601.29 Powers of Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. - Florida Statutes

601.29 Powers of Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The powers of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or its authorized representative include, but are not limited to, the following:

   (1) To enter and inspect any place within the state where citrus fruit is being prepared, colored, packed, loaded, or stored for shipment, either in fresh or processed form, and to stop and inspect any shipment of citrus fruit or processed citrus products.

   (2) To enter and survey, at any reasonable hour of the day, all commercial citrus groves for the purpose of estimating and forecasting citrus production in Florida. The property owner or lessee shall not be liable for injury to any employee or agent during the course of entry.

   (3) To forbid and prohibit the shipment or sale of any citrus fruit or the canned or concentrated products thereof found to be in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or order made or adopted under the authority of this chapter.

   (4) To provide complete and adequate inspection of citrus fruit and canned and concentrated citrus products in order to permit any shipper or canning or concentrating plant to have citrus fruit or canned or concentrated citrus products graded according to the standards fixed by the United States Department of Agriculture and adopted by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by rule. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is authorized to enter into all necessary contracts and agreements with the United States Department of Agriculture to implement this section.

   (5) To prosecute for violation of any of the citrus laws or for violation of any rule, regulation, or order promulgated by the commission or by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

   (6) To institute such action at law or in equity as may appear necessary to enforce compliance with any provisions of this chapter, or to enforce compliance with any rule, regulation, or order of the Department of Citrus or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services made pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and, in addition to any other remedy, to apply to any circuit court of this state for relief by injunction, if necessary, to protect the public interest without being compelled to allege or prove that an adequate remedy at law does not exist.

   (7) To employ and fix the compensation of attorneys as it deems necessary to assist in exercising the powers and discharging the duties conferred and imposed upon the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services by law, and particularly by subsections (5) and (6).

History. s. 29, ch. 25149, 1949; ss. 14, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 7, ch. 71-185; ss. 14, 22, ch. 71-186; s. 31, ch. 92-151.