimate of inspection costs attached, may be presented to the director requesting that all commercial shipments of potatoes originating in the designated area be officially inspected and graded by the department at the point of origin or at locations approved by the director. The director shall fix a time and place for hearing on the petition and shall publish notice thereof in a newspaper having general circulation in the area designated in the petition for three consecutive weeks. At the time and place established by such notice, the director or his or her designate shall hold a public hearing upon the petition at which time evidence will be taken in support of or in opposition to the petition. If the evidence reveals that potato growers representing fifty-one percent or more of the commercial potato acreage of the last preceding crop year are in favor of the compulsory program set forth in the petition request, the director shall enter an order establishing compulsory inspection of commercial shipments of potatoes in the area designated in the petition. A petition to terminate compulsory inspection, signed by potato growers representing fifty-one percent or more of the commercial potato acreage of the last preceding crop year, may be filed with the director at any time and such petition shall be set for public hearing in the manner aforesaid. If the director finds from the evidence submitted at such hearing to terminate inspection services that the petition to terminate represents fifty-one percent or more of the commercial potato acreage of the last preceding crop year, he or she shall enter an order declaring that compulsory potato inspection is terminated. In order to determine the commercial potato acreage of the last preceding crop year, the director shall use the tabulated crop acreage reports of the county assessors, compiled by the state-federal division of agricultural statistics.

A petition filed pursuant to section 2-1816 shall be prima facie evidence that (1) it has been properly circulated, (2) the signatures thereon are genuine, (3) the signatures thereon reflect the correct representation of the number of acres specified, (4) the land described therein was devoted to potato production in the last preceding crop year, (5) such petition represents fifty-one percent or more of the commercial acreage in the area designated therein, and (6) each and every other allegation contained therein is true. Any fact contained therein may be rebutted at the hearing before the director.

The director is empowered to make all arrangements to implement the inspection service or terminate existing inspection service following entry of an order establishing or terminating such services and to this extent he is authorized to appoint persons or designate agents as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the department and to expend such funds as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of sections 2-1813 to 2-1825. The director may require that all persons assigned to inspection and grading duties possess a federal potato inspector's license.

The director may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions, purposes, and intent of sections 2-1813 to 2-1825; and is authorized to cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture, the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and other public or private agencies or groups and to enter into agreements with the same in carrying out the provisions of sections 2-1813 to 2-1825.

The director may, upon written request of any potato grower, provide for inspection and grading services for commercial shipments of potatoes in areas where compulsory inspection and grading are not in force. In all such cases, the inspection and grading service shall be at the expense of the potato grower requesting the same and shall be determined in the manner prescribed in section 2-1816.

An official certificate evidencing official inspection and designating the grade of potatoes inspected shall be issued by the appointed inspector or agent of the director to the person or persons for whom the inspection and grading service was completed. All inspections shall be made on the basis of the official grades established from time to time by the United States Department of Agriculture and such additional grades as may be duly adopted by the director; Provided, that when United States grades are used, they shall conform in all respects to the requirements and standards prescribed by the United States Department of Agriculture.

Any person having a direct financial interest, who is dissatisfied with the grade established by inspection under the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act, may appeal to the director in writing for reinspection. Such appeal shall be made within ten days after inspection and before shipment of the inspected potatoes. Upon receipt of such appeal, the director shall cause a reinspection to be completed to determine the grade in dispute, and upon completion of the reinspection, he or she shall make known his or her findings to all persons having a direct financial interest. All parties shall be bound by the findings following the reinspection. In the event that the reinspection does not determine a new or different grade, all costs of the reinspection shall be paid to the director by the person requesting reinspection. Any official inspection certificate issued as the result of a reinspection shall supersede the original official certificate. The findings may be appealed, and the appeal shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

In any area designated for compulsory inspection and grading by order of the director pursuant to the provisions of sections 2-1813 to 2-1825, special permits may be issued authorizing shipment of uninspected potatoes when an official inspection cannot be made. Application to the director for special permits authorizing shipment must establish an emergency in which delay may cause substantial financial injury to the applicant.

The department may adopt an official Nebraska inspection and grade legend, assign official inspection numbers to persons or establishments under inspection and require that such numbers be exclusive to them, and otherwise control the use of the official Nebraska legend. United States grade designations and authorized legends in connection therewith shall be used in accordance with the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture.

(1) Any person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, or officer or member thereof who (a) destroys or alters any official certificate, (b) ships or attempts to ship any potatoes out of any designated area where compulsory inspection is maintained without first obtaining a special permit or without first complying with section 2-1816, or (c) violates any other provision of the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder for which no specific penalty is provided shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

(2) Any inspector or agent of the director who fails to remit to the department all fees collected in his or her official capacity shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

(3) Any person, firm, corporation, limited liability company, association, or officer or member thereof who forges or counterfeits any official inspection legend or official certificate adopted by the director for use under the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act or who, not being an inspector or appointed agent of the director, attaches any certificate of inspection whether or not forged or counterfeited to any commercial shipment of potatoes shall be guilty of a Class IV felony.

