Revised
October, 2004
Administration: This Act is administered jointly by the Nebraska Livestock Auction Market Board and the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, State Office Building, 301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska 68509. Telephone: (402) 471-2351.
Revisions: This Act was last revised during the 2004 Nebraska Legislature.
Rules: A regulation has been promulgated under this Act known as Title 23, Chapter 12, Nebraska Administrative Code - Livestock Auction Market Regulations.
54-1156 Act, how cited.
54-1157 Declaration of policy.
54-1158 Terms, defined.
54-1159 Places exempt from act.
54-1160 Livestock Auction Market Board; creation;
appointment of members; term; compensation; meetings; general powers.
54-1161 License required; application for license;
contents.
54-1162 Hearing; notice.
54-1163 Hearing; determination; factors; issuance of
license.
54-1165 License fee; payments; disposition.
54-1166 Livestock auction markets; license personal to
holder; transfer; termination.
54-1168 Records required; available for
inspection.
54-1169 Livestock Auction Market Board; complaint;
notice of hearing; process; hearings; findings; suspension or revocation of license.
54-1170 Board; transcripts; appeal;
procedure.
54-1171 Violations; penalties; injunction.
54-1172 Livestock Auction Market Fund; creation;
use; investment.
54-1173 Livestock Auction Market Fund; license and
permit fees; occupation tax; unexpended balance; disposition.
54-1174 Certified copy of license and bond; use as
evidence.
54-1177 Certified copy of license; posting;
fee.
54-1178 Maintenance in sanitary condition; rules and
regulations.
54-1180 Inspection of livestock; duties; fees; use;
disposition;
notice of change.
54-1181 Veterinarians; agreement for services;
contents; compensation; liability for torts, when.
54-1181.01 Violations; penalty.
54-1182 Livestock sold; treatment by veterinarians;
release; documentation; rules and regulations.
54-1183 Livestock auction market or packing plant;
brand inspection; election to provide.
54-1184 Livestock auction market or packing plant;
election; how made.
54-1185 Livestock auction market or packing plant;
brand inspection; how conducted; fees; guarantee.
54-1157. Declaration of policy. It is hereby
declared to be the policy of the State of Nebraska, and the purpose of the Livestock
Auction Market Act, to encourage, stimulate, and stabilize the agricultural economy of
the state in general, and the livestock economy in particular, by encouraging the
construction, development, and productive operation of livestock auction markets as
key industries of the state and those markets' particular trade areas, with all benefits of
fully open, free, competitive factors, in respect to sales and purchases of livestock.
54-1158. Terms, defined. As used in the
Livestock Auction Market Act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(2) Board means the Livestock Auction Market Board;
(3) Department means the Department of Agriculture;
(4) Designated veterinarian means an accredited veterinarian who has been designated
and authorized by the State Veterinarian to make inspections of livestock at livestock
auction markets as may be required by law or regulation whether such livestock is
moved in interstate or intrastate commerce;
(5) Director means the Director of Agriculture;
(6) Livestock means cattle, calves, swine, sheep, and goats;
(7) Livestock auction market means any place, establishment, or facility commonly
known as a livestock auction market, sales ring, or the like, conducted or operated for
compensation as an auction market for livestock, consisting of pens or other
enclosures, and their appurtenances, in which livestock are received, held, sold, or kept
for sale or shipment;
(8) Livestock auction market operator means any person engaged in the business of
conducting or operating a livestock auction market, whether personally or through
agents or employees;
(9) Market license means the license for a livestock auction market authorized to be
issued under the act;
(10) Person means any individual, firm, association, partnership, limited liability
company, or corporation; and
(11) State Veterinarian means the veterinarian in charge of the Bureau of Animal
Industry within the department or his or her designee, subordinate to the director.
54-1159. Places exempt from act. The
Livestock Auction Market Act shall not be construed to include:
(2) Any place or operation conducted for a dispersal sale of the livestock of farmers,
dairypersons, or livestock breeders or feeders, where no other livestock is sold or
offered for sale; or
(3) Any place or operation where a breeder or an association of breeders of livestock
assemble and offer for sale and sell under their own management any livestock, when
such breeders assume all responsibility of such sale and the title of livestock sold. This
shall apply to all purebred livestock association sales.
54-1160. Livestock Auction Market Board; creation;
appointment of members; term; compensation; meetings; general powers.
There is hereby created in the Department of Agriculture a Livestock Auction
Market Board consisting of three members. The board shall consist of the Director of
Agriculture, the State Veterinarian, and a livestock auction market operator to be
appointed by the Governor. The Director of Agriculture shall be chairperson of the
board. The term of office of the appointed member shall be four years. The appointed
member shall receive as compensation for his or her services the sum of fifty dollars
per day or twenty-five dollars per half day and actual expenses incurred while in the
discharge of his or her duties. The board shall meet for the ordinary transaction of
official business and at the call of the director. A majority affirmative vote of the board
shall be necessary to constitute an official act.
