The Legislative Service Commission staff updates the Revised Code on an ongoing basis, as it completes its act review of enacted legislation.
Updates may be slower during some times of the year, depending on the volume of enacted legislation.
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Section 909.01 | Apiary definitions.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
As used in sections 909.01 to 909.18 of the Revised Code: (A) "Person" includes corporations, companies, societies, associations, partnerships, any individual or combination of individuals, or any institution, park, or other public agency administered by the state or by any district, county, municipal corporation, or other governmental subdivision thereof. When construing or enforcing such sections, the act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent, servant, or other individual acting for or employed by any person as above defined within the scope of his employment or office is deemed to be the act, omission, or failure of such person, as well as that of the officer, agent, servant, or other employee. (B) "Bees" means any stage of any species of the genus Apis. (C) "Bee diseases" means any infectious or contagious disease that is pathogenic or parasitic and affects the eggs, or the larval, pupal, or adult stages, of bees. (D) "Apiary" means any place where one or more colonies or nuclei of bees are kept. (E) "Queen rearing apiaries" means any apiary in which queen bees are reared for sale or gift. (F) "Hive" means any modern frame hive, box hive, box, barrel, log gum, skep, or any other natural or artificial receptacle, or any part thereof, that may be used as a domicile for bees. (G) "Equipment" means any used hives or parts thereof, used frames, used honey houses, used tools, used machines, or used devices employed in the handling or manipulation of bees, honey, or beeswax, or any used container for honey or beeswax that may be used in any apiary. (H) "Serious bee diseases" means any bee disease the director of agriculture determines to be a threat to the beekeeping industry within the state. (I) "Africanized honey bees" means any bees identified by the United States department of agriculture by approved identification methods to be classified as Apis mellifera scutellata. (J) "Swarm" means a population of bees that is not permanently established. (K) "Colony" means the hive and its equipment, including bees, combs, and brood.
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Section 909.02 | Application for registration - certificate.
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 111 - 118th General Assembly
Any person owning or possessing bees shall on or before the first day of June of each year, or thereafter within ten days after coming into ownership or possession of bees, or upon moving bees into this state from outside the state, file with the director of agriculture an application for registration setting forth the exact location of his apiaries and the number of colonies of bees in each apiary, together with such other information as is required by the director, and accompanied by a registration fee of five dollars for each separate apiary owned or possessed by him at time of registration. Any person who submits his application after the dates specified by this section, or after the dates specified in rules adopted by the director, shall be subject to a ten-dollar late filing fee in addition to the five-dollar registration fee. Upon acceptance of the application, the director shall issue to such person a certificate of registration. All certificates issued in accordance with this section expire on the thirty-first day of May next following date of issuance or renewal, and shall be renewed according to the standard renewal procedure of sections 4745.01 to 4745.03 of the Revised Code. No person shall maintain an apiary located on premises other than that of his residence unless such apiary is identifiable by an apiary identification number assigned to such person by the director. Such identification number shall be posted in a conspicuous location in the apiary. The moving, raising, and production of bees, beeswax, honey, and honey products shall be deemed an agricultural pursuit.
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Section 909.03 | Control, eradication or prevention of bee diseases or spread of Africanized honey bees.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
The director of agriculture may make and enforce such rules and orders as in his judgment are necessary to control, eradicate, or prevent the introduction, spread, or dissemination of any bee diseases or Africanized honey bees. No person shall fail to comply with the rules adopted under this section. In the control or eradication of serious bee diseases, the director or his authorized representative shall diagnose the disease and recommend approved control options for it to the beekeeper. If a control is available to the beekeeper for the disease diagnosed but no attempt is made to implement a control within an appropriate time frame as determined by rule, the director may destroy by burning or otherwise any diseased bees, hives, honey, Africanized honey bees, or equipment that he considers necessary for such control or eradication, without remuneration to the owner. Such diseased bees, hives, honey, Africanized honey bees, and equipment are a public nuisance.
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Section 909.04 | Quarantine orders.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
Under sections 909.01 to 909.18 of the Revised Code, the director of agriculture may establish and maintain quarantine orders prohibiting the shipment into or within the state, or any subdivision thereof, of any bees, queen bees, used hives or any part thereof, used equipment, or any material capable of transmitting any bee diseases, or Africanized honey bees for such periods and under such conditions as he considers necessary to control, eradicate, or prevent the introduction, spread, or dissemination of any bee diseases or Africanized honey bees, giving such notice thereof as is prescribed by him. During the existence of such order, no person shall remove or ship from such area any such material except by special permission or order of the director; provided that before the director promulgates the order of quarantine as provided in this section, and after due notice to interested persons, he shall give a public hearing under such rules as he prescribes, at which hearing any interested person may appear and be heard, either in person or by attorney.
