Oklahoma Apiary Act reports

Oklahoma State
Beekeepers Association

Oklahoma Apiary Act of 2005

Update: (11/2005)

Oklahoma state law requires state agencies to work with interested parties to the maximum extent possible when drafting or revising rules of enforcement associated with state laws. To this end, representatives from the Oklahoma Beekeepers Association (OBA) and our affiliated beekeeping associations have been meeting with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) - Plant Industry and Consumer Services (PICS) division to provide input regarding the draft rules associated with the recently revised Oklahoma Apiary Act. The rules identify the “rules of enforcement” that must be complied with and the associated fees specified by the Oklahoma Apiary Act.

It is OBA’s desire that the beekeeping community has the opportunity to review and comment on the rules and proposed fees associated with the Apiary Act before they are submitted for legislative approval. Links to the draft rules are provided below. (The documents are in Adobe PDF format and have been re-formatted for readability by OBA. Unformatted versions of these documents, identifying deleted and new language, may be obtained from ODAFF- PICS.)

Title 35, Chap. 2 - Fees

Title 35, Chap. 30, SubChap. 38 - Apiaries

Critical dates of interest are explained as follows:

Feb 4: Ag Board-approved rules introduced for approval in Legislative session

Legislative Update: (3/2005)

House committee updated version of bill here

There has been much activity regarding OK House measure HB1809 as originally introduced in the state Ag Committee during the last month. Rep. Don Armes, in conjunction with Ag Commissioner Terry Peach, and other Ag Department personnel agreed to revisit the language submitted to the House committee. The new look at the language was based on the lobbying efforts of OSBA president Jerry Logan along with officials and representatives of other OSBA and the affiliated clubs.

Reports from Jerry and NEOBA representative Euvonne Harrison indicated that several meetings occurred the week of February 14-18 to discuss and resolve beekeepers issues with the previously submitted language. The revised draft submitted to the committee on February 22 resulted in the following major changes:

§ Migratory beekeepers was redefined to mean beekeepers moving or transporting bees into the state

§ Language was added to require notification and certification of health to Ag for all hives entering the state prior to entry

§ Language making it possible to establish an Apiary Advisory Committee was retained as written, but commitment was made to establish an advisory committee composed of a representative from each of the beekeeping clubs in the state as well as representatives from the OSBA

§ All language regarding mandatory registration of hives and their locations was removed

§ Language was added to make beekeeper registration voluntary and requiring a fee for said registration in accordance with rules set forth by the advisory committee

§ Language was added requiring hive ownership identification and contact information to be placed at all apiary locations for non-registered beekeepers

§ Language regarding placement of new hives near existing apiaries was changed to reflect a limitation to doing so only when a threat to the health or welfare of the existing apiary would result

§ Language was amended to define capabilities for Ag to determine identification and disposition of abandoned apiaries

§ Language was added to existing law to provide a means for Ag to certify hives as being free from diseases or pests on a fee-for-service basis as established by the Board.

§ Language allowing for the establishment of a Certified Beekeeper Program and a voluntary European Honeybee Certification Program was retained

§ The “Georgia Law” was retained making it illegal for governments other than the state level to establish laws prohibiting beekeeping within their jurisdictions

The House Ag Committee passed these changes as amended on to the full house on February 28.

Legislative Update: (2/2005)

OBA President Jerry Logan and other OBA representatives have been meeting with OK House Representative Don Armes, Ag Commissioner Terry Peach and other Ag officials to resolve issues associated with the submitted proposal. Some areas of contention are listed below. This list does not include language proposed by beekeepers that was omitted from the submitted measure.