The board shall have power and duty to:
(2) Prescribe and adopt the forms of application for market licenses, the forms of notice
of hearings on market license applications, and such other forms as necessary to
perform and carry out its functions;
(3) Adopt and promulgate rules subject to the approval of the director governing the
conduct of hearings before it for applications for market licenses, transfers,
suspensions, and revocations consistent with the Livestock Auction Market Act and not
contrary to the general laws of Nebraska governing hearings before administrative
boards; and
(4) Administer section 54-1166 relating to terminations of market licenses and hearings
regarding such terminations.
54-1161. License required; application for license; contents.
No person shall conduct or operate a livestock auction market unless
he or she holds a market license therefor, upon which the current annual market license
fee has been paid. Any person making application for a new market license shall do so
to the board in writing, verified by the applicant, on a form prescribed by the board,
showing the following:
(2) Financial responsibility of the applicant in the form of a statement of all assets and
liabilities;
(3) A legal description of the property and its exact location with a complete description
of the facilities proposed to be used in connection with such livestock auction market;
(4) The schedule of charges applicant proposes for all services proposed to be
rendered; and
(5) A detailed statement of the facts upon which the applicant relies showing the
general confines of the trade area proposed to be served by such livestock auction
market, the benefits to be derived by the livestock industry, and the services proposed
to be rendered.
Such application shall be accompanied by the annual fee as prescribed in section
54-1165.
54-1162. Hearing; notice. Upon the filing of
the application as provided in section 54-1161, the director shall fix a reasonable time
for the hearing at a place designated by him or her at which time a hearing shall be held
on the proposed location of the livestock auction market. The director forthwith shall
cause a copy of such application, together with notice of the time and place of hearing,
to be served by mail not less than fifteen days prior to such hearing, upon the following:
(2) All livestock auction market operators in the state.
The director shall give further notice of such hearing by publication of the notice thereof
once in a daily or weekly newspaper circulated in the city or village where such hearing
is to be held, as in the opinion of the director will give reasonable public notice of such
time and place of hearing to persons interested therein.
54-1163. Hearing; determination; factors; issuance of
license. The hearing required by section 54-1162 shall be heard by two
or more members of the board. If the board determines, after such hearing, that the
proposed livestock auction market would beneficially serve the livestock economy, it
shall issue a market license to the applicant. In determining whether or not the
application should be granted or denied, the board shall give reasonable consideration
to:
(2) The financial stability, business integrity and fiduciary responsibility of the
applicant;
(3) The adequacy of the facilities described to permit the performance of market
services proposed in the application;
(4) The present needs for market services or additional services as expressed by
livestock growers and feeders in the community; and
(5) Whether the proposed livestock auction market would be permanent and
continuous.
54-1165. License fee; payments; disposition.
Every livestock auction market operator shall pay annually, on or before August 1, a
market license fee of one hundred fifty dollars to the board for each livestock auction
market operated by him or her, which payment shall constitute a renewal for one year.
Fees so paid shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Livestock Auction
Market Fund for the use of the board in paying the expenses of administration of the
Livestock Auction Market Act.
54-1166. Livestock auction markets; license personal to
holder; transfer; termination. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, each market license shall be personal to the holder and the facilities covered
thereby and transferable without a hearing. The market license covering any livestock
auction market which does not hold a sale for a period of one year shall terminate
automatically one year from the date of the last sale conducted by the livestock auction
market and the license holder whose license is so terminated may request a hearing by
filing a written request for such hearing within twenty days after the termination of the
license.
54-1168. Records required; available for inspection.
Every market license holder under the Livestock Auction Market Act shall keep
an accurate record of all transactions conducted in the ordinary course of his or her
business. Such records shall be available for examination of the board, or its duly
authorized representative, in respect to a market license issued under such act.
54-1169. Livestock Auction Market Board; complaint; notice
of hearing; process; hearings; findings; suspension or revocation of license.
The board may, upon its own motion, whenever it has reason to believe the
provisions of the Livestock Auction Market Act have been violated, or upon verified
complaint of any person in writing, investigate the actions of any market license holder,
and if it finds probable cause to do so, shall file a complaint against the market license
holder which shall be set down for hearing before the board upon fifteen days' notice
served upon such market license holder either by personal service upon him or her or
by registered or certified mail or telegram prior to such hearing.
The director shall have the power to administer oaths, certify to all official acts, and
subpoena and bring before the board any person in this state as a witness, to compel
the producing of books and papers, and to take the testimony of any person on
deposition in the same manner as is prescribed by law in the procedure before the
courts of this state in civil cases. Processes issued by the director shall extend to all
parts of the state and may be served by any person authorized to serve processes.
