SB-0669, As Passed Senate, October 6, 2005

SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 669

     A bill to amend 1998 PA 381, entitled

"Michigan agricultural processing act,"

by amending section 4 (MCL 289.824).

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

     Sec. 4. (1) The Michigan commission of agriculture shall

request the director of the Michigan department of agriculture or

his or her designee to investigate all nuisance complaints under

this act involving a processing operation. If a person is granted a

determination by the director of the department of agriculture

under this act, the person is considered to have exhausted his or

her administrative remedies with regard to that matter. A court

shall not proceed with an action for nuisance brought against a

processing operation until it finds that the complainant exhausted

all administrative remedies.

     (2) The Michigan commission of agriculture and the director of

the Michigan department of agriculture may enter into a memorandum

of understanding with the Michigan department of environmental

quality. The investigation and resolution of nuisance complaints

shall be conducted pursuant to the memorandum of understanding. In

the case where no generally accepted fruit, vegetable, dairy

product, and grain processing practices have been established, any

nuisance complaint received by either the department of

environmental quality or the department of agriculture shall be

resolved under section 3 in the following manner:

     (a) The department of environmental quality shall assess

compliance of an operation or practice with the natural resources

and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.101 to

324.90106, and shall conduct an inspection within 10 working days

of receipt of the complaint.

     (b) The department of agriculture shall assess the processing

operation or practice under federal good manufacturing practices as

adopted under the food law of 2000, 2000 PA 92, MCL 289.1101 to

289.8111, and shall conduct an inspection within 10 working days of

receipt of the complaint.

     (3) Based upon the determinations made in subsection (2), the

department of agriculture shall make a finding as to whether a

processing operation is in compliance with this act.

(4)  (3) If the director of the Michigan department of

agriculture or his or her designee finds upon investigation that

the person responsible for the processing operation is using

generally accepted fruit, vegetable, dairy product, and grain

processing practices or otherwise in compliance with law as

described in section 3(2), the director of the Michigan department

of agriculture or his or her designee shall notify that person and

the complainant of this finding in writing. If the director of the

Michigan department of agriculture or his or her designee

identifies the source or potential sources of the problem caused by

the use of other than generally accepted fruit, vegetable, dairy

product, and grain processing practices or other than compliance

with law as described in section 3(2), the director of the Michigan

department of agriculture or his or her designee shall advise the

person responsible for the processing operation that necessary

changes should be made to resolve or abate the problem and to

conform with generally accepted fruit, vegetable, dairy product,

and grain processing practices or with applicable law as described

in section 3(2). The director of the Michigan department of

agriculture or his or her designee shall determine if those changes

are implemented and shall notify the person responsible for the

processing operation and the complainant of this determination in

writing.

(5)  (4) A complainant who brings more than 3 unverified

nuisance complaints against the same processing operation within 3

years may be ordered by the director of the Michigan department of

agriculture to pay to the Michigan department of agriculture the

full costs of investigation of any fourth or subsequent unverified

nuisance complaint against the same processing operation. As used

in this subsection, "unverified nuisance complaint" means a

nuisance complaint in which the director of the department of

agriculture or his or her designee determines that the processing

operation is using generally accepted fruit, vegetable, dairy

product, and grain processing practices.

     Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act does not take effect

unless Senate Bill No. 668 of the 93rd Legislature is enacted into

law.