Tennessee State Ginseng Laws
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-101. Registration and permit requirements
Any ginseng dealer who purchases ginseng collected in this state shall register with the department of environment and conservation and obtain a ginseng dealer permit from the department.
[Acts 1983, ch. 445, § 1.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-102. Monthly records - Annual report
Each registered ginseng dealer shall submit monthly purchase records for the period of August 15 through March 31 of each year and an annual report of purchases and sales of ginseng.
[Acts 1983, ch. 445, § 2; 1988, ch. 782, § 1.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-103. Ginseng export certificate
Any ginseng dealer who exports or sells to another ginseng dealer shall attach a Tennessee ginseng export certificate with each sale of ginseng roots. The information on this certificate must be verified and signed by a representative of the department of environment and conservation, except where otherwise specified in reciprocal agreements with neighboring ginseng exporting states.
[Acts 1983, ch. 445, § 3; 1988, ch. 782, § 3.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-104. Regulations
The commissioner of environment and conservation may promulgate regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to implement this chapter. The commissioner may establish, by regulation, fees for the registration of dealers and issuance of permits in amounts sufficient to pay the approximate cost of administering the registration and permit program. The commissioner may not promulgate any rule or regulation concerning the planting, harvesting or selling of ginseng that is more restrictive than that required by the United States department of the interior, fish and wildlife service, in order that ginseng may be eligible for exportation.
[Acts 1983, ch. 445, § 4; 1985, ch. 170, § 1.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-105. Violations
A violation of §§ 62-28-102 - 62-28-104 is a Class C misdemeanor.
[Acts 1983, ch. 445, § 5; 1989, ch. 591, § 113.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-106. Annual disposition of roots
All ginseng roots remaining in the possession of a ginseng dealer on March 31 of each year must be weighed and receipted by a department of environment and conservation representative.
[Acts 1988, ch. 782, § 2.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 62-28-107. Agreements with neighboring states
The commissioner of environment and conservation is authorized to enter into agreements with neighboring ginseng exporting states for the purpose of facilitating the trade of ginseng by and between this state and those states.
[Acts 1988, ch. 782, § 4.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 70-8-201. Short title
This part shall be known and may be cited as the "Ginseng Harvest Season Act of 1985".
[Acts 1985, ch. 177, § 1; T.C.A., § 11-26-101.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 70-8-202. Part definitions
As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Cultivated ginseng" means ginseng growing in tilled beds under shade of artificial structures or under natural shade where shrubs or other competing vegetation have been removed and the soil has been prepared to enhance the growth of the ginseng;
(2) "Export" means to transport, cause to be transported or deliver to any person for the purpose of transportation from any place in this state to any place outside of this state;
(3) "Ginseng" means the plant panax quinquefolius of the araliaceae family;
(4) "Landowner" means the owner or lessee of land or the duly authorized agent of such owner or lessee;
(5) "Prong" means a ginseng leaf with three (3) to five (5) leaflets;
(6) "Sale" means any transfer of possession or ownership for money or other consideration; and
(7) "Wild ginseng" means ginseng occurring in its native woodland habitat, and includes the ginseng that is growing naturally in that habitat or that was introduced or increased in abundance in its natural habitat by sowing ginseng seed or by transplanting ginseng plants from other woodland areas.
[Acts 1985, ch. 177, § 2; T.C.A., § 11-26-102.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 70-8-203. Dates of harvest season
The harvest season for wild ginseng shall be from August 15 through December 31, inclusive, of each year.
[Acts 1985, ch. 177, § 3; T.C.A., § 11-26-103.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 70-8-204. Prohibited activities
(a) It is unlawful for any person to dig, harvest, collect or remove wild ginseng from any land for the purpose of sale or export, on any date not within the wild ginseng harvest season established by § 70-8-203.
(b) It is unlawful for any person to dig, harvest, collect or remove from any land, for the purpose of sale or export, any wild ginseng plant that has green berries or that has less than three (3) prongs.
(c) It is unlawful for any person who has dug, harvested, collected or removed wild ginseng from any land for the purpose of sale or export to:
(1) Remove the berries of the wild ginseng from the approximate location from which the wild ginseng was dug, harvested, collected or removed; or
(2) Fail, immediately after such digging, harvest, collection or removal, to plant the berries of the wild ginseng in the approximate location from which the wild ginseng was dug, harvested, collected or removed.
(d) It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale wild or cultivated ginseng that was harvested or collected from any state other than Tennessee unless such ginseng has been certified or otherwise approved for export by the state from which the ginseng was harvested, collected, or removed. A certificate shall accompany all wild and cultivated ginseng from other states showing that it has been certified and approved for export.
(e) It is unlawful for any person, without permission of the landowner, to enter the property of the landowner and dig, harvest, collect, or remove wild or cultivated ginseng. This subsection (e) shall not apply to any employee or contractor of the federal government or of the state or of any political subdivision of the state engaged in any type of planning, construction, or maintenance work upon any proposed or existing federal, state, county, or other public road or highway, or highway right-of-way, while performing such work in the course of employment or contract work with the federal, state, or local government.
[Acts 1985, ch. 177, §§ 4-8; T.C.A., § 11-26-104.]
Tennessee Annotated Code 70-8-205. Penalties
A person violating the provisions of this part commits a Class A misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), and shall forfeit all ginseng harvested, collected, removed, or sold in violation of this part.
[Acts 1985, ch. 177, § 9; T.C.A., § 11-26-105; Acts 1989, ch. 591, §§ 1, 6.]