Each witness who shall appear by the order of the director at any hearing before the
board shall receive for such attendance the same fees allowed by law to witnesses in
civil cases appearing in the district court and mileage at the same rate provided in
section 81-1176, which amount shall be paid by the party at whose request such
witness is subpoenaed. When any witness has not been required to attend at the
request of any party, but has been subpoenaed by the director, his or her fees and
mileage shall be paid by the director in the same manner as other expenses of the
board are paid.
All powers of the director as provided in this section shall likewise be applicable to
hearings held on applications for the issuance of a market license.
Formal finding by the board after due hearing that any market license holder: (1) Has
ceased to conduct a livestock auction market business; (2) has been guilty of fraud or
misrepresentation as to the titles, charges, number, brands, weights, proceeds of sale,
or ownership of livestock; (3) has violated any of the provisions of the Livestock Auction
Market Act; or (4) has violated any of the rules or regulations adopted and published by
the board, shall be sufficient cause for the suspension or revocation of the market
license of the offending livestock auction market operator.
54-1170. Board; transcripts; appeal; procedure.
The board shall keep a complete transcript of all proceedings and evidence
presented in any hearing before it. The applicant for a market license, or any protestant
formally appearing in the hearing before the board for such market license, the holder
of any market license suspended or revoked, or any party to a transfer application may
appeal the order of the board, and the appeal shall be in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act.
54-1171. Violations; penalties; injunction.
Any person who violates any provision or requirements of the Livestock Auction Market
Act is guilty of a Class II misdemeanor. Each day any person operates or conducts a
livestock auction market in this state without a license as prescribed in such act is
considered a separate offense. The director may institute proceedings to enjoin the
operation of a livestock auction market if the person sought to be enjoined is operating
a livestock auction market without a market license in good standing as provided in
such act.
54-1172. Livestock Auction Market Fund; creation; use;
investment. Salaries and expenses of employees, costs of hearings,
and all other costs of the board in the administration of the Livestock Auction Market
Act shall be paid from the Livestock Auction Market Fund which is hereby created. Any
money in the Livestock Auction Market Fund available for investment shall be invested
by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the
Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.
54-1173. Livestock Auction Market Fund; license and permit
fees; occupation tax; unexpended balance; disposition. The license
and permit fees collected as provided by the Livestock Auction Market Act and are an
occupation tax and shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Livestock
Auction Market Fund. All money so collected shall be appropriated to the uses of the
Department of Agriculture for the purpose of administering such act and shall be paid
out only on vouchers approved by the director and upon the warrant or warrants issued
by the Director of Administrative Services. Any unexpended balance in such fund at the
close of any biennium shall, when reappropriated, be available for the uses and
purposes of the fund for the succeeding biennium; otherwise it shall lapse into the
General Fund.
54-1174. Certified copy of license and bond; use as evidence.
A copy of any license and bond provided for in the Livestock Auction
Market Act and certified by the director may be procured upon payment of a fee of one
dollar for each copy and shall be received as competent evidence in any court in the
State of Nebraska without further proof.
54-1177. Certified copy of license; posting; fee.
A certified copy of an issued license may be procured by the holder of the
original upon payment of a fee of one dollar therefor. The original or certified copy of
such license shall be posted during sale periods in a conspicuous place on the
premises where the livestock auction market is conducted.
54-1178. Maintenance in sanitary condition; rules and
regulations. Every livestock auction market shall be maintained in a
sanitary condition under the rules and regulations as prescribed by the director.
54-1180. Inspection of livestock; duties; fees; use;
disposition; notice of change. All cattle, calves, swine, sheep, and
goats, upon entering a livestock auction market, shall be inspected for health before
being offered for sale. Such inspection shall be made by a designated veterinarian.
The fees for such inspection shall be established by rules and regulations of the State
Veterinarian and shall be collected by the operator of the livestock auction market.
Such fees shall be used to pay the fees of necessary inspections and for no other
purpose and shall be remitted as may be provided by regulation. The fees shall be
remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Livestock Auction Market Fund and shall
be expended exclusively to pay the fees of providing necessary inspections at the
livestock auction market which has remitted such fees. Each designated veterinarian
making market inspections shall be paid twenty-five dollars for each regularly scheduled
sale day in each calendar month as a guaranteed minimum salary for providing
adequate inspection services. If the fees collected each calendar month by the market
operator do not equal such amount, the market operator shall make up the difference in
his or her remittance to the state. The rules and regulations establishing fees for such
inspection shall not be adopted, amended, or repealed until after notice by mail to each
market licensee and designated veterinarian of the time and place of hearing on the
question of adoption, amendment, or repeal of such rules and regulations; such notice
shall be mailed at least ten days prior to the date of hearing and shall be sufficient if
addressed to the last-known address of each market licensee and designated
veterinarian shown on the records of the department.