The Nebraska Potato Development Act and the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act shall become one act in two parts with the Nebraska Potato Development Act designated as Part I and the Nebraska Potato Inspection Act designated as Part II thereof and the Revisor of Statutes shall make appropriate changes in the statutes necessitated by such redesignation.

Any agricultural association formed for the purpose of developing and improving some form of agriculture in this state which files with the Secretary of State a copy of its constitution and bylaws, shall be declared a corporation under the name and title designated in such constitution.

Each of such associations shall file with the Secretary of State prior to February 1 of each year an annual statement for the previous calendar year. The statement shall contain (1) a list of its members, (2) names and addresses of its officers, and (3) an itemization of its receipts and disbursements.

Any association formed as provided by section 2-2001 failing to file the annual statement as provided in section 2-2002 shall cease to exist as such.

No fee of any kind shall be required by the Secretary of State for any filings made under sections 2-2001 and 2-2002.

The State of Nebraska hereby accepts the provisions of Public Law 499, enacted by the Eighty-first Congress of the United States, and entitled An Act to provide for the liquidation of the trusts under the transfer agreements with the state rural rehabilitation corporations, and for other purposes. In connection with such acceptance, the State of Nebraska finds and declares that the Nebraska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation has been dissolved.

The State of Nebraska hereby designates the Director of Agriculture as the sole agent to represent the State of Nebraska in the administration of any funds made available under the provisions of the federal act specified in section 2-2101.

The Director of Agriculture, on behalf of the State of Nebraska, is authorized to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, upon such terms and conditions and for such periods of time as may be mutually agreeable, to accept, administer, expend, and use in the State of Nebraska all or any part of the trust assets or any other funds made available under the provisions of the federal act specified in section 2-2101.

The Director of Agriculture, on behalf of the State of Nebraska, is specifically authorized to agree that:

(1) The State of Nebraska and the Director of Agriculture as its agent will abide by the determinations and apportionments of the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States provided for in the federal act specified in section 2-2101 and the payments made by the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant thereto;

(2) The returned assets of the Nebraska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and the income therefrom will be used only for such of the rural rehabilitation purposes permissible under the charter of the Nebraska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation as may from time to time be agreed upon by the Director of Agriculture of Nebraska and the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States; and

(3) The Nebraska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation funds may be distributed to public colleges, universities, or vocational or technical schools exclusively owned and controlled by the State of Nebraska or a governmental subdivision thereof. The agreement may provide for the qualifications of recipients to be benefited by the funds and for the method of their selection, but nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the director from agreeing to any other reasonable provisions in such agreement. Administrative costs for the distribution of these funds shall not exceed five percent of the book value of the entire fund and the administrative costs may include clerical and administrative services.

The Director of Agriculture is further authorized and empowered, upon behalf of the State of Nebraska, to make such provisions as may be necessary to hold the United States and its Secretary of Agriculture free from liability by virtue of the transfer of the assets and income therefrom to him or her under sections 2-2101 to 2-2107.

The Director of Agriculture is further authorized to enter into an agreement or agreements with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States to use the assets and funds received under sections 2-2101 to 2-2107 to carry out the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, enacted by the Congress of the United States, and in accordance with the applicable provisions thereof.

The Director of Agriculture shall make reports to the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, in such form, and containing such information, as the secretary may from time to time reasonably require. The Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, upon request, shall be given access to the records upon which such information is based.

The State of Nebraska shall transmit, through the Director of Agriculture, to the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States notice of acceptance of the provisions of the federal act specified in section 2-2101, and accompany such acceptance with a certified copy of sections 2-2101 to 2-2107.

Sections 2-2301 to 2-2321 shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act.

There is hereby established the Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board. Members shall be appointed by the Governor to the board pursuant to section 2-2305.

For purposes of the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) Board means the Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board;

(2) Commercial channels means the sale of wheat for any use when the buyer resells or intends to resell any such wheat or product produced from such wheat for a purpose other than for use as seed;

(3)(a) First purchaser means any individual or public or private corporation, association, partnership, limited liability company, or other business entity, if such individual or entity buys, accepts for shipment, or otherwise acquires the property in or to wheat from a grower for a purpose other than for use as seed.

(b) First purchaser shall not include a public or private mortgagee, pledgee, lienor, or other person having a claim against the grower when the actual or constructive possession of such wheat is taken as part payment or in satisfaction of a mortgage, pledge, lien, or claim;

(4) Grower means any landowner personally engaged in growing wheat, a tenant of the landowner personally engaged in growing wheat, and both the owner and the tenant jointly and includes an individual or a partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation, cooperative, trust, sharecropper, and other business units, devices, and arrangements;

(5) Net market price means the sales price, or other value, per volumetric unit received by a producer for wheat after adjustment for any premium or discount;

(6) Net market value means the value found by multiplying the net market price by the appropriate quantity of the volumetric units or the minimum value in a production contract received by a producer for wheat after adjustments for any premium or discount. For wheat pledged as collateral for a loan issued under any Commodity Credit Corporation price support loan program, net market value means the principal amount of the loan; and

(7) Sale does not include a pledge or mortgage of wheat to any individual or public or private entity.

