CHAPTER 14. LIVESTOCK DEALERS
IC 15-17-14
Chapter 14. Livestock Dealers
IC 15-17-14-1
Application of chapter
Sec. 1. This chapter does not apply to the following:
(1) The purchase of livestock by an individual for the
individual's own use other than resale on the livestock market.
(2) The distribution of livestock in connection with programs
dedicated to improvement of breeding practices or experimental
procedures in which the ownership of the livestock remains
vested, in whole or in part, in the distributor or breeder.
(3) The purchase or sale of livestock by a producer or farmer
that buys or sells livestock in connection with a business of
raising, feeding, grazing, or breeding livestock as a part of a
farming enterprise and does not follow a definite or routine
pattern of disposing of acquired livestock through channels of
trade in less than sixty (60) days after the date of acquisition as
part of a farming enterprise as distinguished from that of a
dealer or trader.
(4) The purchase of livestock by slaughtering establishments,
meat processors, restaurants, grocery stores, meat markets, and
similar businesses if:
(A) the livestock is purchased solely for the purpose of being
processed into meat products for use or sale in connection
with the business; and
(B) the total number of livestock purchased for the use or
sale does not exceed twenty (20) in any one (1) week.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-2
License requirement
Sec. 2. Unless specifically exempted in this chapter, a person must
obtain a license under this chapter to act as a dealer in livestock in
Indiana. A person may not deal in livestock after the expiration,
suspension, or revocation of the person's license.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-3
Classification of dealers
Sec. 3. The board shall classify dealers required to be licensed
under this chapter based on the enterprise in which each dealer is
engaged. The classifications must be consistent with the definitions
set forth in this article and must be based on the facts in the dealer's
license application and any supporting papers or any inquiry or
investigation made in conjunction with the application.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-4
License classifications
Sec. 4. (a) Licenses are issued under the following classifications:
(1) A market facility dealer license issued to livestock auction
markets, stockyards, packers, or concentration points.
(2) An individual dealer license issued to individual dealers and
market agencies not operating a market facility.
(b) A separate license is required for each location at which
stockyards, packing plants, market agencies, or livestock auction
markets are operated. More than one (1) license may not be required
of individual dealers other than those operating as market agencies
at different locations.
(c) A license issued under this chapter continues in effect until the
licensee ceases operating as a livestock dealer in Indiana or the board
revokes the license.
(d) The board may adopt rules to implement this chapter,
including the following:
(1) Procedures for issuing, suspending, revoking, and updating
licenses.
(2) Requiring annual or other regular reports from licensees to:
(A) determine the required amount of bond coverage under
this chapter or the current status of agents or other personnel
acting under the license; or
(B) update other information used in administering the
requirements of this chapter.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-5
Dealers and agents
Sec. 5. (a) Subject to subsection (b), a livestock dealer may
designate agents subject to the liabilities that ordinarily attach under
a contract of agency. An agent may deal in livestock for the principal
under the principal's livestock dealer license. An agent dealing in
livestock may deal only as an agent for the principal unless the agent
has obtained a separate license under this chapter.
(b) A livestock dealer may not designate an individual as an agent
if the individual's dealer's license was suspended or revoked in any
state or by the United States Department of Agriculture, Grain
Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration during the two
(2) years preceding the proposed designation.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-6
Maintenance of bond
Sec. 6. (a) Except as provided under sections 7 and 8 of this
chapter, before operating a livestock dealer business, a person must
execute and maintain a bond or bond equivalent that meets the
requirements of this section.
(b) The form of the bond or bond equivalent shall be prescribed
by the board and must meet the following minimum requirements:
(1) The instrument must be payable to the state of Indiana, as
obligee, for any person who may be damaged as a result of a
breach of the conditions of the instrument.
(2) The terms of the instrument must secure the performance of
the licensee's obligations under this chapter. The instrument
must specifically provide that the dealer will pay all legal
claims that may accrue in favor of any seller of livestock in
Indiana.
(3) The surety on any livestock dealer bond or bond equivalent
must be a surety company authorized to do business in Indiana.
