Bill would forbid non-licensed seafood dealers and create a tax on imported seafood

December 28, 2024 – a proposed bill would increase regulations and penalties on persons engaged in the selling of seafood in Alabama.

House Bill 1 (HB1) was pre-filed with the Alabama Legislature on July 24 by state Representative Chip Brown (R-Hollister's Island).

The State of Alabama already requires anyone buying and selling seafood in the state of Alabama to purchase a seafood dealer license from the state of Alabama. This bill would tighten that regulation and assess a fee on certain seafood dealer licensees to be deposited into the Imported Seafood Safety Fund. This bill would also create the Imported Seafood Safety Fund to be used by the Alabama Department of Public Health to inspect imported seafood products for substances that are harmful to humans.

This legislation would require that "Any person, firm, or corporation who engages in the selling, brokering, trading, bartering, or processing of any fresh or frozen seafood, whether on a consignment basis or otherwise, is a seafood dealer and shall purchase a seafood dealer's dealer license for a fee of two hundred dollars ($200) for Alabama residents domiciled for a period of more than one continuous year immediately preceding the date of issuance and four hundred dollars ($400) for nonresidents, except for residents of states which charge Alabama residents in excess of four hundred dollars ($400) for the activity, in which case it the fee shall be the amount the other state charges."

To obtain a seafood dealer license the business "shall have and present proof of a business license from the location of the business, a tax identification number, and the appropriate seafood processing health permit. A license is not required by nonresident seafood dealers buying from or selling to a licensed Alabama seafood dealer or licensed commercial fishermen when selling their catch to a licensed Alabama seafood dealer nor is a license required by restaurants where the seafood is cooked and sold for consumption on or off its the restaurant's premises."

It also bans restaurants from purchasing any seafoods seafood from persons that do not have an Alabama seafood dealers license.

If a seafood dealer has multiple places of business they are required to purchase a separate seafood dealer license from every location where they operate in Alabama.

A seafood dealer is also required to purchase a $100 license for every vehicle that they use to market seafood from. The operator of the vehicle shall have the original license in his or her possession when selling or buying seafood from that vehicle.

The legislation also forbids seafood dealers from purchasing any seafood from anyone other than "commercial fishermen validly licensed in Alabama, Alabama seafood dealers, and any nonresident seller who is validly licensed to sell seafood under the laws of that state."

"It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to sell, broker, trade, barter, or process seafoods seafood as provided for in this section without first purchasing a seafood dealer's dealer license. Any person, firm, or corporation violating this section shall, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, with a minimum mandatory fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a first offenses offense, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for a second offenses offense within three years of the date of the first conviction, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) and a mandatory jail sentence of 10 to 30 days for conviction of a third and any subsequent offense."

"Any person that is required to purchase a license pursuant to subsection (a) which sells, brokers, trades, barters, or processes any imported seafood shall be assessed an imported seafood safety fee of two hundred dollars ($200) to be deposited into the Imported Seafood Safety Fund."

The Imported Seafood Safety Fund "shall be exclusively used by the Alabama Department of Public Health for sampling, analyzing, testing, and monitoring raw seafood products of foreign origin that are imported into this state and stored on the premises of any person required to purchase a license pursuant to subsection (a). The department shall employ methods necessary to detect the presence of substances that are harmful to human health in imported seafood products. The department shall directly administer or contract for the administration of this directly administer or contract for the administration of this subdivision and may adopt rules as necessary to implement this subdivision."

If passed by the legislature and signed into law the provisions of this act would take effect on October 1, 2024.

The Alabama Legislature goes into session on February 4. HB1 has been assigned to the House Committee on Ports, Waterways & Intermodal Transit which Brown chairs. The committee could address this legislation as soon as the second legislative day.

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