(1) The board shall be composed of seven members who shall (a) be citizens of Nebraska, (b) be at least twenty-one years of age, (c) have been actually engaged in growing wheat in this state for a period of at least five years, and (d) derive a substantial portion of their income from growing wheat. The Director of Agriculture and the vice chancellor of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources shall serve as nonvoting members of the board. With the exception of the nonvoting members, the Governor shall appoint the members to the board.

(2) The seven appointed members shall be appointed from the following districts:

(a) District 1: The counties of Sioux, Scotts Bluff, Dawes, Box Butte, Morrill, Sheridan, and Garden;

(b) District 2: The counties of Kimball, Banner, and Cheyenne;

(c) District 3: The counties of Perkins, Deuel, Keith, Arthur, McPherson, Logan, Grant, Hooker, Thomas, and Cherry;

(d) District 4: The counties of Lincoln, Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Hitchcock, and Frontier;

(e) District 5: The counties of Buffalo, Dawson, Phelps, Custer, Gosper, Kearney, Red Willow, Furnas, Harlan, and Franklin;

(f) District 6: The counties of Adams, Webster, Nuckolls, Thayer, Jefferson, Gage, Johnson, Nemaha, Pawnee, Richardson, Otoe, Cass, Lancaster, Seward, York, Hamilton, Hall, Sherman, Howard, Merrick, Nance, Polk, Butler, Saunders, Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, Dodge, Colfax, Platte, Burt, Cuming, Stanton, Madison, Boone, Valley, Greeley, Antelope, Pierce, Wayne, Thurston, Dakota, Dixon, Cedar, Knox, Wheeler, Garfield, Loup, Blaine, Brown, Rock, Holt, Boyd, Keya Paha, Clay, Fillmore, and Saline; and

(g) District 7: The at-large district.

The member serving former district 1 will assume the role of serving new district 1 on February 28, 2002, and his or her term shall expire on June 30, 2004. The member serving former district 2 will assume the role of serving new district 2 on February 28, 2002, and his or her term shall expire on June 30, 2003. The term of the member serving district 3 shall expire on June 30, 2002. The term of the member serving district 4 shall expire on June 30, 2006. The term of the member serving district 5 shall expire on June 30, 2005. The member serving former district 6 will assume the role of serving new district 6 on February 28, 2002, and his or her term shall expire on June 30, 2004. The member serving former district 7 will assume the role of serving new district 7 on February 28, 2002, and his or her term shall expire on June 30, 2005. As the terms of office of the members serving on February 28, 2002, expire as provided in this section, their successors shall be appointed to serve for terms of five years and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Terms of office shall commence on July 1. A member appointed to fill a vacancy, occurring before the expiration of the term of a member separated from the board for any cause, shall be appointed for the remainder of the term of the member whose office has been so vacated in the same manner as his or her predecessor.

All voting members of the board shall be entitled to expenses as provided for in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177 while attending meetings of the board or while engaged in the performance of official responsibilities as determined by the board.

A member of the board shall be removable by the Governor for cause. He or she shall first be given a copy of written charges against him or her and also an opportunity to be heard publicly. In addition to all other causes, a member ceasing to (1) be a resident of the state, (2) live in the district from which he or she was appointed, or (3) be actually engaged in growing wheat in the state shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal from office.

At the first meeting of the board, it shall elect a chairperson from among its members. The board shall meet at least once every three months and at such other times as called by the chairperson or by any three members of the board. The majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business. The affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the board shall be necessary for the adoption of rules and regulations.

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of Nebraska to protect and foster the health, prosperity, and general welfare of its people by protecting and stabilizing the wheat industry and the economy of the areas producing wheat. The Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board shall be the agency of the State of Nebraska for such purpose. In connection with and in furtherance of such purpose, such board shall have the power to:

(1) Formulate the general policies and programs of the State of Nebraska relating to the wheat industry, including:

(a) The discovery, promotion, and development of markets and industries for the utilization of wheat grown within the State of Nebraska;

(b) The acquisition of ownership rights, including intellectual property rights, to any variety of wheat; and

(c) The development, production, marketing, and sale of seed for any wheat variety owned by the board;

(2) Adopt and devise a program of education and publicity;

(3) Cooperate with local, state, or national organizations, whether public or private, in carrying out the purposes of the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act and to enter into such contracts as may be necessary;

(4) Adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to promptly and effectively enforce the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act. The rules and regulations shall include provisions which prescribe the procedure for adjustment of the excise tax by the board pursuant to section 2-2311;

(5) Conduct, in addition to the things enumerated, any other program for the development, utilization, and marketing of wheat grown in the State of Nebraska. Such programs may provide for cooperation with, grants to, or contracts with individuals or entities in the private sector or public sector for the following purposes:

(a) Research;

(b) Accumulation of data;

(c) Development of new varieties of wheat;

(d) Securing plant variety protection under federal law when possible;

(e) Securing intellectual property rights relating to development of new varieties of wheat when possible;

(f) Producing wheat for seed and selling such seed; and

(g) Construction of ethanol production facilities;

(6) Make refunds for overpayments of the excise tax according to rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the board; and

(7) Employ personnel and contract for services which are necessary for the proper operation of the program.

The board may establish an administrative office in the State of Nebraska at such place as may be suitable for the furtherance of the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act. The board shall not purchase, construct, or otherwise obtain title to its own administrative office, but shall be limited to leasing state or commercial office space.