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Section 909.05 | Authority to enter upon premises for inspection.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
To enforce sections 909.01 to 909.18 of the Revised Code, the director of agriculture or his authorized representatives, during daylight hours, shall have access to and egress from any apiary or to any premises, buildings, or any other place, public or private, in which he has reason to believe that bees, including Africanized honey bees, honey, wax, used hives, or used equipment is kept. During the inspection, the director or his representative may inspect bee colonies to determine their condition and health, take samples for disease diagnosis or race determination, decide if live colonies exist for apiary registration purposes, and control or eradicate serious bee diseases and Africanized honey bees. If the director or his representative is denied access to any premises where access is sought for the purposes of this section, he may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for a search warrant authorizing access to the premises for those purposes. The court, upon receiving the application, may issue the search warrant for the purposes requested.
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Section 909.06 | State apiarist and deputies.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
The director of agriculture shall appoint a competent entomologist as state apiarist and such number of deputy state apiarists as are necessary to carry out sections 909.01 to 909.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code. Said state apiarist and deputy state apiarists shall be vested with the powers of police officers in the enforcement of such sections, and shall be furnished with official badges or other insignia of authority which shall be carried while on duty.
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Section 909.07 | Board of county commissioners may appropriate funds for inspections - deputy apiarist - report.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 361 - 100th General Assembly
The board of county commissioners may appropriate such funds as it deems sufficient for the inspection of apiaries in its county. It may appoint a deputy apiarist with the consent and concurrence of the director of agriculture, said deputy to serve during the pleasure of said board except as specified in this section. Such deputy shall be paid such salary as the county commissioners determine for each day, or for each half day of inspection work actually done, together with such expenses as are necessarily incurred in the doing of the inspection work. Before the board approves said salary and expenses for payment, such deputy shall submit the same to the director for his approval. Such deputy shall work under the direction of the director and shall be responsible to him for the enforcement of sections 909.01 to 909.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code. The director may terminate the appointment of any deputy upon submitting to the board a statement that such deputy has shown himself to be incompetent, inefficient, or untrustworthy in the discharge of his duties. Such deputy shall furnish to the director such reports as are required and upon blanks furnished by him. A duplicate of such reports shall be presented to the board each time that a statement of salary and expense is presented for payment.
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Section 909.08 | Annual inspection of queen apiaries - certificate.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
Each person within the state engaged in the rearing of queen bees for sale or gift, before the first day of April of each year, shall file with the director of agriculture a request for the inspection of his apiaries where queen bees are reared. The director shall require all queen rearing apiaries to be inspected at least once each year. If the inspection results in the diagnosis of any serious bee disease or indicates the presence of Africanized honey bees, the owner thereof shall not ship, sell, or give away any queen bees until he has controlled or eradicated the disease or bees to the satisfaction of the director. When such diseases or bees have been controlled or eradicated in the queen rearing apiary, or if no serious bee disease is diagnosed or Africanized honey bees are found, the director shall issue a certificate, signed by the state apiarist, a copy of which shall be attached to each package or shipment of queen bees mailed or shipped. The certificate shall be valid for, but not to exceed, one year. The use of tags or other devices bearing an invalid or altered certificate and the misuse of any valid certificate is prohibited.
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Section 909.09 | Permit necessary to transfer.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
No person shall sell, offer for sale, give, offer to give, barter, or offer to barter any bees, honeycombs, or used beekeeping equipment without a permit from the director of agriculture. The permit, or a copy of it, shall accompany any such transfer of ownership. The director may refuse to issue the permit until he finds by inspection that any africanized honey bees are eradicated from and any serious bee diseases are controlled or eradicated from the bees, honeycombs, or used beekeeping equipment. This section does not apply to the transfer of ownership of honeycomb for human consumption.
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Section 909.10 | Inspection certificate required to ship or move bee colonies or any used beekeeping equipment into this state.
Effective:
September 29, 2017
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 49 - 132nd General Assembly
(A) No person shall ship or move bee colonies or any used beekeeping equipment into this state from any other state or country without an inspection certificate issued by an authorized inspector from the state or country wherein shipment or movement originated. The certificate shall identify all pathogens and parasites diagnosed and any controls that were implemented. In the absence of inspection facilities in another state or country, the director of agriculture may issue a permit authorizing the shipment or movement of the bee colonies or used beekeeping equipment into this state, provided that upon entry the bees or equipment is inspected by the department of agriculture. The cost of the inspection shall be paid upon completion in an amount determined by rule of the director. The inspection fees shall be paid to the director and deposited by the director with the treasurer of state to the credit of the plant pest program fund created in section 927.54 of the Revised Code. If any serious bee diseases are diagnosed, appropriate controls and eradication measures immediately shall be implemented by the person shipping or owning the bee colonies or used beekeeping equipment. If the person shipping or owning the bee colonies or equipment does not implement any controls or eradication measures within forty-eight hours from the inspection, the bee colonies or equipment shall be removed from this state at the cost of the person shipping or owning them. (B) Any person selling, shipping, or moving into this state any queen bees or packaged bees shall submit to the director an inspection report issued by an authorized inspector from the state or country wherein shipment or movement originated. One such report shall be submitted annually thirty days prior to the initial sale, shipment, or movement of queen bees or packaged bees of that year. The report shall identify any pathogens and parasites diagnosed and any controls that were implemented. If any serious bee diseases have not been controlled or if inspection reports are not provided as required under this section, such shipments shall be prohibited from entering this state. (C) The director may deny entry of the bee colonies or used equipment if the director determines they are a threat to the bee population of this state. (D) No person shall ship or move into this state any Africanized honey bees.
