HF 3820

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to agriculture; establishing liability for 
  1.3             the spread of certain genetically modified organisms; 
  1.4             specifying damages; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
  1.5             section 18F.02, subdivision 5, and by adding 
  1.6             subdivisions; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 18F. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 18F.02, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2b.  [AGRICULTURAL GROWER; PRODUCER.] "Agricultural 
  1.12  grower" or "producer" means a landowner or tenant, however 
  1.13  lawfully organized, growing and directly involved in the 
  1.14  production of crops, livestock, or other agriculturally related 
  1.15  organisms.  "Agricultural grower" also means a person who grows 
  1.16  and harvests agriculturally related organisms in a vegetable 
  1.17  garden primarily for household use. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 18F.02, 
  1.19  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.20     Subd. 5.  [GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ORGANISM; GENETICALLY 
  1.21  MODIFIED ORGANISM; GMO.] "Genetically engineered organism," 
  1.22  genetically modified organism," or "GMO" means an organism that 
  1.23  has been modified directly or indirectly using genetic 
  1.24  engineering. 
  1.25     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 18F.02, is 
  1.26  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.1      Subd. 8a.  [TECHNOLOGY USE AGREEMENT.] "Technology use 
  2.2   agreement" means licensure for consideration of the use of seeds 
  2.3   of an agriculturally related organism in which the licensing 
  2.4   party asserts and retains title to ownership of the genetically 
  2.5   modified traits of seeds or crops derived from the seeds. 
  2.6      Sec. 4.  [18F.121] [NON-GMO PLANT PROTECTION; INJURY.] 
  2.7      Any transfer of genetic material from a growing crop of an 
  2.8   agriculturally related GMO to a growing crop of nongenetically 
  2.9   modified plant organisms, whether by cross pollination or other 
  2.10  means, is considered an injury to the latter for purposes of a 
  2.11  cause of action for destruction or injury to growing crops if 
  2.12  the cross pollination or other transfer of genetic material 
  2.13  diminishes the value of the crops or products harvested from the 
  2.14  crops at maturity. 
  2.15     Sec. 5.  [18F.122] [GMO LICENSEE LIABILITY.] 
  2.16     If a variety of agriculturally related GMO is licensed for 
  2.17  planting or other use to growers under a technology use 
  2.18  agreement, the licensing party is liable to growers of 
  2.19  nongenetically modified agriculturally related crops in any 
  2.20  cause of action to recover damages resulting from injury to 
  2.21  growing crops under section 18F.121. 
  2.22     Sec. 6.  [18F.123] [DAMAGES FOR INJURY.] 
  2.23     Damages for injury to growing crops described in section 
  2.24  18F.121 include, but are not limited to: 
  2.25     (1) loss of any market price premium that would have 
  2.26  accrued to a grower of non-GMO seeds by contract or other 
  2.27  marketing arrangement, or that would have been otherwise 
  2.28  reasonably available to the grower through ordinary commercial 
  2.29  market channels; 
  2.30     (2) any additional transportation, storage, handling, or 
  2.31  related charges or costs incurred by the grower that would not 
  2.32  have been incurred in the absence of the injury; 
  2.33     (3) any judgment, charge, or penalty for which the grower 
  2.34  of non-GMO crops is liable due to breach of contract for failure 
  2.35  to deliver a crop free of genetically modified traits or for 
  2.36  delivering a crop exceeding any contractually agreed tolerances 
  3.1   for the presence of genetically modified traits.