(1) Commencing July 1, 1990, the board may levy on growers of wheat an excise tax of not to exceed one and one-half cents per bushel upon all wheat sold through commercial channels in the State of Nebraska. Commencing on October 1, 2012, there is hereby levied an excise tax of four-tenths percent of the net market value of wheat sold through commercial channels in the State of Nebraska. The first purchaser of such wheat shall levy, impose, and collect the tax at the time of settlement for the wheat. Under the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act, no wheat is subject to the tax more than once.

(2) After October 1, 2014, the board may, whenever it determines that the excise tax levied by this section is yielding more or less than is required to carry out the intent and purposes of the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act, reduce or increase such levy for such period as it deems justifiable, but not less than one year, and such levy shall not exceed five-tenths percent of the net market value. Any adjustment to the levy shall be by rule and regulation adopted and promulgated by the board in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

In the case of a pledge or mortgage of wheat as security for a loan under the federal price support program, no excise tax shall be deducted from the proceeds of such loan at the time the loan is made.

The tax provided for by section 2-2311 shall be deducted as provided by the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act, whether such wheat is stored in this or any other state.

The tax, herein levied and imposed by the provisions of section 2-2311, shall not apply to the sale of wheat to the federal government for ultimate use or consumption by the people of the United States, where the State of Nebraska is prohibited from imposing such tax by the Constitution of the United States and laws enacted pursuant thereto.

(1) The first purchaser, at the time of settlement with a grower, shall deduct the wheat excise tax as provided in section 2-2311 and shall maintain a record of the excise tax for each purchase of wheat on the grain settlement form or check stub showing payment to the grower for each purchase.

(2) The first purchaser shall also maintain a record of all settlements in which an excise tax was not deducted from the payment to the grower.

(3) Such records maintained by the first purchaser shall provide the following information: (a) Name and address of the grower and seller; (b) the date of the purchase; (c) the number of bushels of wheat sold; (d) the net market value of the wheat sold; and (e) the amount of wheat excise tax collected on each purchase. Such records shall be open for inspection and audit by authorized representatives of the board during normal business hours observed by the purchaser.

(4) The first purchaser shall file with the board by the last day of each January, April, July, and October on forms prescribed by the board, a statement of the number of bushels of wheat purchased in Nebraska. Such statement shall include the number of bushels of wheat for which the first purchaser collected the excise tax. At the time the statement is filed, the purchaser shall pay and remit to the board the tax as provided for in section 2-2311.

The Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Fund is created. All taxes collected by the board pursuant to the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act and any repayments relating to the fund, including license fees or royalties, shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund. The fund shall be used to carry out the act. The board shall at each regular meeting review and approve all expenditures made since its last regular meeting. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(1) The Nebraska Wheat Development, Utilization, and Marketing Board shall not set up research units or agencies of its own. The board may cooperate with, provide grants to, or contract with any of the following for the purposes described in subdivisions (1) and (5) of section 2-2309, with preference given to private-sector individuals or entities:

(a) A business entity formed by one or more growers;

(b) The Department of Agriculture;

(c) The University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources; or

(d) Any other public or private local, state, or national organization.

(2) This section shall not be construed to prohibit the board from exercising its powers under subdivisions (1)(b) and (c) of section 2-2309, including its ability to produce and sell wheat for use as seed without cooperating with, providing grants to, or contracting with any of the individuals or entities described in subsection (1) of this section.

Any person violating the Nebraska Wheat Resources Act shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor.

No funds collected by the board shall be expended directly or indirectly to promote or oppose any candidate for public office or to influence state legislation. The board shall not expend more than twenty-five percent of its annual budget to influence federal legislation.

Sections 2-2622 to 2-2659 shall be known and may be cited as the Pesticide Act.

The intent of the Pesticide Act is to regulate, in the public interest, the labeling, distribution, storage, transportation, use, application, and disposal of pesticides for the protection of human health and the environment. The Legislature hereby finds that pesticides are valuable to our state's agricultural production and to the protection of humans and the environment from insects, rodents, weeds, and other forms of life which may be pests but that it is essential to the public health and the welfare that pesticides be regulated to prevent adverse effects on humans and the environment. New pesticides are continually being discovered, synthesized, or developed which are valuable for the control of pests and for use as defoliants, desiccants, and plant regulators, but such pesticides may be ineffective, may cause injury to humans, or may cause unreasonably adverse effects on the environment if not properly used. Pesticides may injure humans or animals, either by direct poisoning or by gradual accumulation of pesticide residues in the tissues. Crops or other plants may also be injured by improper use of pesticides, and the drifting or washing of pesticides into streams or lakes may cause appreciable damage to aquatic life. A pesticide used for the purpose of exerting pesticidal action in a crop which is not itself injured by the pesticide may drift and injure other crops or nontarget organisms with which it comes in contact. The monitoring of pesticides in ground water and surface water is essential for human health and the environment. Therefor, it is deemed necessary to provide for regulation of pesticides.

