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Agency seeks new penalties after repeated findings of expired seed on retailer shelves
Summary
Regulators and the seed control official described repeated enforcement finds of expired grass seed in retail outlets. The department is proposing stronger penalties (temporary sales suspensions for habitual violators) after outreach and shelf‑cleaning proved insufficient.
Representative Barbara Comtois introduced an amendment seeking tougher penalties for repeated violations of the state seed and nursery laws after DEES enforcement found thousands of packages of expired grass seed on retail shelves across the state. The amendment would allow DEES to suspend sales at a location for six months or one year for habitual violations.
Al Wyman, the state seed control official, testified that the department had undertaken outreach and shelf‑cleaning efforts with retailers but repeatedly found expired products restocked. Wyman said early enforcement and settlement attempts failed to secure compliance in some cases, prompting the department to request stronger tools. “We told them we'd be back — we gave plenty of opportunity — we come back and some of the stuff we pulled right back out on the shelf,” he said, describing repeated noncompliance.
Retail groups said they want to comply and asked the committee to define ‘habitual’ and to ensure due process for small businesses whose violations may be the result of operational errors. The committee asked DEES to draft rules clarifying the standard for habitual violations and to provide recent enforcement data for review.
Next steps: DEES will provide records of recent enforcement actions and work with the sponsor and committee to define ‘habitual violator’ for rulemaking or statutory language.
