81-2,147.06.

Director; powers and duties.

(1) The duty of enforcing the Nebraska Seed Law and carrying out such law and requirements shall be vested in the director. It shall be the duty of the director:

(a) To sample, inspect, make analysis of, and test agricultural, vegetable, and flower seed sold within this state for sowing purposes at such time and place and to such extent as he or she may deem necessary to determine whether such agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed is in compliance with the Nebraska Seed Law and to notify promptly the persons who sold the seed of any violation;

(b) To adopt and promulgate rules and regulations in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act as are specifically authorized in the Nebraska Seed Law governing the method of sampling, inspecting, analyzing, testing, and examining agricultural, vegetable, and flower seed and the tolerances to be followed in the administration of the law, which shall be in general accord with officially prescribed practice in interstate commerce, and such other rules and regulations as may be necessary to secure the efficient enforcement and full intent of such law;

(c) To adopt and promulgate rules and regulations in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act adding to or subtracting from the primary noxious weed seeds list, the prohibited noxious weed seeds list, and the restricted noxious weed seeds list, as defined in section 81-2,147.01, whenever the director finds that a noxious weed seed should or should not be within one of these lists;

(d) To adopt and promulgate rules and regulations in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act establishing reasonable standards of germination for agricultural, vegetable, and flower seed; and

(e) To adopt and promulgate rules and regulations in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act to establish, add to, or subtract from the nonnative plant species for which a tetrazolium (TZ) test may be employed as the official test to indicate the potential viability of the seed.

(2) For the purpose of carrying out the law, the director may:

(a) Enter upon any public or private premises during regular business hours in order to have access to seeds and the records connected with such seeds subject to the law and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under such law and enter any truck or other conveyor by land, water, or air at any time when the conveyor is accessible for the same purpose;

(b) Issue and enforce a written or printed stop-sale order to the owner or custodian of any lot of agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed which the director finds is in violation of any of the provisions of the law or rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under such law, which order shall prohibit further sale, conditioning, and movement of such seed, except on approval of the enforcing officer, until such officer has evidence that the law has been complied with and he or she has issued a release from the stop-sale order of such seed. With respect to seed which has been denied sale, conditioning, or movement as provided in this subdivision, the owner or custodian of such seed shall have the right to appeal from such order in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, praying for a judgment as to the justification of such order and for the discharge of such seed from the order prohibiting the sale, conditioning, or movement in accordance with the findings of the court. This subdivision shall not be construed as limiting the right of the director to proceed as authorized by other sections of the law;

(c) Establish and maintain or make provision for seed-testing facilities, employ qualified persons, and incur such expenses as may be necessary to comply with the law or rules and regulations adopted and promulgated under the law;

(d) Make or provide for making purity, weed seed, tetrazolium (TZ), germination, and other tests of seed as established in rules and regulations and recommended by rule of the Association of Official Seed Analysts for persons on request, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act governing such testing, and fix and collect charges for the tests made, which charges shall not exceed the cost of such tests. All fees shall be remitted to the state treasury and by the State Treasurer placed in the Nebraska Seed Administrative Cash Fund;

(e) Cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture and other agencies in seed law enforcement; and

(f) Cooperate and enter into agreements with any person necessary to carry out the purpose of the law.