For purposes of the Pesticide Act:

(1) Active ingredient means:

(a) In the case of a pesticide other than a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, an ingredient that prevents, destroys, repels, or mitigates a pest;

(b) In the case of a plant regulator, an ingredient that, through physiological action, accelerates or retards the rate of growth or rate of maturation or otherwise alters the behavior of an ornamental or crop plant or a product of an ornamental or crop plant;

(c) In the case of a defoliant, an ingredient that causes leaves or foliage to drop from a plant; or

(d) In the case of a desiccant, an ingredient that artificially accelerates the drying of plant tissue;

(2) Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

(3) Adulterated means:

(a) That the strength or concentration is not accurately expressed on the labeling under which a pesticide is sold;

(b) That any substance is substituted wholly or in part for the pesticide; or

(c) That any valuable constituent of the pesticide has been wholly or in part abstracted;

(4) Animal means a vertebrate or invertebrate species, including humans, other mammals, birds, fish, and shellfish;

(5) Antidote means a practical treatment used in preventing or lessening ill effects from poisoning, including first aid;

(6) Biological control agent means any living organism applied to or introduced into the environment that is intended to function as a pesticide against another organism;

(7) Bulk means any distribution of a pesticide in a refillable container designed and constructed to accommodate the return and refill of greater than fifty-five gallons of liquid measure or one hundred pounds of dry net weight of the product;

(8) Commercial applicator means any applicator required by the act to obtain a commercial applicator license;

(9) Dealer means any manufacturer, registrant, or distributor who is required to be licensed as such under section 2-2635;

(10) Defoliant means a substance or mixture of substances intended to cause the leaves or foliage to drop from a plant, with or without causing abscission;

(11) Department means the Department of Agriculture;

(12) Desiccant means a substance or mixture of substances intended to artificially accelerate the drying of plant tissue;

(13) Device means an instrument or contrivance, other than a firearm, that is used to trap, destroy, repel, or mitigate a pest or other form of plant or animal life, other than a human or a bacteria, virus, or other microorganism on or in living humans or other living animals. Device does not include equipment intended to be used for the application of pesticides when sold separately from a pesticide;

(14) Director means the Director of Agriculture or his or her designee;

(15) Distribute means to offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, barter, exchange, supply, deliver, offer to deliver, ship, hold for shipment, deliver for shipment, or release for shipment;

(16) Environment includes water, air, land, plants, humans, and other animals living in or on water, air, or land and interrelationships which exist among these;

(17) Federal act means the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq., and any regulations adopted and promulgated under it, as the act and regulations existed on January 1, 2019;

(18) Federal agency means the United States Environmental Protection Agency;

(19) Fungus means any non-chlorophyll-bearing thallophyte, including rust, smut, mildew, mold, yeast, and bacteria, but does not include non-chlorophyll-bearing thallophytes on or in living humans or other living animals or those on or in a processed food or beverage or pharmaceuticals;

(20) Inert ingredient means an ingredient that is not an active ingredient;

(21) Ingredient statement means a statement which contains the name and percentage of each active ingredient and the total percentage of all inert ingredients in the pesticide;

(22) Insect means any of the numerous small invertebrate animals generally having a segmented body and for the most part belonging to the class Insecta, comprising six-legged, usually winged forms such as beetles, bugs, bees, and flies. Insect includes allied classes of arthropods, the members of which are wingless and usually have more than six legs, such as spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, and wood lice;

(23) Label means the written, printed, or graphic matter on or attached to a pesticide or device or any of its containers or wrappers;

(24) Labeling means all labels and any other written, printed, or graphic matter (a) accompanying the pesticide or device at any time or (b) to which reference is made on a label or in literature accompanying or referring to a pesticide or device, including information distributed in any electronic format, except accurate, nonmisleading references made to a current official publication of a federal or state institution or agency authorized by law to conduct research in the field of pesticides;

(25) License holder means any person licensed under the Pesticide Act;

(26) Licensed certified applicator means any person licensed and certified under the act as a commercial applicator, noncommercial applicator, or private applicator;

(27) Misbranded means that any pesticide meets one or more of the following criteria:

(a) Its labeling bears any statement, design, or graphic representation relative to the pesticide or to its ingredients which is false or misleading in any particular;

(b) It is contained in a package or other container or wrapping which does not conform to the standards established by the administrator pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 136w(c) of the federal act;

(c) It is an imitation of or distributed under the name of another pesticide;

(d) Its label does not bear the registration number assigned under 7 U.S.C. 136e of the federal act to each establishment in which it was produced;

(e) Any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of the Pesticide Act to appear on the label or labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness, as compared with other words, statements, designs, or graphic matter in the labeling, and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use;

(f) The labeling accompanying it does not contain directions for use which are necessary for effecting the purpose for which the product is intended and if complied with, together with any requirements imposed under 7 U.S.C. 136a(d) of the federal act, are adequate to protect health and the environment;

(g) The label does not contain a danger, warning, symbol, or cautionary statement which may be necessary and if complied with, together with any requirements imposed under the Pesticide Act or 7 U.S.C. 136a(d) of the federal act, is adequate to protect health and the environment;

(h) In the case of a pesticide not registered in accordance with sections 2-2628 and 2-2629 and intended for export, the label does not contain, in words prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness, as compared with other words, statements, designs, or graphic matter in the labeling, as to render it likely to be noted by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use, the words Not Registered for Use in the United States of America;

