Sec. 22-326s. Licensing of poultry dealers. Regulations. License revocation and suspension. Civil penalty. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 22-326s. Licensing of poultry dealers. Regulations. License revocation and suspension. Civil penalty. (a) As used in this section:

      (1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture.

      (2) "Dealer" means a producer who is a wholesaler, distributor or hauler of live poultry or hatching eggs or any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of (A) buying, receiving, selling, bartering, exchanging, negotiating or soliciting the sale, resale or exchange of live poultry or hatching eggs, or (B) the transportation, transfer or shipment of any live poultry or hatching eggs.

      (3) "Hauler" means any person, firm or corporation that transports live poultry or hatching eggs from premises to premises, to a distributor, to a live bird market or to a dealer.

      (4) "Live bird market" means a facility at which live poultry or hatching eggs are congregated for sale or to be slaughtered and dressed for sale to the public or restaurants or to be sold live for any purpose.

      (5) "Poultry" means any species of domestic fowl, including, but not limited to, chickens, turkeys, ostriches, emus, rheas, cassowaries, waterfowl and game birds raised for food production, breeding, exhibition or sale.

      (6) "Producer" means any person, firm or corporation engaged in the breeding, raising or keeping of poultry for the purpose of food production, hatching egg production or for show or exhibition.

      (b) Annually, each poultry dealer conducting business within the state shall apply for a license upon forms furnished by the commissioner. The commissioner shall issue such license unless, in the commissioner's sole discretion, the commissioner deems it in the best interest of the public to refuse issuance thereof. In refusing to issue a license, the commissioner shall give due regard to whether the applicant has had such a license previously revoked or suspended or has violated any state or federal law or regulation concerned with interstate transport of live poultry and hatching eggs or live poultry health requirements. Each license shall be nontransferable and shall be in effect from July first through the last day of June of the next succeeding year.

      (c) Each license shall be shown, upon request, to any person with whom the licensee conducts or proposes to conduct business.

      (d) Any poultry dealer licensed under this section shall keep accounts and records that fully and clearly disclose all transactions related to the conduct of such dealer's business. Such records shall be made available at any time for inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized agent for the purpose of determining the origin and destination of any live poultry handled by the dealer. Information relating to the general business of the dealer that is disclosed in the course of an inspection by the commissioner or by the commissioner's authorized agent and that is not related to the immediate purpose of the inspection shall be confidential and not disclosed except as required by law.

      (e) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person, firm or corporation that is only a producer, except that a producer who transports live poultry directly to a live bird market, wholesaler, distributor or other dealer shall be deemed a hauler and subject to the provisions of this section.

      (f) The Commissioner of Agriculture may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to ensure compliance with this section and to ensure the public health and safety. Such regulations shall include: (1) Sanitation standards for vehicles, crates, facilities and other appurtenances used to transport and hold poultry or hatching eggs, both in transit and at any place where poultry or hatching eggs are held for the purposes of being sold or offered for sale; (2) the health requirements for poultry and hatching eggs, including, but not limited to, required tests, vaccinations or other methods used to prevent poultry disease; (3) the manner and form of records to be kept, including, but not limited to, identification of the origin of poultry or hatching eggs, poultry animal health records, test results or copies of sales records and dates; and (4) individual bird and premise identification.

      (g) The commissioner may: (1) Revoke or suspend a poultry dealer's license, or (2) assess an administrative civil penalty pursuant to section 22-7 for a violation of this section.

      (P.A. 05-175, S. 21; P.A. 06-19, S. 2.)

      History: P.A. 05-175 effective January 1, 2006; P.A. 06-19 redefined "dealer" in Subsec. (a)(2), effective May 2, 2006.