WEST virginia legislature
2018 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4179
By Delegate A. Evans, R. Romine, Hamilton, Lynch, Sobonya, C. Miller, Folk, Rowan, Frich, Summers and Fast
[Introduced January 18, 2018;
Referred
to the Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources then Government
Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §16-7-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to transferring milk rules and regulations from Department of Health and Human Resources to Department of Agriculture; requiring consultation with Department of Health and Human Resources; and striking outdated language.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 7. PURE FOOD AND DRUGS.
§16-7-5. Regulations by
state board of health as to milk and milk products.
(a) The West Virginia board of health Department
of Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human
Resources, shall adopt rules and regulations to provide clean and
safe milk and fresh milk products, and, when promulgated, these regulations
shall be the minimum requirements to be enforced by state and local
health authorities throughout the state. Provided, That except
in any case where the milk or milk product involved creates, or appears to
create, an imminent hazard to the public health, or in any case of a willful
refusal to permit an authorized inspection, that any regulations promulgated by
the board of health shall provide that prior to any suspension or revocation of
a permit issued to any dairy farm, milk plant, receiving station, transfer
station and distribution station, the holder of such permit shall be served
with a written notice to suspend or revoke such permit, which notice shall
specify with particularity the violations in question and afford the holder
reasonable opportunity to correct such violations: Provided, however,
That the proposed order to deny, suspend or revoke a permit shall not be
effective until notice in writing has been delivered to the holder of such
permit who shall have forty-eight hours therefrom in which to make application
to the county health officer for a hearing thereon. The county health officer
shall, within seventy-two hours of receipt of such application, give a notice
in writing to the holder of such permit setting forth the time and place of the
hearing and proceed to a hearing to ascertain the facts of such violation and
upon evidence presented at such hearing shall affirm, modify or rescind the
proposed order to suspend. A copy of such regulations shall be furnished to the
commissioner of agriculture for his guidance in performing any duties with
relation to milk and milk products imposed on him by law
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to transfer authority regarding milk and milk products for the DHHR to the Department of Agriculture.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.