§ 2-2635. Pesticide dealer license; when required; application; fee; expiration; display; department; powers; disciplinary actions; restricted-use pesticides; records required; registered agent for service of process or consent to jurisdiction.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person shall not distribute at wholesale or retail or possess pesticides with an intent to distribute them without a pesticide dealer license for each distribution location. Any manufacturer, registrant, or distributor who has no pesticide dealer outlet licensed within this state and who distributes such pesticides directly into this state shall obtain a pesticide dealer license for his, her, or its principal out-of-state location or outlet. (2) The requirements of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to: (a) A commercial applicator or noncommercial applicator licensed under sections 2-2636 to 2-2642 who uses restricted-use pesticides only as an integral part of a pesticide application service and does not distribute any unapplied pesticide; (b) A federal, state, county, or municipal agency using restricted-use pesticides only for its own program; or (c) Persons who sell only pesticide products in containers holding fifty pounds or less by weight or one gallon or less by volume and do not sell any restricted-use pesticides or bulk pesticides. (3) A pesticide dealer may distribute restricted-use pesticides only to: (a) A licensed pesticide dealer; (b) A licensed certified applicator issued a license with the appropriate category for using the restricted-use pesticide being distributed; (c) An applicator issued a license by another state with the appropriate category for using the restricted-use pesticide being distributed; (d) A noncertified applicator authorized by the Pesticide Act to apply restricted-use pesticides if the licensed certified applicator supervising the noncertified applicator is issued a license with the appropriate category for using the restricted-use pesticide being distributed; or (e) Any other person if the pesticide dealer maintains records set out in rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act requiring the person to verify in writing that: (i) The restricted-use pesticide will be delivered to an applicator described in subdivision (3)(b), (c), or (d) of this section; and (ii) The applicator receiving the restricted-use pesticide acknowledges and agrees to the distribution. (4) A pesticide dealer license shall expire on December 31 of each year, unless it is suspended or revoked before that date. Such license shall not be transferable to another person or location and shall be prominently displayed to the public in the pesticide dealer's place of business. (5) If the pesticide dealer has had a license suspended or revoked, or has otherwise had a history of violations of the Pesticide Act, the department may require an additional demonstration of dealer qualifications prior to issuance or renewal of a license to such person. (6) Application for an initial pesticide dealer license shall be submitted to the department prior to commencing business as a pesticide dealer. Application for renewal of a pesticide dealer license shall be submitted to the department by January 1 of each year. All applications shall be accompanied by an annual license fee of twenty-five dollars. The fee may be increased by the director by rules and regulations adopted and promulgated pursuant to the act. The fee shall not exceed one hundred dollars per license. Application shall be on a form prescribed by the department and shall include the full name of the person applying for such license. If such applicant is a partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation, or organized group of persons, the full name of each member of the firm, partnership, or limited liability company or of the principal officers of the association or corporation shall be given on the application. Such application shall further state the address of each outlet to be licensed, the principal business address of the applicant, the name of the person domiciled in this state authorized to receive and accept service of summons of legal notices of all kinds for the applicant, and any other necessary information prescribed by the department. An applicant located outside this state shall file with the department either a written designation of a resident agent for service of process or a written consent to the jurisdiction of this state for actions taken in the administration and enforcement of the act. If an application for renewal of a pesticide dealer license is not filed before January 1 of the year for which the license is to be issued, an additional fee equal to twenty-five percent of the fee due and owing per month, not to exceed one hundred percent, shall be paid by the applicant before the license may be issued. The purpose of the additional fee is to cover the administrative costs associated with collecting fees. All fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Pesticide Administrative Cash Fund. (7) Each licensed pesticide dealer shall be responsible for the acts of each person employed by him or her in the solicitation and distribution of pesticides and all claims and recommendations for use of pesticides. The dealer's license shall be subject to denial, suspension, modification, or revocation after a hearing for any violation of the act, whether committed by the dealer or by the dealer's officer, agent, or employee. (8) The department shall require each pesticide dealer to maintain records of the dealer's purchases and distribution of all restricted-use pesticides and may require such records to be kept separate from other business records. The department may prescribe by rules and regulations the information to be included in the records. The dealer shall keep such records for a period of three years and shall provide the department access to examine such records and a copy of any record on request. History: Laws 1993, LB 267, § 34; Laws 1993, LB 588, § 14; Laws 1994, LB 884, § 8; Laws 1997, LB 752, § 54; Laws 2001, LB 329, § 5; Laws 2002, LB 436, § 8; Laws 2013, LB69, § 5; Laws 2019, LB320, § 7.