(i) The label does not bear an ingredient statement on that part of the immediate container, and on the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if any, through which the ingredient statement on the immediate container cannot be clearly read, which is presented or displayed under customary conditions of purchase, except that a pesticide is not misbranded under this subdivision if:

(i) The size or form of the immediate container or the outside container or wrapper of the retail package makes it impracticable to place the ingredient statement on the part which is presented or displayed under customary conditions of purchase; and

(ii) The ingredient statement appears prominently on another part of the immediate container or outside container or wrapper, permitted by the administrator;

(j) The labeling does not contain a statement of the use classification under which the product is registered;

(k) There is not affixed to its container, and to the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if any, through which the required information on the immediate container cannot be clearly read, a label bearing:

(i) The name and address of the producer, registrant, or person for whom produced;

(ii) The name, brand, or trademark under which the pesticide is sold;

(iii) The net weight or measure of the content, except that the administrator may permit reasonable variations; and

(iv) When required by regulations of the administrator to effectuate the purposes of the federal act, the registration number assigned to the pesticide under such act and the use classification; or

(l) The pesticide contains any substance or substances in quantities highly toxic to humans, unless the label bears, in addition to any other matter required by the Pesticide Act:

(i) The skull and crossbones;

(ii) The word poison prominently in red on a background of distinctly contrasting color; and

(iii) A statement of a practical first-aid or other treatment in case of poisoning by the pesticide;

(28) Nematode means an invertebrate animal of the phylum Nemathelminthes and class Nematode, an unsegmented roundworm with an elongated, fusiform, or sac-like body covered with cuticle, inhabiting soil, water, plants, or plant parts;

(29) Noncommercial applicator means (a) any applicator who is not a commercial applicator or a private applicator and uses restricted-use pesticides only on property owned or controlled by his or her employer or for a federal entity, state agency, political subdivision of the state, or postsecondary educational institution in this state or (b) any employee or other person acting on behalf of a political subdivision of the state who is not a commercial applicator or a private applicator who uses pesticides for outdoor vector control;

(30) Person means any individual, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not;

(31) Pest means any destructive, detrimental, or undesirable:

(a) Insect, snail, slug, rodent, bird, nematode, fungus, weed, or other form of terrestrial or aquatic plant or animal life, excluding humans; or

(b) Virus, bacteria, or other microorganism, other than a virus, bacteria, or microorganism in or on living humans or other living animals;

(32) Pesticide means a substance or mixture of substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate any pest or any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, including any biological control agent. Pesticide does not include any article that is a new animal drug within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 321(v), as the section existed on January 1, 2019;

(33) Pesticide management plan means a management plan for a specific, identified pesticide to implement a strategy to prevent, monitor, evaluate, and mitigate (a) any occurrence of the pesticide or pesticide breakdown products in ground water and surface water in the state or (b) any other unreasonable adverse effect of the pesticide on humans or the environment;

(34) Plant regulator means a substance or mixture of substances intended through physiological action to accelerate or retard the rate of growth or rate of maturation or otherwise to alter the behavior of an ornamental or crop plant or the product of an ornamental or crop plant but does not include a substance to the extent that it is intended as a plant nutrient, trace element, nutritional chemical, plant inoculant, or soil amendment;

(35) Pollute means to alter the physical, chemical, or biological quality of or to contaminate water in the state, which alteration or contamination renders the water harmful, detrimental, or injurious to humans, the environment, or the public health, safety, or welfare;

(36) Private applicator means an applicator who is not a commercial applicator or a noncommercial applicator and uses or supervises the use of any restricted-use pesticide for purposes of producing any agricultural commodity on property owned, rented by, or under the general control of him or her or his or her employer, or, if applied without compensation other than trading of personal services between producers of agricultural commodities, on the property of another person. To meet the definition of a private applicator, an employee of an employer described under this subdivision may only provide labor for the pesticide use. An employee who provides restricted-use pesticides or equipment used to apply restricted-use pesticides is a commercial applicator;

(37) Property means any land or water area, including airspace, and any plant, animal, structure, building, contrivance, commodity, or machinery, whether fixed or mobile, appurtenant to or situated on a land or water area or airspace, including any vehicle used for transportation;

(38) Restricted-use pesticide means a pesticide classified as a restricted-use pesticide by the federal agency or any pesticide for which an exemption under 7 U.S.C. 136p of the federal act has been granted;

(39) State management plan means a generic plan developed by the department to implement a strategy to prevent, monitor, evaluate, and mitigate any occurrence of pesticides in ground water and surface water in the state and any specific plans developed when an occurrence has been detected;

(40) State pesticide applicator certification plan means the plan developed by the department to enter into a cooperative agreement with the federal agency to assume the responsibility for the primary enforcement of pesticide use and the training and licensing of certified applicators;

(41) State-limited-use pesticide means any pesticide included on a list of state-limited-use pesticides established by the department pursuant to a pesticide management plan;

(42) Unreasonable adverse effect on humans or the environment means any unreasonable risk to humans or the environment taking into account the severity and longevity of adverse effects of use of the pesticide and also taking into account the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits of the use of the pesticide. The costs and benefits of a pesticide used for public health purposes shall also weigh any risks of the use of the pesticide against the health risks to be mitigated or controlled by the use of the pesticide;

(43) Vector means any organism capable of transmitting the causative agent of human disease or capable of producing human or animal discomfort or injury, including mosquitoes, flies, fleas, cockroaches, ticks, mites, other insects, mice, and rats; and

(44) Weed means any plant that grows where not wanted.