- Language allowing entry to any premises or mode of transportation without notification, consent or warrant during reasonable hours for the purpose of executing any part of the legislation
- Language permitting opening of any packages, bundles, or containers as deemed necessary by the department
- Language permitting examining and copying of any records or documents as deemed necessary by the department
- Language permitting examining any devices, collecting and submitting any samples for analysis with costs assessed to the beekeeper regardless of result as deemed necessary by the department
- Language permitting the removal or destruction of bees, hives, equipment or other articles without the consent of the beekeeper as deemed necessary by the department
- Language requiring the registration, assignment of an identification number and specific location tracking of all hives within the state
- Language requiring the establishment of mandatory fee for registration
- Language permitting the confiscation and destruction of unregistered hives
- Language requiring the destruction of any hives deemed by the Ag department to be abandoned hives within any county where Africanized bees have been confirmed (Abandonment is defined as failure to identify a hive owner after a reasonable effort has been made. What constitutes a "reasonable effort" is undefined.)
- Language giving the department the authority to issue, renew, deny, modify, suspend, cancel or revoke any license, certificate, permit, identification or order regarding beekeepers and beekeeping
- Language giving the department the authority to issue quarantines in the interests of public safety, said quarantine in effect until the Ag Department deems appropriate
- Language giving the department the authority to Issue rules governing specifics of the law with or without an Apiary Advisory committee at their discretion
- Removing language that protects Oklahoma beekeepers from out-of-state (potentially diseased or Africanized) migratory hives being placed within 2 miles of their apiaries.

When the Ag Department provided it's draft measure to Rep. Armes for submission to the House, it summarily dismissed much of the input and the efforts of state beekeepers in attempting to help draft sensible legislation. These actions on the part of the Ag Department have done much to hinder their relationship with the majority of the state's beekeepers. This is a move the Ag Department can ill afford since it does not currently have the expertise or resources to administer the proposed measure submitted. By their own statements, officials at Ag have said they would have to rely heavily on assistance, input and cooperation from state beekeepers to protect Oklahomans from the spread of Africanized bees - the "intended purpose" of their submitted proposal.

The proposed measure, HB1809, was introduced by Rep. Armes on February 7, 2005 with the intent of pushing it through as an emergency measure. It is currently alive and on the docket. It is our hope that the bill can be pulled and resubmitted at a later date with language that makes sense for beekeepers, all of Oklahoma's agriculural interests, and most especially the general public.

We'll keep you posted as events unfold.

January:

(1/26/05) The Apiary Act bill, HB1809, was officially submitted as emergency legislation (meaning implementation in late 2005). The submitted bill's language differs significantly from that which was discussed at the January 4 Ag Department/beekeeper meeting. You can view the bill here.

After reading the submitted bill, feel free to contact your legislator or Don Armes. You can find them at http://www2.lsb.state.ok.us/. The members of the Agriculture Committee are:

Rep. Dale DeWitt, Chairman
Rep. Phil Richardson, Vice-Chairman
Representative Don Armes
Representative Lisa J. Billy
Representative James Covey
Representative Jeff Hickman
Representative Terry Hyman
Representative Rob Johnson
Representative Ryan McMullen
Representative Jerry McPeak
Representative Curt Roggow
Representative Wade Rousselot
Representative Joe Sweeden

-The meeting to review proposed Apiary rules/legislation took place on Tuesday, January 18, 2005. More information on the meeting will be posted soon.

-The first public meeting was held Tuesday, January 4. report below

January 4 Oklahoma Apiary Act meeting report:

A joint meeting between personnel from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, beekeepers and interested public parties was held to discuss the Proposed Oklahoma Apiary Act of 2005. The purpose of the meeting was to provide a means for all concerned parties to have input into the laws needed to maintain beekeeping in Oklahoma in a manner that serves the public good, as well as the beekeeping industry and agriculture in Oklahoma as a whole, while protecting the safety, interests and concerns of the State, beekeepers and the general public. It was determined that legislation should be proposed that addresses the general intentions identified for each of the topical areas listed below. Again, these items are OUR summary (not the State's) of the general ideas to be contained within each section and not the exact language of the proposal to be presented. Additional meetings will be held to identify the rules to be proposed for implementing each topical area.

Purpose - defines the purpose of the proposed legislation, i.e. defines beekeeping as essential to agriculture, forestry and the ecology of the state and sets up legislation to enable and provide for development of regulatory programs necessary to protect honeybees and beekeeping from diseases, pests and other threats.

