Print

The Vermont Statutes Online



Title

06

:
Agriculture






Chapter

151

:
SUPERVISION, INSPECTION, AND LICENSING OF DAIRY OPERATIONS






Subchapter

003
:
LICENSING AND INSPECTION










 

§

2722a. Hearings, and action upon applications

(a) Upon receipt

of an application for a milk handler's license the secretary shall examine it.

If the application is deficient the secretary shall so notify the applicant and

return the application together with one-half of the application fee within 30

days of the receipt of the application. If the application is not deficient,

the secretary shall publish notice of the application in one or more

publications of general circulation within the state's dairy community at the

applicant's expense. The secretary shall also publish notice of the handler's

application on the agency's website. An interested party shall have 14 calendar

days from the date of publication to request a hearing on the application. The

secretary shall grant a request for a hearing when an interested party can

demonstrate a reasonable belief that the applicant will not promote the general

good of the dairy industry and the consuming public pursuant to Vermont rule

20-021-001 adopted by the agency of agriculture, food and markets. Where such a

showing is made, a hearing shall be held within 60 days of receipt of the

request. In the absence of such a showing or where no request for a hearing is

received, the secretary may hold a hearing at his or her discretion.

(b) In the event

a hearing is convened, the hearing shall be held in central Vermont unless

requested by the applicant to be in the specific area where the applicant will

be located. Additional hearings may be held at the discretion of the secretary.

(c) In the case

of a renewal application, a hearing in the discretion of the secretary may be

held at Montpelier, or, in the discretion of the secretary, may be waived.

(d) The

secretary shall act upon applications within 30 days of the hearing, or if the

hearing in the case of a renewal application has been waived, within 60 days of

receipt of the renewal application. If the secretary denies the license, he or

she shall set forth his or her reasons.

(e) Any

applicant whose application has been denied shall have the right to judicial

review of the secretary's decision in the superior court. The proceeding before

the superior court shall be de novo, and the applicant may demand trial by

jury. Appeals from the superior court may be taken to the Vermont supreme court

pursuant to the Vermont Rules of Appellate Procedure. (Added 1977, No. 159

(Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 28, 1978; amended 1981, No. 237 (Adj. Sess.), eff.

May 4, 1982; 1987, No. 217 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1997, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 3,

eff. Jan. 1, 1998; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003; 2011, No. 39, § 1,

eff. May 19, 2011.)