Except as specifically provided in the Pesticide Act, the provisions of the act shall preempt ordinances and resolutions by political subdivisions that prohibit or regulate any matter relating to the registration, labeling, distribution, sale, handling, use, application, or disposal of pesticides. The department may contract with a city of the metropolitan or primary class it deems qualified to conduct, on a case-by-case basis, any regulatory functions authorized pursuant to the act relating to the disposal of pesticides except those functions relating to the issuance, suspension, or revocation of permits or any order of probation, suspension, immediate suspension, or revocation.

The department shall have the following powers, functions, and duties:

(1) To administer, implement, and enforce the Pesticide Act and serve as the lead state agency for the regulation of pesticides. The department shall involve the natural resources districts and other state agencies, including the Department of Environment and Energy or the Department of Natural Resources, in matters relating to water quality. Nothing in the act shall be interpreted in any way to affect the powers of any other state agency or of any natural resources district to regulate for ground water quality or surface water quality as otherwise provided by law;

(2) To be responsible for the development and implementation of a state management plan and pesticide management plans. The Department of Environment and Energy shall be responsible for the adoption of standards for pesticides in surface water, ground water, and drinking water. These standards shall be established as action levels in the state management plan and pesticide management plans at which prevention and mitigation measures are implemented. Such action levels may be set at or below the maximum contaminant level set for any product as set by the federal agency under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq., as the act existed on January 1, 2021. The Department of Agriculture shall cooperate with and use existing expertise in other state agencies when developing the state management plan and pesticide management plans and shall not hire a hydrologist within the department for such purpose;

(3) After notice and public hearing, to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations providing lists of state-limited-use pesticides for the entire state or for a designated area within the state, subject to the following:

(a) A pesticide shall be included on a list of state-limited-use pesticides if:

(i) The Department of Agriculture determines that the pesticide, when used in accordance with its directions for use, warnings, and cautions and for uses for which it is registered, may without additional regulatory restrictions cause unreasonable adverse effects on humans or the environment, including injury to the applicator or other persons because of acute dermal or inhalation toxicity of the pesticides;

(ii) The water quality standards set by the Department of Environment and Energy pursuant to this section are exceeded; or

(iii) The Department of Agriculture determines that the pesticide requires additional restrictions to meet the requirements of the Pesticide Act, the federal act, or any plan adopted under the Pesticide Act or the federal act;

(b) The Department of Agriculture may regulate the specific time, locations, and conditions restricting the use of a state-limited-use pesticide, including allowable quantities or concentrations, and may require that it be purchased or possessed only with permission or under the direct supervision of the department or its designee;

(c) The Department of Agriculture may require a person authorized to distribute or use a state-limited-use pesticide to maintain records of the person's distribution or use and may require that the records be kept separate from other business records;

(d) The state management plan and pesticide management plans shall be coordinated with the Department of Agriculture and other state agency plans and with other state agencies and with natural resources districts;

(e) The state management plan and pesticide management plans may impose progressively more rigorous pesticide management practices as pesticides are detected in ground water or surface water at increasing fractions of the standards adopted by the Department of Environment and Energy; and

(f) A pesticide management plan may impose progressively more rigorous pesticide management practices to address any unreasonable adverse effect of pesticides on humans or the environment. When appropriate, a pesticide management plan may establish action levels for imposition of such progressively more rigorous management practices based upon measurable indicators of the adverse effect on humans or the environment;

(4) To adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary for the enforcement and administration of the Pesticide Act. The regulations may include, but not be limited to, regulations providing for:

(a) The collection of samples, examination of records, and reporting of information by persons subject to the act;

(b) The safe handling, transportation, storage, display, distribution, use, and disposal of pesticides and their containers;

(c) Labeling requirements of all pesticides required to be registered under provisions of the act, except that such regulations shall not impose any requirements for federally registered labels contrary to those required pursuant to the federal act;

(d) Classes of devices which shall be subject to the Pesticide Act;

(e) Reporting and record-keeping requirements for persons distributing or using pesticide products made available under 7 U.S.C. 136i-1 of the federal act and for persons required to keep records under the Pesticide Act;

(f) Methods to be used in the application of pesticides when the Department of Agriculture finds that such regulations are necessary to carry out the purpose and intent of the Pesticide Act. Such regulations may include methods to be used in the application of a restricted-use pesticide or state-limited-use pesticide, may relate to the time, place, manner, methods, materials, amounts, and concentrations in connection with the use of the pesticide, may restrict or prohibit use of the pesticides in designated areas during specified periods of time, and may provide specific examples and technical interpretations of subdivision (4) of section 2-2646. The regulations shall encompass all reasonable factors which the department deems necessary to prevent damage or injury by drift or misapplication to (i) plants, including forage plants, or adjacent or nearby property, (ii) wildlife in the adjoining or nearby areas, (iii) fish and other aquatic life in waters in reasonable proximity to the area to be treated, (iv) surface water or ground water, and (v) humans, animals, or beneficial insects. In adopting and promulgating such regulations, the department shall give consideration to pertinent research findings and recommendations of other agencies of the state, the federal government, or other reliable sources. The department may, by regulation, require that notice of a proposed use of a pesticide be given to landowners whose property is adjacent to the property to be treated or in the immediate vicinity thereof if the department finds that such notice is necessary to carry out the purpose of the act;

