54-628 Inspection program; department; powers.
54-628. Inspection program; department; powers. (1) Thedepartment shall inspect all licensees at least once in a twenty-four-monthperiod to determine whether the licensee is in compliance with the CommercialDog and Cat Operator Inspection Act. Any additional inspector or other fieldpersonnel employed by the department to carry out inspections pursuant tothe act that are funded through General Fund appropriations to the Bureauof Animal Industry shall be assigned to the Bureau of Animal Industry andshall be available for temporary reassignment as needed to other activitiesand functions of the Bureau of Animal Industry in the event of a livestockdisease emergency or any other threat to livestock or public health. Whenan inspection produces evidence of a violation of the act or the rules andregulations of the department, a copy of a written report of the inspectionand violations shown thereon, prepared by the inspector, shall be given tothe applicant or licensee, together with written notice to comply within thetime limit established by the department and set out in such notice.(2) If deemednecessary under the act or any rule or regulation adopted and promulgatedpursuant to the act, the department may, for purposes of inspection, enterthe premises of any applicant or licensee during normal business hours andin a reasonable manner, including all premises in or upon which dogs or catsare housed, sold, exchanged, or leased or are suspected of being housed, sold,exchanged, or leased. For purposes of this subsection, premises includes allbuildings, vehicles, equipment, cages, kennels, containers, and pens and allrecords on such premises. The department shall not be subject to any actionfor trespass or damages resulting from compliance with this subsection. Pursuantto an inspection under this subsection, the department may:(a) Enter thepremises of any applicant for a license under the act to determine if theapplicant meets the requirements for licensure under the act;(b) Accessall premises and examine and copy all records pertaining to compliance withthe act and the rules or regulations adopted and promulgated under the act.The department shall have authority to gather evidence, including, but notlimited to, photographs;(c) Inspect or reinspect any vehicle or carrier transporting orholding dogs or cats that is in the state to determine compliance with theact or any rules or regulations adopted and promulgated under the act;(d) Obtainan inspection warrant in the manner prescribed in sections 29-830 to 29-835if any person refuses to allow the department to conduct an inspection pursuantto this section; or(e) Issue and enforce a written stop-movement order pursuant tosection 54-628.01.(3) For purposes of this section, the private residence of any applicantor licensee shall be available for purposes of inspection only if dogs orcats are housed in a primary enclosure as defined in 9 C.F.R. 1.1 within theresidence, including a room in such residence, and only such portion of theresidence that is used as a primary enclosure shall be open to an inspectionpursuant to this section. SourceLaws 2000, LB 825, § 4; Laws 2007, LB12, § 3; Laws 2009, LB241, § 5.