In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.
“Advertisement” means any representation relating to sod within the scope of this subtitle and disseminated in any manner or by any means.
“Brand” means the name, term, design, or trademark under which any person offers sod for sale.
The terms “certified”, “approved”, “inspected”, “registered”, “foundation”, and “breeder”, when referring to sod, mean that the sod has been produced or collected, inspected, and labeled in accordance with the procedures and the rules and regulations of an officially recognized certification agency.
“Dealer” means any person who sells, offers or exposes for sale, or transports sod for planting purposes within the State, other than a grower making a casual or isolated sale of unsevered sod.
“Kind” means one or more related species or subspecies which singly or collectively is known by one common name.
“Labeling” includes every label and other written, printed, or graphic representation, in any form, accompanying or pertaining to any sod and includes every representation or invoice, bill of lading, delivery ticket, or other receipt.
“Lot” means a definite quantity of sod, identified by a lot number or other identification. For the purpose of enforcing this subtitle, each truckload or portion of it may be considered a lot and shall be accompanied by a complete label and a bill of lading, delivery ticket, or invoice.
“Mixture” means sod consisting of more than one kind or variety, when claimed or present, in excess of a certain percent of the whole as designated by rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle.
“Noxious weeds” are weeds which, when established, are objectionable and difficult to control by practices commonly used.
“Officially recognized” means recognized and designated by the laws or rules and regulations of any state, the United States, or any province of Canada, or the government of any foreign country whose certification standards are recognized by the Secretary.
“Origin” means any state, county, or any foreign country, or designated portion of it, where the sod is grown.
“Prohibited noxious weed” means a noxious weed prohibited in sod.
“Records” includes all information relating to the lot, shipment or shipments involved and includes a copy of the label pertaining to the lot.
“Restricted noxious weed” means a noxious weed restricted to certain maximum contents in sod.
“Sale” means the transfer of ownership of sod.
“Sod” means turf sod, turf plugs, or turf sprigs of a single kind or variety or a mixture of kinds and varieties.
“Tolerance” means the allowable deviation from any figure used on a label as established by the Secretary by rule or regulation.
“Turf” includes a live population of one or more kinds of grasses, legumes, or other plant species used for lawns, recreational use, soil erosion control, or other similar purposes.
“Turf plug” means a small section cut from live turf of those kinds of turf normally vegetatively propagated, such as zoysia grass, which when severed contains sufficient plant material to remain intact.
“Turf sod” means a strip or section of live turf which, when severed, contains sufficient plant material to remain intact.
“Turf sprig” means a live plant, stolon, crown, or section cut from a perennial plant used as turf, such as bermuda grass.
“Variety” means a subdivision of a kind characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed, or any other character by which it can be differentiated from any other plant of the same kind.
“Weed” includes any plant or plant part including any seed recognized by the Secretary as a weed within the State and includes any noxious weed.
The Secretary shall inspect, sample, analyze, test, and examine sod, plugs, and sprigs offered or exposed for sale within the State for planting purposes, at any time and place and to the extent he deems necessary, to determine whether the sod, plugs, or sprigs are in compliance with the provisions of this subtitle. He shall notify promptly the person who transported, sold, offered or exposed the sod for sale, of any violation.
Following a public hearing and public notice, the Secretary may adopt rules and regulations governing the methods of:
Labeling, inspecting, sampling, analyzing, testing, and defining prohibitive and restrictive noxious weeds;
Examining sod, plugs, or sprigs, and the tolerances to be followed in the administration of this subtitle; and
Other rules and regulations necessary.
The Secretary shall direct the sod certification program in the State.
