Montana Attorney General Opinion 16-21

Opinion No. 21. Agricultural Seeds-Labels- Commissioner of Agricul- ture, Power of. HELD: The legislature, by speci- fying by statute the contents of seed labels, has deprived the Commissioner of Agriculture and others from mak- ing any changes therein or adding thereto. January 4, 1935. Hon. A. H. Stafford Commissioner of Agriculture The Capitol You have submitted the question whether it is permissible for the De- partment of Agriculture, or those charged with the duty of enforcing the seed laws of this state, to adopt a. proposed national seed tag, or whether a change in the law is neces- sary before this can be done. It ap- pears that the proposed national seed tag requires certain information to be placed on the tag which is not re- quired by our statute. Section 3594, Revised Codes, as amended by Chapter 110, Laws of 1929, provides for the labeling of ag- ricultural seeds, and sets forth the specific information to be placed on the tags. Since the legislature has not left to the Commissioner of Agri- culture the matter of specifying wh~t the labels of agricultural seeds shall contain, and has not permitted the Commissioner of Agriculture to pre- scribe the contents of such tag by rules and regulations but has seen fit itself to exercise the prerogative which it has of enacting specific leg- islation, it is my opinion that the Commissioner of Agriculture, and all others, are without authority to make any changes whatever in the seed tag labels or to add to the requirements of the statute.