{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-250.081","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 250.081","heading":"Duties and powers of director -- Authority for administrative regulations.","body":"(1) The duty of enforcing KRS 250.021 to 250.111 and carrying out its provisions and\nrequirements shall be vested in the director. It shall be the duty of the director:\n(a) To enforce and administer the provisions of KRS 250.021 to 250.111.\n(b) To be responsible for the official seed, plant, and plant parts certifying process\nin Kentucky. The certifying agency of Kentucky shall be the Kentucky Seed\nImprovement Association (KSIA). The affairs and business of KSIA shall be\nmanaged by a board of not less than five (5), or more than fifteen (15)\ndirectors, to be elected by the members. The KSIA commodity committees for\nsmall grain, legumes and grasses, tobacco, and corn, sorghum, and soybeans\nshall be represented by KSIA members and members of the experiment station\nstaff approved by the director. Certification work shall be on a self -supporting\nbasis but not for financial profit.\n(c) To prescribe, amend, adopt, and publish after public hearing following due\npublic notice, administrative regulations governing:\n1. The certification process.\na. Administrative regulations governing what crops grown in\nKentucky shall be eligible for certification; the conduct of\ncertification, and standards, requirements, and forms for\ncertification.\nb. If certification in Kentucky is  requested for agricultural seed or\nplant parts for propagation produced outside of Kentucky and\nintended for sale in Kentucky, the request may be granted only\nwhen that part of the production process which has taken place\noutside the state has been certif ied by the agency responsible for\ncertification in the state, province, or country where it originated,\nand only when the standards of certification there are not lower\nthan those of the Kentucky Seed Improvement Association and are\naccepted by the director.\nc. If certification is requested for agricultural seed or plant parts for\npropagation produced in Kentucky but eligible for certification\noutside of Kentucky and intended for sale outside of Kentucky, the\nrequest may be granted providing the production process conforms\nwith requirements of the agency responsible for certification in the\nstate, province, or country in which the seed or plant parts are\neligible for certification, and further that the certification does not\ndenote suitability or adaptabilit y of the seed or plant parts for use\nin Kentucky. The director of the Kentucky experiment station may\nissue, when necessary, certificates or statements showing that the\nparticular seed or plant parts so certified are not suitable or adapted\nfor use in Kentucky.\n2. Seed sampling procedures, methods of analysis, testing and examining\nof seed, and tolerances.\n3. Names of seed which are to be considered noxious in Kentucky and the\nmaximum number of each kind of noxious weed seed to be allowed in a\nseed lot.\n4. Means for distinguishing seed intended for distribution from seed not\nintended for distribution in establishments where only a portion of seed\nbeing conditioned or held is to be distributed.\n5. Procedures for issuing and releasing stop sales and for handli ng seed\nwhich has been seized.\n6. Charges for tests of samples submitted to the Kentucky Agricultural\nExperiment Station Seed Laboratory for testing.\n7. Procedures for obtaining a permit to label, responsibilities of permit\nholders, method to be used in determining inspection fees, and the\nprocedure for permit holders to make payment of fees for distributing\nagricultural seed.\n8. Charges for labels purchased from the director.\n9. Other topics deemed necessary to secure the efficient enforcement of the\nprovisions in KRS 250.021 to 250.111.\n(2) Further, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of KRS 250.021 to 250.111,\nthe director may:\n(a) Withhold certification for two (2) or more years from any grower of seed who\nis engaged in or is attempting to engage in any dishonest practices for the\npurpose of evading KRS 250.021 to 250.111 or administrative regulations\npromulgated by the director.\n(b) Inspect, examine, sample, and analyze seed subject to the provisions of KRS\n250.021 to 250.111 that are distributed in Kentucky for planting purposes, at\nthe time and place and to the extent he deems necessary to determine whether\nthe seed are in compliance with pr ovisions of KRS 250.021 to 250.111, and\nnotify promptly the person who distributed the seed and, if appropriate, the\nperson who labeled or transported the seed, of any violation, stop sale order,\nor seizure.\n(c) Enter upon any public or private premises, i ncluding seed conditioning plants\nand fertilizer blending plants, during regular business hours in order to have\naccess to seed and the records connected with them subject to KRS 250.021 to\n250.111 and to administrative regulations promulgated thereunder, and any\ntruck or other conveyer by land, water, or air at any time when the conveyer is\naccessible, for the same purpose.\n(d) Issue and enforce a written or printed \"stop sale\" order to the owner or\ncustodian of any lot of seed subject to the provisions of  KRS 250.021 to\n250.111 which the director finds is in violation of any of the provisions of\nKRS 250.021 to 250.111 or administrative regulations promulgated\nthereunder. This order shall prohibit further distribution of the seed except on\napproval of the d irector, until the director has evidence that the law has been\ncomplied with, and has issued a release from the \"stop sale\" order of the seed.\nThe owner or custodian of seed which has been denied distribution as\nprovided in this paragraph, may appeal from the order to a court of competent\njurisdiction in the locality in which the seed are found, asking for a judgment\njustifying the order and for the discharge of the seed from the order\nprohibiting their distribution in accordance with the findings of the co urt. The\nprovisions of this paragraph shall not be construed as limiting the right of the\ndirector to proceed as authorized by other sections included in KRS 250.021\nto 250.111.\n(e) Seize improperly labeled seed. The director may seize any seed distributed\nwhich is not properly labeled, and may hold it until proper labeling is effected\nby the shipper or distributor of the seed.\n(f) Establish and maintain seed testing facilities, to employ qualified persons, and\nto incur expenses necessary to determine if se ed has been labeled correctly.\nThe testing facility established shall be officially named the \"Kentucky\nAgricultural Experiment Station Seed Laboratory.\" The director shall, with the\napproval of the Board of Trustees of the University of Kentucky, fix the\nsalaries of the analysts, inspectors, and supporting staff.\n(g) Make or provide for making purity, germination, and other tests of seed\nquality for farmers and dealers on request; prescribe administrative regulations\ngoverning the testing, and amount and m eans of collection of associated fees.\nIf tests are made for nonresidents, the fee for the test of purity and for\ngermination shall be paid in advance to the director. Fees received in payment\nfor tests shall be used for operation of the Kentucky seed test ing and control\nprogram.\n(h) Cooperate with the United States Department of Agriculture and other\nagencies in seed law enforcement.\n(i) Reduce the certification requirements for seed in emergency situations to\nensure adequate supplies of seed to Kentucky farmers.\n(j) Publish the results of the examination, analysis, and tests of any samples of\nagricultural seed or mixtures of that seed inspected or tested as provided in\nKRS 250.021 to 250.111 together with any other information he may deem\nadvisable.","path":["KRS Chapter 250"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=12089","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:53:03Z","sha256":"9b677a381b4dba459ba6a95d12ab76d871918fa1eb1bd1b6265581f6cbdd21c0","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-250.080","next":"us-ky/krs-250.090"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}