To carry out the provisions of this subtitle, the Secretary may:
Establish and maintain or make provisions for laboratory and field testing of sod, employ qualified persons, and incur expenses necessary to comply with these provisions;
Make or provide for making purity analyses, weed examinations, tests and examinations of fields for farmers and dealers on request;
Following a public hearing and reasonable public notice, prescribe rules and regulations governing the analyses, tests, and examinations, and fix and collect charges for the analyses, tests, and examinations made;
Publish the results of the analyses, tests, and examinations;
Enter on any public or private premises or vehicle during regular business hours and stop any public or private sod carrying vehicle when necessary to insure compliance;
Issue to the owner or custodian of any lot of sod in violation of this subtitle, a written or printed “stop-sale” order prohibiting sale of sod until it complies with this subtitle, and enforce it; or
Apply to the circuit court of any county for a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from violating or continuing to violate any provision of this subtitle or any rule or regulation adopted under it, notwithstanding the existence of any other remedy at law.
Every lot of severed turf grass sod, plugs, and sprigs, as defined under this subtitle, which is sold, exposed for sale, installed, transported, or advertised within the State for planting purposes by a dealer shall be accompanied by or have attached to the bill of lading, bill of sale, sales slip, or invoice a label containing the following information plainly written or printed in the English language:
The recognized common names;
The variety of each component;
The texture, origin, and net measure;
The presence of restricted noxious weeds;
The name and address of the dealer who labeled the lot; and
If the kind or mixture is not known, this fact shall be stated.
The information on the label may not be falsely modified or represented in advertisements pertaining to the sod, plugs, or sprigs.
Any dealer transporting or delivering for transportation sod, sod mixtures, plugs, or sprigs shall keep adequate records and the Secretary may inspect the records to carry out the provisions of this subtitle.
No dealer is subject to any penalty of this subtitle for advertising, selling, offering or exposing for sale, or transporting for planting purposes in the State any sod or mixture in violation of §§ 9–104 and 9–105 of this subtitle, if he:
Has obtained from his supplier an invoice, grower’s declaration, or other labeling information relating to the sod or mixture; and
After having taken reasonable precautions to insure its veracity, has relied in good faith upon any statement made or contained in the invoice, grower’s declaration, or labeling information in advertising, selling, or offering or exposing for sale the sod or mixture.
No person may transport, offer for transportation, sell, offer or expose for sale within the State, sod for planting purposes:
Not labeled in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle;
Having an incomplete, false, or misleading label or claim;
Which has been falsely advertised or advertised in a misleading manner;
Containing prohibited noxious weeds in any amount;
Containing restricted noxious weeds except as prescribed by rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle;
To which there is affixed names or terms that create an incomplete or misleading impression as to the kind, variety, history, productivity, quality, or origin of the sod;
Represented to be “inspected”, “approved”, “certified”, “registered”, or “foundation” unless it has been produced, processed, and labeled in accordance with procedures and rules and regulations of an officially recognized certifying agency;
Which in the form of turf sod, or turf plugs, do not contain at least one-half inch of sod and roots and which do not remain intact after folding, rolling or plugging; or
Containing destructively injurious insects, other animal pests, or plant diseases.
A person may not alter or substitute sod in any manner that may defeat the purpose of the provisions of this subtitle.
A person may not disseminate any false or misleading advertisement in any manner concerning sod, sod mixtures, plugs, or sprigs.
A person may not fail to comply with, or supply false information in reply to a “stop-sale order”, or remove tags attached to or dispose of sod, sod mixtures, plugs, or sprigs held under the order, except as specified by the enforcement officer.
The production, processing, and labeling requirements of this subtitle do not apply to breeder and foundation generations of turf-grass variety at the Maryland Agriculture Experiment Station.
If the Secretary has reason to believe that any person has violated any provision of this subtitle, he may institute judicial proceedings in the county in which the violation occurred. The Secretary may file information with the Attorney General for prosecution. However, no prosecution under this subtitle may be instituted without first affording the person against whom proceedings are contemplated an opportunity to appear personally or by counsel before the Secretary to introduce evidence.
This subtitle shall be cited as the Maryland Turf Grass Law.