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Section 909.11 | Additional control and eradication measures.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
(A) The removal of any bees, honeycombs, honey, or used beekeeping equipment from any apiary in the state wherein a serious bee disease is known to exist is prohibited until such disease is controlled or eradicated. The removal of any bees, honeycombs, honey, or used beekeeping equipment may be made from any such apiary, under a special permit signed by the state apiarist, when properly safeguarded to prevent dissemination of such disease. (B) If any swarm or apiary, for which no person claims ownership and that is not registered as required in section 909.02 of the Revised Code, is found to harbor a serious bee disease or Africanized honey bees, then the bees and equipment, if applicable, shall be eradicated.
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Section 909.12 | Frames and honeycombs must be easily removable and accessible.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
No person shall keep or maintain bees in any hive if all frames and honeycombs cannot be readily removed therefrom for inspection or keep or maintain bees in any hive situated where adequate and efficient inspection is difficult, impracticable, or impossible. All cross-comb hives or domiciles for bees, from which the frames and honeycombs cannot be readily removed, are hereby declared to be a public nuisance. If any owner is found using such cross-comb hives or domiciles, the director of agriculture shall notify said owner in writing to cease using them. If, after the expiration of one year from receipt of said notice, the owner has failed to cease using said cross-comb hives or domiciles for housing bees, the director may seize and destroy them without remuneration.
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Section 909.13 | Revocation of certificate or permit.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
The director of agriculture, in accordance with sections 119.01 to 119.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code, may revoke any certificate or permit issued under sections 909.01 to 909.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code, for cause, including any violation of such sections or nonconformity with any rule or order promulgated under such sections in accordance with sections 119.01 to 119.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code. There shall be no revocation of a certificate or permit until the certificate or permit holder first is given an opportunity for a hearing by the director in regard thereto in accordance with sections 119.01 to 119.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code. An appeal may be taken from the action of the director in revocation of a certificate or permit to the court of common pleas as provided in section 119.12 of the Revised Code.
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Section 909.131 | Effect of child support default on certificate.
Effective:
March 22, 2001
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 180 - 123rd General Assembly
On receipt of a notice pursuant to section 3123.43 of the Revised Code, the director of agriculture shall comply with sections 3123.41 to 3123.50 of the Revised Code and any applicable rules adopted under section 3123.63 of the Revised Code with respect to a certificate issued pursuant to this chapter.
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Section 909.14 | Annual report.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
The director of agriculture may publish an annual report and such other information concerning the inspection of bees, or bee diseases, as he deems necessary to the carrying out of sections 909.01 to 909.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code. He shall, from time to time, publish all rules or orders promulgated under such section.
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Section 909.15 | Moneys credited to general revenue fund.
Effective:
September 29, 2013
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 59 - 130th General Assembly
All moneys from registration fees and from fines imposed and recovered under sections 909.01 to 909.18 of the Revised Code shall be paid to the director of agriculture, who shall deposit such moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the plant pest program fund created in section 927.54 of the Revised Code.
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Section 909.16 | Appeal.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
Any person in interest or affected by any order of the director of agriculture, or state apiarists, may appeal therefrom to the director within five days of the service of such order upon him setting forth in writing specifically and in full detail the order on which a hearing is desired, and every reason why such order is deemed unreasonable. On receipt of such appeal, the director shall with reasonable promptness order a hearing thereon, and consider and determine the matters in question. Notice of the time and place of hearing shall be given to the petitioner and to such other persons as the director may direct. Such appeal shall suspend the operation of the order appealed from except as to the orders of the director promulgating a quarantine as provided in section 909.04 of the Revised Code. All hearings of the director shall be open to the public, and his decisions shall be final. The appellant may be represented by an attorney.
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Section 909.17 | Director of agriculture to prosecute violators.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
The director of agriculture or his representatives shall prosecute all violations of sections 909.01 to 909.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code, before any court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which the violation occurs or person accused thereof resides. The complainant shall not be required to give security for costs. The prosecuting attorney of each county, or the attorney general, shall conduct such prosecutions.
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Section 909.18 | Prohibition.
Effective:
October 1, 1953
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly
No person shall violate sections 909.01 to 909.18, inclusive, of the Revised Code, or any rule or order of the director of agriculture promulgated under such sections in accordance with sections 119.01 to 119.13, inclusive, of the Revised Code.
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Section 909.99 | Penalty.
Latest Legislation:
Senate Bill 134 - 120th General Assembly
(A)(1) Whoever violates sections 909.03 and 909.10 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree on a first offense; on each subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. (2) Any person who violates division (D) of section 909.10 of the Revised Code also shall not be remunerated for the eradication of his Africanized honey bees. (B) Whoever violates any section of Chapter 909. of the Revised Code for which no penalty otherwise is provided is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on a first offense; on each subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.
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