54-1181. Veterinarians; agreement for services; contents;
compensation; liability for torts, when. The State Veterinarian shall
make the designation of the veterinarians required by sections 54-1180 and 54-1182 by
entering into an agreement with any duly accredited veterinarian for his or her
professional services in performing necessary inspections. Such agreement shall
provide that the State Veterinarian may terminate it at any time for what he or she
deems to be just cause and shall further provide that the state pay such veterinarian a
fee as established by section 54-1180, which amount shall be paid monthly from the
Livestock Auction Market Fund. Such agreement shall make the designated
veterinarian an agent for the Department of Agriculture to perform the duties assigned
by sections 54-1180 to 54-1182, and the rules and regulations prescribed by the State
Veterinarian, but shall not be deemed to make the designated veterinarian an officer or
employee of the state. The orders of such designated veterinarian, issued in the
performance of the duties assigned under sections 54-1180 to 54-1182 and the rules
and regulations prescribed by the State Veterinarian, shall have the same force and
effect as though such order had been made by the State Veterinarian. Designated
veterinarians shall not be liable for reasonable acts performed to carry out the duties as
set forth in sections 54-1180 and 54-1182 and the rules and regulations prescribed by
the State Veterinarian pursuant to such sections.
54-1181.01. Violations; penalty. Any
person engaging in livestock commerce at a licensed livestock auction market who
violates any provision of sections 54-1180 and 54-1181, or any rules or regulations duly
promulgated thereunder, shall be guilty of a Class II misdemeanor.
54-1182. Livestock sold; treatment by veterinarians; release;
documentation; rules and regulations. Any livestock sold or disposed of
at a livestock auction market, before removal therefrom, shall be released by the
designated veterinarian and treated to conform with the health requirements of the rules
and regulations prescribed by the State Veterinarian for the movement of livestock.
When required, the designated veterinarian shall furnish each owner with
documentation showing such inspection, treatment, or quarantine. No such livestock
for interstate or intrastate shipment shall be released until all the requirements of the
state of its destination have been complied with. Any diseased or exposed livestock
shall be handled in accordance with the rules and regulations as prescribed by the
State Veterinarian.
54-1183. Livestock auction market or packing plant; brand
inspection; election to provide. The owner or operator of any livestock
auction market or packing plant located in any county outside the brand inspection area
created in section 54-1,109 may voluntarily elect to provide brand inspection for all
cattle brought to such livestock auction market or packing plant from within the brand
inspection area upon compliance with sections 54-1183 to 54-1185.
54-1184. Livestock auction market or packing plant; election;
how made. The election provided for by section 54-1183 shall be made
by (1) filing with the Secretary of State, in a form to be prescribed by the secretary, a
written notice of such election and agreement to be bound by section 54-1185 and (2)
by posting conspicuously on the premises a notice of the fact that brand inspection is
provided at such livestock auction market or packing plant.
54-1185. Livestock auction market or packing plant; brand
inspection; how conducted; fees; guarantee. Inspection provided for in
sections 54-1183 to 54-1185 shall be conducted in the manner established by the
Livestock Brand Act. The owner or operator making such election may be required to
guarantee to the Nebraska Brand Committee that inspection fees derived from such
livestock auction market or packing plant will be sufficient, in each twelve-month period,
to pay the per diem and mileage of the inspectors required and that he or she will
reimburse the committee for any deficit incurred in any such twelve-month period. Such
guarantee shall be secured by a corporate surety bond, to be approved by the
Secretary of State, in a penal sum to be established by the Nebraska Brand Committee.
54-1156. Act, how cited. Sections 54-1156 to
54-1185 shall be known and may be cited as the Livestock Auction Market Act.
(1) Accredited veterinarian means a veterinarian duly licensed by the State of Nebraska
and approved by the deputy administrator of the United States Department of
Agriculture in accordance with 9 C.F.R. part 161 as the regulations existed on
September 1, 2001.
(1) Any place or operation where Future Farmers of America, 4-H groups, or private
fairs conduct sales of livestock;
(1) Administer the Livestock Auction Market Act in respect to recommending the
issuance, suspensions, and revocations of market licenses;
(1) The name and address of the applicant and, if the applicant is an individual, his or
her social security number, with statement of the names and addresses of all persons
having any financial interest in the applicant and the amount of such interest;
(1) All duly organized statewide livestock associations in the state who have filed
written requests with the board to receive notice of such hearings and such other
livestock associations as in the opinion of the director would be interested in such
application; and
(1) The ability of the applicant to comply with the federal Packers and Stockyards
Act, 1921, 7 U.S.C. 181 et seq., as amended;