(4) The bond or bond equivalent is considered to be continuous
unless otherwise specified. The instrument must contain a
provision requiring that, before terminating the instrument, the
terminating party must serve to the board either:
(A) written notice of termination at least thirty (30) days
before the effective date of the termination; or
(B) notice of a valid replacement bond or bond equivalent
that provides continuous coverage.
(c) The livestock dealer bond or bond equivalent required under
this section must be an amount that is not less than the next highest
multiple of five thousand dollars ($5,000) above the quotient of:
(1) the dollar amount of livestock transactions conducted by the
license applicant during the preceding twelve (12) months, or
in that part of the year in which the applicant did business;
divided by
(2) the number of days on which business was conducted.
(d) The following apply to the calculation set forth in subsection
(c):
(1) The number of days on which business was conducted in a
year may not exceed one hundred thirty (130).
(2) The amount of the bond or bond equivalent may not be less
than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), and when the requirements
exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) under the calculations
as specified in subsection (c), the amount of the instrument need
not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) plus ten percent
(10%) of the excess raised to the next multiple of five thousand
dollars ($5,000).
(e) If the gross amount of business transacted during a twelve (12)
month period changes and warrants an increase in the amount of
bond or bond equivalent coverage required under this chapter, the
dealer shall have the bond or bond equivalent adjusted to comply
with this chapter. If the gross amount of business changes to warrant
a decrease in the amount of bond or bond equivalent required under
this chapter, the dealer may have the bond or bond equivalent
adjusted accordingly.
(f) A licensee may furnish a blanket bond or bond equivalent,
based upon the gross amount of business transacted on an annual
basis for each enterprise operated under the same ownership, instead
of individual instruments for each enterprise operated.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-7
Bond or bond equivalent with other agency
Sec. 7. If a licensee under this chapter has a valid bond or bond
equivalent on file with the United States Department of Agriculture,
Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration, and the
bond or bond equivalent is an adequate amount and conditioned upon
terms that provide at least as much protection to sellers of livestock
as a state bond under this chapter, additional coverage by bond or
bond equivalent under this chapter is not required.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-8
Packer; security
Sec. 8. A packer, other than a packer operating stockyards in
Indiana, is not required to furnish security under section 6 of this
chapter if a bond or bond equivalent is not required of the packers
under the federal Packers and Stock Yards Act of 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181
through 7 U.S.C. 229).
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-9
Records
Sec. 9. A dealer required to be licensed under this chapter shall
keep records, accounts, and memoranda fully and correctly
disclosing all purchases, sales, or transfers involving completed
livestock transactions in connection with the dealer's business. The
records concerning the business must disclose all persons with an
ownership interest in the business, including stockholders. If the
board finds that the accounts, records, memoranda, and ownership
interest do not fully disclose all the transactions involved in the
dealer's business, the board may prescribe the record keeping
procedures that the dealer must follow.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-10
Scales
Sec. 10. (a) Scales used by a dealer licensed under this chapter are
subject to inspection and testing by a scale inspector who may be any
weights and measures inspector appointed by the state department of
health. Scales are subject to the applicable requirements of the code
of specifications, tolerances, and rules for scales adopted by the state
department of health.
(b) If, after proper inspection and testing, a scale fails to meet the
applicable requirements of subsection (a), the scale inspector may
condemn the scale to prevent its further use until the scale is brought
into conformance with the requirements.
(c) A dealer licensed under this chapter, after a hearing under this
chapter, shall have the dealer's license revoked if the hearing
establishes that the dealer is guilty of fraudulent, deceptive, or
dishonest practices in the weighing of livestock.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.
IC 15-17-14-11
Offenses; civil penalties
Sec. 11. (a) A person who knowingly or intentionally allows a
scale to be used in a business transaction involving the purchase,
sale, or exchange of livestock:
(1) after the scale has been condemned; and
(2) before it has been repaired to the satisfaction of the scale
inspector;
commits a Class D felony.
(b) In addition to any criminal penalties imposed, a person who
violates subsection (a) may be subject to a civil penalty of fifty
dollars ($50) for each day the defective scale is used. If a civil
penalty is assessed under this subsection and not paid, the
prosecuting attorney of the county where the proceeding was brought
may enforce the collection of the civil penalty. Civil penalties
collected under this section must be deposited in the state general
fund.
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.