Definitions - establishes the meanings of terminology associated with the and contained within proposed legislation.

Enforcement, Administration and Personnel - would give authority to and provide a means for the Department of Agriculture to implement and administer the various aspects of the proposed legislation, including the assignment of personnel positions to manage the states functions regarding beekeeping.

Registration - would provide a means through which the state can identify beekeepers and apiary locations for the purposes of notification, assistance, disease and pest control, and threat mitigation as necessary to safeguard beekeepers, beekeeping, agriculture and the publics interests.

Equipment - identifies what constitutes the minimal proper beekeeping equipment to allow for the various actions needed to meet the requirements of the proposed legislation with minimal impact on beekeepers and apiary operations.

Inspection - would establish the authority and criteria by which the Department of Agriculture is to operate for the inspection of apiaries as well as the regulations needed to promote safe and healthy operation of beekeeping sites. Also intended to provide a means for the state to identify and minimize risks and threats posed by abandoned hives, hive equipment or feral colonies believed to present a danger to beekeepers, apiaries or the general public.

Transportation or sale of honeybees - would provide a means by which the Department of Agriculture can ensure the safe transportation and transfer of honeybees within, into, or out of the state. This section would also allow for the rules necessary to ensure that honeybees and the associated equipment and materials sold within the state are free from diseases or pests which could harm beekeeping, beekeepers or the general public.

Quarantines - would allow the Department of Agriculture to establish rules and guidelines for quarantines and perform quarantines as necessary to prevent the spread of diseases, pests or other threats to the beekeeping industry, agriculture and the general public.

Violations - identifies what would constitute a violation of the proposed legislation in so far as such a violation would pose a risk or threat to apiaries, beekeepers, beekeeping, agriculture or the general public.

Certified Beekeeper - provides a means by which a voluntary beekeeper certification program could be implemented to recognize individuals possessing the minimum set of specific knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for safe and successful beekeeping operations within the state.

Voluntary Inspector Team Program - would make provision for a training and certification program for volunteers from the beekeeping industry to assist the Department of Agriculture with inspections. This provision would allow for some level of self-regulation by the beekeeping industry and reduce costs to the state while ensuring the protections necessary under the proposed legislation.

Confiscation of Bees and Hives - would provide a means for the Department of Agriculture to ultimately ensure the protections under the proposed legislation by establishing rules and guidelines for the confiscation of bees, hives and such equipment as necessary if immediate threats, or unmitigated violations are found to exist.

Rules - would give authority to the Board of Agriculture to establish rules for implementing the proposed legislation and would establish the requirement that an apiary advisory board made up of beekeepers and other interested parties have opportunity to review the rules and changes to them prior implementation.

Beekeeping Restriction Prohibition - would allow the Department of Agriculture to retain sole authority to prohibit, impede or restrict the establishment of honeybees within beehives in order to ensure the continued benefits to the agriculture, forestry and the ecology of all areas within the state as provided by beekeeping and honeybees. This section of the proposed legislation WOULD NOT prevent other levels of government within the state from establishing the rules, guidelines or certification requirements by which beekeeping activities could be conducted while established within their jurisdiction.

Oklahoma State Apiary Advisory Board - would provide for an apiary board or council composed of beekeepers and/or other parties having an interest in beekeeping to serve in an advisory capacity to the Department of Agriculture and it's agents. The function of this board would be to: review proposed rules, guidelines and regulations and changes to them; provide advice and council regarding development of regulatory, training and certification programs; provide advice and assistance as needed in cases of immediate threats to the honeybee population from diseases, pests or other threats.

The specific language identifying the intent of these sections of the proposed legislation IS NOT contained above and has not been finalized. The rules by which each section would be implemented HAVE NOT been developed. Input is being sought by the Department of Agriculture from the beekeeping community in order to assist in the development and finalization of the proposed act so that it may be presented to the legislature as a fair, balanced and equitable proposal that would best serve the interests of the state, the beekeeping community and the general public.

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Updated 11/29/2007