(g) State-limited-use pesticides for the state or for designated areas in the state;

(h) Establishment of the amount of any fee or fine as directed by the act;

(i) Establishment of the components of any state management plan or pesticide management plan;

(j) Establishment of categories for licensed pesticide applicators in addition to those established in 40 C.F.R. part 171, as such regulations existed on January 1, 2019; and

(k) Establishment of a process for the issuance of permits for emergency-use pesticides made available under 7 U.S.C. 136p of the federal act;

(5) To enter any public or private premises at any reasonable time to:

(a) Inspect and sample any equipment authorized or required to be inspected under the Pesticide Act or to inspect the premises on which the equipment is kept or stored;

(b) Inspect or sample any area exposed or reported to be exposed to a pesticide or where a pesticide use has occurred;

(c) Inspect and sample any area where a pesticide is disposed of or stored;

(d) Observe the use and application of and sample any pesticide;

(e) Inspect and copy any records relating to the distribution or use of any pesticide or the issuance of any license, permit, or registration under the act; or

(f) Inspect, examine, or take samples from any application equipment, building, or place owned, controlled, or operated by any person engaging in an activity regulated by the act if, from probable cause, it appears that the application equipment, building, or place contains a pesticide;

(6) To sample, inspect, make analysis of, and test any pesticide found within this state;

(7) To issue and enforce a written or printed order to stop the sale, removal, or use of a pesticide if the Department of Agriculture has reason to believe that the pesticide or use of the pesticide is in violation of any provision of the act. The department shall present the order to the owner or custodian of the pesticide. The person who receives the order shall not distribute, remove, or use the pesticide until the department determines that the pesticide or its use is in compliance with the act. This subdivision shall not limit the right of the department to proceed as authorized by any other provision of the act;

(8)(a) To sue in the name of the director to enjoin any violation of the act. Venue for such action shall be in the county in which the alleged violation occurred, is occurring, or is threatening to occur; and

(b) To request the county attorney or the Attorney General to bring suit to enjoin a violation or threatened violation of the act;

(9) To impose or levy an administrative fine of not more than five thousand dollars for each violation on any person who has violated any provision, requirement, condition, limitation, or duty imposed by the act or rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act. A violation means each action which violates any separate or distinct provision, requirement, condition, limitation, or duty imposed by the act or rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act;

(10) To cause a violation warning letter to be served upon the alleged violator or violators pursuant to the act;

(11) To take reasonable measures to assess and collect all fees and fines prescribed by the act and the rules or regulations adopted under the act;

(12) To access, inspect, and copy all books, papers, records, bills of lading, invoices, and other information relating to the use, manufacture, repackaging, and distribution of pesticides necessary for the enforcement of the act;

(13) To seize, for use as evidence, without formal warrant if probable cause exists, any pesticide which is in violation of the act or is not approved by the Department of Agriculture or which is found to be used or distributed in the violation of the act or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under it;

(14) To adopt classifications of restricted-use pesticides as determined by the federal agency under the federal act. In addition to the restricted-use pesticides classified by the administrator, the Department of Agriculture may also determine state-limited-use pesticides for the state or for designated areas within the state as provided in subdivision (3) of this section;

(15) To receive grants-in-aid from any federal entity, and to enter into cooperative agreements with any federal entity, any agency of this state, any subdivision of this state, any agency of another state, any Indian tribe, or any private person for the purpose of obtaining consistency with or assistance in the implementation of the Pesticide Act. The Department of Agriculture may reimburse any such entity from the Pesticide Administrative Cash Fund for the work performed under the cooperative agreement. The department may delegate its administrative responsibilities under the act to cities of the metropolitan and primary classes if it reasonably believes that such cities can perform the responsibilities in a manner consistent with the act and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under it;

(16) To prepare and adopt such plans as are necessary to implement any requirements of the federal agency under the federal act;

(17) To request the assistance of the Attorney General or the county attorney in the county in which a violation of the Pesticide Act has occurred with the prosecution or enforcement of any violation of the act;

(18) To enter into a settlement agreement with any person regarding the disposition of any license, permit, registration, or administrative fine;

(19) To issue a cease and desist order pursuant to section 2-2649;

(20) To deny an application or cancel, suspend, or modify the registration of a pesticide pursuant to section 2-2632;

(21) To issue, cancel, suspend, modify, or place on probation any license or permit issued pursuant to the act; and

(22) To make such reports to the federal agency as are required under the federal act.

The Pesticide Administrative Cash Fund is hereby created. The fund shall be used by the department to aid in defraying the expenses of administering the act. Any money in the Pesticide Administrative Cash Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.